SACDs - Tavener

Texts inspired by the dramatic events of Holy Week and Easter, set to music by some of the greatest Renaissance composers are the basis of this new hybrid SACD from Stile Antico. Included are two settings of the poem 'Woefully arrayed': the first by William Cornysh, the second composed for Stile Antico in 2009 by John McCabe (b. 1939). This is its first recording and Stile's first foray into contemporary music.

Stile Antico is the benchmark ensemble of young British singers, working without a director and conducting much of their own artistic research for their programmes and concise, yet entertaining booklet notes. Much in demand in concert, the group performs regularly throughout Europe and North America. Their recordings on harmonia mundi have enjoyed great success, winning awards, including the 2009 Early Music Gramophone Award for Song of Songs.

Their performances have repeatedly been praised for their vitality and commitment, expressive lucidity and imaginative response to text. Stile Antico’s recent engagements include débuts at the BBC Proms, London’s Wigmore and Cadogan Halls, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, early music festivals in Boston, Bruges, Barcelona and Utrecht, and at the Cervantino Festival in Mexico. The group has toured extensively with Sting, appearing across Europe, Australia and the Far East as part of his Dowland project 'Songs from the Labyrinth', and is regularly invited to lead courses at Dartington International Summer School.

In the run-up to Advent and Christmas, the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge under Andrew Nethsingha presents a joyous celebration of music for the festive season. The disc includes original works by John Rutter, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Poston, and Kenneth Leighton. These are complemented by arrangements of popular songs, and a selection of congregational hymns, all displaying strong ties to the Advent and Christmas seasons.

This disc was recorded in the College Chapel in full surround-sound, which means that it not only sounds spectacular, but recreates to a spectacular degree the experience of listening to the Choir perform in the Chapel.

The Choir of St John’s College, established in the 1670s, is today one of the finest college choirs in the world, known and loved by millions for its recordings, broadcasts, and concert tours.

As composer of the oratorio The Whale (recorded by the Beatles on the Apple label), the choral Song for Athene (performed at the funeral of Princess Diana), and masterpieces like The Protecting Veil (a cello concerto in all but name), Sir John stands in the top tier of serious contemporary composers and has pop cachet besides.

This première recording of Towards Silence: A Meditation on the Four States of Atma, lasting roughly 35 minutes, written for four string quartets and a large Tibetan bowl, explores the nature of consciousness and the process of dying.

As an invocation, eight speaking voices read passages from the Vedanta, beginning with the command, Awake!, closing with the injunction, Look towards, reach towards, go towards Silence, followed by a brief mantra on the blessing Shanti.

Tavener wrote the work for the Medici Quartet and persuaded leader Paul Robertson to perform it. However, shortly after the manuscript was completed both men became critically ill and close to death themselves.

By August 2008 Robertson had recovered sufficiently to resuscitate the project, which had now taken on a profound significance for himself and for Tavener. The members of the Medici Quartet immediately agreed to reform and identified young professional string quartets with whom to perform and to act as musical mentors. They selected three outstanding British ensembles for the UK performances – the Court Lane, Finzi and Cavaleri Quartets – and rehearsals began. The music is based on mystical Hindu concepts. “I was inspired by reading [French philosopher] Rene

Gueron’s book Man and his becoming according to the Vedanta,” says Tavener. “He describes the four states: the waking state, the dream state, the condition of deep sleep, and that which is beyond. I decided very rashly early on to base the music on these four states – I couldn’t help myself doing so – and try to represent them. These are metaphysical inner states but they also can be described as stages of dying.”

Tavener’s vision was for all four quartets to be positioned high up in a cathedral dome, invisible to the audience, and arranged in the shape of a cross, bringing the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu religions together.

This sense of space has been captured in the recording, which is an SACD hybrid that can also be enjoyed on a surround sound setup.

“The musical scheme is one of progressive etiolation. The chiming of the bowl marks the passing of time, as the music – thrummed pizzicatos, winding melodies, quietly sustained chords – steadily withdraws into itself, contracting into string chords. Eventually they cease, and all that's left is the sound of the bowl, now a sustained sound rather than chimes, and gradually fading, too. For some in the audience it might have been a great spiritual experience, hard to separate from Tavener's own condition” The Guardian (concert review)