Sir John Tavener describes the Lament for Jerusalem as a mystical love song. The Lament brings together Christian, Judaic, and Islamic texts and is sung in Greek and English. The musical structure is that of a lattice whose proportions are carefully designed so that the listener is invited to focus on key points of the text which are themselves supported by transcendental melodic, harmonic, and textural devices. The simplicity of the work's form and it's logical progression through a series of seven linked, self-referential tableaux allow the Lament to grow in power and beauty during it's course. The American composer Steve Reich has described some of his own music as purveying 'a kind of dynamic stasis' and that aptly sums up the effect of Tavener's Lament for Jerusalem. The Lament is rooted in grim tradition, yet it looks longingly into the future to a time when beatific vision is restored, and, as in much of the very greatest art, form and content are inseparable.

Tracklist:

Stanza I
Cosmic Lament I
Stanza II
Cosmic Lament II
Stanza III
Cosmic Lament III
Stanza IV
Cosmic Lament IV
Stanza V
Cosmic Lament V
Stanza VI
Cosmic Lament VI
Stanza VII
Cosmic Lament VII

UPC: 747313282623
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 3.21.06
Format: CD

Jeremy Summerly - Lament for Jerusalem (CD)