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9/17/2015 John Tavener Long Biography Music Sales Classical
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John TavenerBorn: 1944Died: 2013Nationality: BritishPublisher: Chester MusicPhoto © Simone Canetty-Clarke
John Tavener was born in 1944. His musical education took place in the midst ofModernist fervour, a movement of which he felt an instinctive and increasing mistrust.The first work that brought him to widespread attention, The Whale (1966), waspremiered in 1968 by the London Sinfonietta at their inaugural concert and releasedon The Beatles' Apple Records label.
Although many of his early works were inspired by the mystical aspects of RomanCatholicism, his interest in tradition had led Tavener to believe that the WesternChristian Church was a corrupted and corrupting force. Following his conversion toOrthodox Christianity in 1977, Tavener produced a slew of works heavily influencedby Orthodox liturgical texts, Russian and Greek writers and themes, and the Orthodoxtone systems. During this period, Tavener had largely cut himself off from thecontemporary music scene, withdrawing into himself and his faith in the hope ofachieving a clarity worthy of his preferred subjects.
Throughout his life Tavener has suffered periodically from extreme ill health, oneserious instance occurring in the 1970s, another in the early 1990s and another inthe mid2000s. In between he continued to write pieces strongly influenced byOrthodoxy and by literature. Though still an Orthodox Christian, the Universalistbelief that all organised religions are simply different interpretations of the sameunderlying forces has informed most of Tavener's work of this period and beyond.Emergency heart surgery in Switzerland, followed by many months in intensive caresubsequent to the completion of Towards Silence in 2007 halted his progress for atime, as well as causing him to withdraw somewhat from spiritual themes. Recently, he returned to his love of Tolstoy andMozart, and continued to be deeply influenced by Hindu metaphysical thought. Some of the resulting works are ThreeShakespeare Sonnets (2010), La Noche Oscura (2012), Three Hymns of George Herbert (2012), The Death of IvanIlyich (2012), and Krishnalila (The Play of Krishna) .
Tavener was recently preparing Flood of Beauty, a setting of the Soundarya Lahari, a Sanskrit poem concerning Tavener'sperennial theme of the Eternal Feminine; and Requiem Fragments, concerning another: suffering and existence. He was alsodeveloping music based on Scottish folk songs.
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