Customer Reviews

John Tavener: Lament for Jerusalem

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like the description on the back of the album:
"it is both a cri de coeur at the loss of peace in a place where religions once co-existed in harmony, and an affirmation of the power of love to bring together all 'who seek God, from whatever tradition they come'". Thus, Tavener's work remains more spiritual/mystical than "religious".

It is a beautiful album. The transcendent highs at the end of every Lament are somewhat reminiscent of Tavener's Funeral Canticle. Darkness into Light will always be my favorite Tavener album. However, I'm sure this one will take its place near the top.

"Lament for Jerusalem" is the first CD that I ever bought from Tavener. And it certainly won't be the last (I'm now looking forward to "Ikon of Eros," "The Protecting Veil," etc.). I started to fall in love with this piece the moment the choir sang the first few words on the first track. "Lament For Jerusalem" consists of seven cycles; all of them contain a 'stanza' and a 'cosmic lament'. The basic structure to each cycle is repetitive: the basic orchestration is the same. But once we get through the first few cycles, then we get a stronger and more concrete emotion for the English/Greek text. The last cycle brings about one of the most powerful piece of music I've ever heard. It ranks with Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms" and Brahms's "German Requiem" as powerful choral music. I can't wait to hear some more of Tavener's work.

A month ago I attended a breathtaking performance of Tavener's "Lament for Jerusalem" by Cathedra, the professional choir of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. I bought this CD by the Choir of London hoping to recreate that experience at home. I needn't have worried - The choir handles Tavener's close harmonies and emotional intensity beautifully. I'd love to sing this piece but I suspect that few choirs anywhere are up to its musical challenges. I've been lucky enough to listen to two that can.

I've been a lukewarm Tavener fan, lumping his music with that of Pärt and others I perceive as background music: lovely but cloying. That's personal opinion and of course unfair. "Lament for Jerusalem" has guts and passion in addition to its technical difficulty, and I'm going to give my other Tavener CD's another listen.

This is a very handsome piece of choral music. The format and style may strike some as somewhat undifferentiated but I think this work repays careful listening and the music has considerable power. The choral singing is excellent and the soloists are first rate.

Jerusalem means City of Peace. The reality is that the city and Judea/Israel/Palestine rarely have known peace, the result of being at the crossroads of three continents and a host of empire-builders and being the centers of three conflicting religions. The chorus echoes over and over, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!" And the soprano at one point sings, "Blessed shall he be who shall seize and clash thine infants against the rock." What? Against history and these lyrics Tavener's Lament is a deep meditation. Its harmonies and repetitions, the soaring angelic voice of Angharad Gruffydd Jones and the elevated yet earthly voice of countertenor Peter Crawford bring forth a spirituality where Jerusalem becomes not a place but a state of mind. The work slowly and subtly builds in intensity, and closes quietly in the last minute with a trio in the chorus as if a fading echo. Most of Tavener's compositions do not work for me, but the few that do are powerful and effective. His religious music does not follow the Western example of majesty and awe but rather an Eastern approach of delicacy, spaciousness, mantric repetition, and paradox. This album, at a budget price, is a fine example of Tavener's musical style.

I didn`t like this. I was waiting for some peaceful music, but this wasn`t it.