John Tavener The Beautiful Names World Premiere Tuesday 19 June 2007, 7.30pm Westminster Cathedral, BBC Radio 3
Sir John Tavener has turned to Islam for inspiration for this major new work, to be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Westminster Cathedral in June. Conducted by Jiří Bĕlohlávek, the BBC SO is joined by the choral forces of John Mark Ainsley, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the cathedral’s own choristers for this world premiere performance of The Beautiful Names.
The Beautiful Names sets the 99 names for Allah as culled from the Qu’ran, sung in Arabic. ‘Inspiration for the piece came to me as a vision,’ says Tavener, ‘and the music just came to me immediately I saw the Arabic word’. He has worked closely with the Arabist Michael Macdonald to ensure correct pronunciation and stress - ‘the sound actually does help create the music’.
The 70-minute work is divided into eleven groups of nine ‘tonal zones’ and the start of each new section is prefaced by a magisterial calling out of Allah. Making his strongest reference yet to Islam, Tavener also calls upon Sufism, Hinduism and Buddhism in his choice of structure, instrumentation and tonality.
Tavener’s relationship with God has provoked debate over the years. He converted to Greek Orthodoxy in 1977 and much of his work has been inspired by the Orthodox liturgy. Tavener is keen, however, to celebrate his recent embracing of ‘the perennial philosophy of such masters as Guenon and Schuon’, and compositions since 2001 have made strong references to Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, though Tavener is keen to insist that ‘in my prayer-life I remain totally Christian’.
Completed in 2005, The Beautiful Names was commissioned by HRH The Prince of Wales, who shares the composer’s interest in Greek Orthodoxy and Islam.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will give a repeat performance of The Beautiful Names at the İstanbul Music Festival on Friday 22 June; a tour made possible by the generous support of the British Council.
الرسائل والمقالات و الآراء المنشورة في المنتدى بأسماء أصحابها أو بأسماء مستعارة لا تمثل بالضرورة الرأي الرسمي لصاحب الموقع أو سودانيز اون لاين بل تمثل وجهة نظر كاتبها
لا يمكنك نقل أو اقتباس اى مواد أعلامية من هذا الموقع الا بعد الحصول على اذن من الادارة
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست