Tavener: Lamentations & Praises

Description

The composer calls this work "a liturgical drama," but there is nothing dramatic about it; it is more aptly described by the title of its three main sections, "Stasis." Set to texts from the Greek and Russian Orthodox Easter service sung in English interspersed with ancient Greek words, it is scored for male voices and an odd combination of strings, winds, and extra-large percussion instruments including a Byzantine monastery bell, a Tibetan temple bowl, a tam-tam, and a simantron (a wooden board struck with a hammer). The music, in Tavener's characteristic medieval, monastic, Byzantine style, is devout, contemplative, very slow, with endlessly sustained notes and chords, and based on structurally determined repetition. Anchored by bass or descant drones, the chorus moves in parallel chordal progressions, alternating with ornate, melismatic solos, and punctuated by regularly repeated crashes from the bell and bowl. Variety is created through changes of key, vocal and instrumental texture, and motivic material. Several sections culminate in climactic buildups of volume and intensity. Some of the music is very beautiful, but its repetitiousness and basically unchanging character make a sense of monotony unavoidable. Perhaps only listeners who share Tavener's own deep spirituality can fully enter into his musical world. The performance by Chanticleer is wonderful. The voices float with a transparent, pure, otherworldly sound--it seems unbelievable that the altos and sopranos, who go up to high F's and G's, are really male singers--and the instruments match them perfectly in tone and style. --Edith Eisler