Sir John Taverner has composed a remarkable new work, which receives its first UK performance during a concert at Winchester Cathedral on 6 July 2009.
The performance forms part of the 2009 Art and Mind Festival - Dreams, Art and the Brain.
In Towards Silence, Sir John uses space and sound to explore the nature of consciousness and the tenuous yet vital creative connection that may be experienced near death.
Lasting approximately 35 minutes, this powerful new spiritual work was composed for the Medici String Quartet and written for four string quartets and a large Tibetan bowl.
The Medici String Quartet act as mentors and musical guides to other talented young professional ensembles.
This performance will also feature the Court Lane Quartet, Finzi Quartet and the Harpham Quartet.
In addition, the concert programme includes a performance of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
Since Towards Silence was originally discussed by Sir John and Paul Robertson (leader of the Medici), both men have been critically ill and close to death themselves.
The performances will, therefore, have a very particular significance for them both.
Sir John writes: Towards Silence was inspired by reading Rene Gueron’s book ‘Man and his becoming according to the Vedanta‘.
“From an exoteric sense, Towards Silence can be seen as a Meditation on the different states of dying but, from an esoteric sense, it is a meditation on the four states of Atma.”
He notes:
1] Vaishvanara; The Waking State, which has knowledge of external objects and which has nineteen mouths and the world of manifestation for its province.
2] Taijasa; The Dream State, which has knowledge of inward objects, which has nineteen mouths and whose domain is the world of subtle manifestation.
3] Prajna; The condition of Deep Sleep, When the individual who is asleep experiences no desire and is not the subject of any dreams, he has become Atma, and is filled with Beatitude.
4] Turiya; That which is beyond. The greatest state (Mahattara) is the fourth, totally free from any mode of existence whatever, with fullness of Peace and Beatitude without duality.
The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) contain four separate Concerts based on four sonnets.
Each of the four sonnets is expressed in a concerto, in turn divided into three phases or ideas, which are reflected in the three movements of each concerto: they bridge spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Click here to book for the concert.
Background material from Art and Mind at Winchester Cathedral.
