One of Tavener's most popular and frequently performed works is his short unaccompanied four-part choral setting of William Blake's The Lamb, written for his nephew, Simon, on his third birthday one afternoon in 1982. This simple, homophonic piece is usually performed as a Christmas carol. More important, however, were his explorations of Russian and Greek culture, as shown in "Akhmatova Requiem" and "Sixteen Haiku of Seferis". Later prominent works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church); The Protecting Veil (first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis and the London Symphony Orchestra at the 1989 Proms); and Song for Athene (1993, memorably performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997). Following Diana's death he also composed and dedicated to her memory the piece Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry by William Blake.
It has been reported, particularly in the British press, that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity to explore a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism and Islam, and became a follower of the mystic philosopher Frithjof Schuon. While he in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions, Tavener remained an Orthodox Christian though his brother, Roger, tended towards Sufi. In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work The Veil of the Temple, based on texts from a number of religions. It is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. The 2004 premier of his piece 'Prayer of the Heart' written for and performed by Björk, was featured on CD and incorporated as the soundtrack to Jake Lever's powerful installation 'Centre + Circumference' (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London).
While Tavener's early music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky, often invoking the sound world of the Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer, his recent music is more sparse, uses wide registral space and is usually diatonically tonal. Some commentators see a similarity with the works of Arvo Pärt, from their common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism and colouristic percussion effects, though the similarities between their outputs are quite superficial. Olivier Messiaen has also been suggested as a strong influence on his earlier work.
Tavener suffered from the hereditary Marfan Syndrome for much of his adult life, and died peacefully at his home in Dorset on 12 November 2013.
Funeral Canticle
John Tavener Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Which they utter as they go hence?
I am parted from my brethren.
All my friends do i abandon and go hence.
But whither i go, that understand i not,
Neither what shall become of me yonder;
Only God who hath summoned me knoweth.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
But whither now go the souls?
How dwell they now together there?
This mystery have i desired to learn; but none can impart aright.
Do they call to mind their own people, as we do them?
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
We go forth on the path eternal, and as condemned,
With downcast faces, present ourselves before the only God eternal.
Where then is comeliness? Where then is wealth?
Where then is the glory of this world?
There shall none of these things aid us, but only to say oft the psalm:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
If thou hast shown mercy unto man, o man,
That same mercy shall be shown thee there;
And if on an orphan thou hast shown compassion,
The same shall there deliver thee from want.
If in this life the naked thou hast clothed,
The same shall give thee shelter there, and sing the psalm:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Youth and the beauty of the body fade at the hour of death,
And the tongue then burneth fiercely, and the parched throat is inflamed.
The beauty of the eyes is quenched then, the comeliness of the face all altered,
The shapeliness of the neck destroyed; and the other parts have become numb,
Nor often say: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
With ecstasy are we inflamed if we but hear that there is light eternal yonder;
That there is Paradise, wherein every soul of Righteous Ones rejoiceth.
Let us all, also, enter into Christ, that we may cry aloud thus unto God:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Funeral Canticle by John Tavenner speaks to the passage of life into the great beyond, and the apprehensions and fears of the dying as captured in their own words. The dying express concern about leaving behind their friends and family, and have no understanding of where they are going, or what will happen to them. The mystery of what lies ahead is a great concern, and the dying wonder about the souls of those gone before them - How do they dwell together?
The song stresses that earthly positions and beauty are fleeting and irrelevant in the great beyond. In death, vulnerability strikes deep, and the beauty of youth fades as the body loses shape and the tongue becomes parched. At this point, the only thing that matters is mercy and compassion towards others. The lyrics reinforce helping out those in need during our lifetime, because what we give comes back to benefit us in the afterlife. The song ends with a spirit of hope and joy, as the mention of Paradise and eternal light are a pressing reminder to embrace Christ and praise God through it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Why these bitter words of the dying, o brethren,
The dying are saying harsh things, why?
which they utter as they go hence?
Why do they say these things while dying?
I am parted from my brethren.
I am leaving my family behind.
All my friends do i abandon and go hence.
I am leaving my friends as well.
But whither i go, that understand i not,
I don't know where I am going.
neither what shall become of me yonder;
Nor do I know what will happen to me there.
only God who hath summoned me knoweth.
God knows why He has called me.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise be to God!
But whither now go the souls?
Where do the souls go?
How dwell they now together there?
How do they live there?
This mystery have i desired to learn; but none can impart aright.
I want to know, but no one can explain it correctly.
Do they call to mind their own people, as we do them?
Do they remember their loved ones, like we remember them?
We go forth on the path eternal, and as condemned,
We are on the eternal path, like criminals.
with downcast faces, present ourselves before the only God eternal.
We humbly present ourselves to the eternal God.
Where then is comeliness? Where then is wealth?
What happened to our beauty and wealth?
Where then is the glory of this world?
What happened to the fame on this earth?
There shall none of these things aid us, but only to say oft the psalm:
None of these things will help us, only praising God.
If thou hast shown mercy unto man, o man,
If you were kind to others,
that same mercy shall be shown thee there;
You will receive the same mercy in the afterlife.
and if on an orphan thou hast shown compassion,
If you helped an orphan,
the same shall there deliver thee from want.
You will be helped in your need in the afterlife.
If in this life the naked thou hast clothed,
If you clothed someone who was naked,
the same shall give thee shelter there, and sing the psalm:
You will receive shelter and be praised by God.
Youth and the beauty of the body fade at the hour of death,
Youth and beauty disappear when we die.
and the tongue then burneth fiercely, and the parched throat is inflamed.
The tongue and throat become painful and dry.
The beauty of the eyes is quenched then, the comeliness of the face all altered,
The eyes and face lose their beauty and become disfigured.
the shapeliness of the neck destroyed; and the other parts have become numb,
The neck loses its shape, and the rest of the body becomes numb.
nor often say: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
They can no longer praise God.
With ecstasy are we inflamed if we but hear that there is light eternal yonder;
We are overjoyed to hear of the eternal light and paradise.
that there is Paradise, wherein every soul of Righteous Ones rejoiceth.
Those who lived righteously will rejoice in Paradise.
Let us all, also, enter into Christ, that we may cry aloud thus unto God:
Let us all follow Christ so we can praise God together.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise be to God!
Writer(s): JOHN TAVENER, MOTHER THEKLA
Contributed by Jackson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.