Talk:John Tavener

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Contents 1 Tudor? 2 Orthodox church 3 British or English? 4 Work list

[edit] Tudor?

Am I right in thinking JT is a direct descendant of the Tudor JT? If so the article should say so. Ben Finn 20:43, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

The only times I've ever heard it discussed, it was stated that the 2 are not related. --Centauri 22:34, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Orthodox church

A friend told me that it is not true that John Tavener has left the Orthodox church. Are you sure he has? What is the source? --12.75.232.116 20:26, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I have the same question. As far as I know he is still Orthodox, and I couldn't find anything useful by Googling. The most recent New Grove article says nothing about him leaving the church. Could someone please provide a source for this statement? Antandrus (talk) 22:18, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I found a few articles and websites that comment on the matter.

• Tavener's comment on his 2003 Ikon of Eros suggests a positive attitude toward Islam: "Islam says God is beautiful and he loves beauty…and the only reason to write music at all is to reach that beauty…which is unreachable by the way."
• His Lament for Jerusalem combines Jewish, Christian, and Islamic texts, suggesting his attitude has been not so much a "break" as an "opening."
• 2004 article on rift with Orthodox spiritual adviser, here or here. Quotes from Tavener:
  • "I love the Koran and I wanted to write something that was an affirmation of Islam rather than these terrible negations that one sees everywhere."
  • "I like going to church less and less. It strikes me now that all religions are as senile as one another. But I do pray within my heart all the time."
• 2005 project using Islamic material
• Account of a June 2006 performance of The Veil of the Temple

I'm a newcomer to Tavener's music, so am hesitant to weigh in on this issue (yet). But I'll close with this link to Tavener's program note to The Hidden Face, which perhaps says as much as all the links above about his stance toward Orthodoxy, Islam, and God. -- Rob C (Alarob) 04:06, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] British or English?

The introductory paragraph has been amended to state that John Tavener is a "British composer", not an "English composer". I'm just curious as to what was wrong with "English composer". The editor said that this was "as per Michael Nyman", but I don't understand what is meant by this. Cheers, Jacklee 02:41, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Having thought about the matter, I agree that it's better to indicate that Tavener is a "British" rather than an "English" composer, since he has British nationality. Cheers, Jacklee 16:27, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Work list

Any chance of a more comprehensive list of works? Chubbles 01:31, 6 August 2007 (UTC) Go to www.chesternovello.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.117.23.221 (talk) 15:38, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

I have a bio that I could source a list to. The article is surprisingly lacking, in general. Ceoil 01:34, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

I just ran across this Columbia Encyclopedia article [1] whilst looking for something else. Perhaps it would be of interest to this article. I noticed, for instance that it mentions several major works that the article has not included. Hope this helps! Godofbiscuits (talk) 14:17, 28 February 2008 (UTC)