Requiem : Date of recording 28th February 2008, LIVE RECORDING, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Commissioned by Liverpool Culture Company as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture Programme.
Mahashakti & Eternal Memory : Date of recording 15th April 2008 RECORDED IN SESSION, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
EMI Classics recorded John Tavener’s Requiem live at its world premiere performance in Liverpool’s atmospheric Metropolitan Cathedral on 28th February 2008. The Requiem was commissioned by The Liverpool Culture Company Ltd. as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture programme for performance by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under their principal conductor Vasily Petrenko. The solo soprano, tenor and cello parts were performed by Elin Manahan Thomas, Andrew Kennedy and Josephine Knight respectively. Requiem is complemented by studio recordings of two additional compositions by John Tavener: Eternal Memory (1991) and Mahashakti (2003).
Stephen Johns, Vice President A&R, EMI Classics said, “The live performance of Tavener's Requiem in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool was a truly unique occasion, and to experience the extraordinary resonances in that space portraying the composer's unifying desire behind the work was particularly memorable. We are very pleased to have been able to capture this great work, and also to set it alongside two beautiful pieces for the talented solo string players, Ruth Palmer and Josephine Knight, all supported by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and their dynamic young conductor, Vasily Petrenko.”
John Tavener, who converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977 because of his growing conviction that Eastern traditions retained a primordial essence that the west had lost, has in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions. “Today, all the traditions war with each other,” he explains in the booklet notes. “It is therefore essential for the sacred artist concerned with ‘perennial’ truth to ‘unite’ [the various traditions] in his work. […] The truest meaning of this ‘Requiem’ is continued in the following words: ‘Our glory lies where we cease to exist. That is, where one’s ‘false-self’ is extinguished and the true ‘SELF’ shines forth. Then we have, in a way, become GOD’ […] The final movement of ‘Requiem’ is a musical expression of this, as the whole piece is a journey towards it.”
The composer specified that Requiem should be performed in a cruciform space, with the cello in the centre, choir and brass in the ‘East End’ and strings, solo treble and tenor in the ‘West End’. The percussion instruments are placed in the far North and South. The audience should sit ‘inside’ these forces. In the words of The Guardian, “At [the Cathedral’s] centre, literally and symbolically, is a solo cellist, who represents the ’primordial white light’ of God, and whose utterances, by turns lyrical and aggressive, propel the other performers into action. …The opening Requiem Aeternam leads into a meditation on Sufi poetry, while the violent Dies Irae is linked to Kali's cosmic dance of destruction and creation. The work closes with an arching paean that unites texts in Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek and Arabic in a vast flood of sound.”
The soloists in Requiem are all up-and-coming young British musicians. Elin Manahan Thomas is a Welsh soprano whose distinctive clear-toned voice was honed in early-music groups like the Monteverdi Choir and The Sixteen. Tenor Andrew Kennedy is a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award winner and a former member of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme. He also earned the 2006 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artists' Award. Josephine Knight, soloist in Requiem and Eternal Memory, is a leading British cellist with a busy concert career as a soloist and chamber musician. She made her BBC Proms concerto debut in 2005 and has performed with leading orchestras throughout the world.
The soloist in Mahashakti is British violinist Ruth Palmer, who is fast developing an international reputation for her intense physical performances, deeply sonorous sound and championing of new music. She won the Young British Classical Performer award at the 2007 Classical BRITs.
John Tavener (b 1944) first came to public attention in 1968 when his oratorio The Whale was premiered at the inaugural concert of the London Sinfonietta. His avant-garde style in the 70s evolved into the language of contemplative beauty with which he is most closely associated today. Among his best known works are The Protecting Veil, premiered at The Proms in 1989, Song for Athene, performed at the close of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 and a choral setting of William Blake’s The Lamb. Tavener’s discography on EMI Classics includes instrumental and choral works, among them The Protecting Veil, The Last Sleep of the Virgin, Thrinos, The Lamb, Funeral Ikos, Two Hymns to the Mother of God, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis, God is with us, Song for Athene and The Hidden Treasure.
“The crowd that filled every seat of this great concrete wigwam stood and cheered at the end of this performance … I'm not surprised. The news that the 63-year-old composer … was in intensive care after emergency heart surgery obviously invested this concert with tremendous poignancy. But the Requiem, superbly delivered by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under Vasily Petrenko's direction, deserves a standing ovation in its own right. … I found it overwhelmingly touching. ” The Times
“The main piece here is the premiere of Tavener's Requiem. The last movement is extraordinary: an undulating choral figure is set amidst swells of sound from the orchestra and soloists as the piece builds to a dense climax bringing together Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek and Arabic texts, with Elin Manahan Thomas's pellucid soprano above.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 ****
“It interweaves the Latin Mass with Islamic and Hindu texts in an ingeniously symmetrical design. There are wonderful moments, like the interlude for solo cello (played by Josephine Knight) and the RLPO’s brass section.” Daily Telegraph, 10th June 2009 ***
“Written for Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral, and using the building's spatial possibilities, it has characteristic moments of heavenly ecstasy. Yet the work also shows new fervour and robustness which will surprise those who assume Tavener is stuck in a holy-minimalist rut. The Dies Irae roars ferociously, while the final "Ananda" floats away into the ether. The short, contemplative "Eternal Memory" and "Mahashakti" make fitting companion pieces. Beautifully performed by all.” The Observer, 31st May 2009
“John Tavener’s Requiem makes a benignly atmospheric impression as solo cello, voices and orchestra muse, dispute and finally reach spiritual unity. Elin Manahan Thomas’s pure soprano, meanwhile, is splendidly displayed. A good Tavener programme, and a fine advert for Petrenko and the Liverpool Philharmonic.” The Times, 2nd May 2009 ****
