Search - Tavener: Fall and Resurrection on DVD

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 07/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"TANTALIZING TAVENER!!!!!



"This could be called Tavener's Creation, an oratorio-like account of the Biblical tale beginning with the representation of primordial Chaos. Tavener takes the story much further than Haydn....But like Haydn's, this is a warmly mature work, epitomizing it's composer's style and personality...Tavener's richly exotic textures are beautifully evoked by Hickox". GRAMOPHONE (Hickox passed away a week ago and will be greatly missed by the musical world).



'Fall and Resurrection' tries to encompass, in brief glimpses, the events which have taken place since the beginning of time, and before time. Therefore, if the listener does not approach this from a viewpoint that this is 'program music' in the truest sense of the word, much like the tone poems of Richard Strauss, then there can not be any understanding OR enjoyment from this music!



It would be most helpful if the listener experienced the CD before the DVD, because I found that one has to focus completely on the music, itself, without the distraction of looking at the instruments, the conductor, the soloist and the captions. However, after listening to the CD (maybe a couple of times), the DVD is very enjoyable because it shows you where all those very interesting sounds are coming from.



This DVD is excellent: good clear picture and sound and great shots of the soloists and conductor and choirs. The sounds that John Tavener makes with the varied tone qualities of the instruments AND the voices!!!Marvelous and creative writing!!! The voice of Michael Chance as he sails up and down on quarter-tones is perfection.



Don't buy this if you can't enjoy something this 'far-out' , but I have found that Tavener's music is an acquired taste, and I don't want to spend the rest of my listening years hearing only one kind of music!!!"