John Tavener - Funeral Canticle (The Tree of Life) FULL VERSION
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- John Tavener - Funeral Canticle
This is the first song played in the movie The Tree of Life, it isn't on the official OST so I decided to track down a FLAC version (trust me, that wasn't easy) and put it online.
So here it is in all its glory, for you to enjoy.
This is the full (23:55) version.
Kudos to Epsil for helping out *big time*!
- Tiax
Until I listened to this piece, I was unaware that music could make a grown man weep.
I'm totally with you! Although a woman, I wept openly at a concert featuring this piece!
Yeah that’s what it has been designed for to do.
The first time I heard this song, was when my friend showed me the the tree of life video with this song. I started sobbing, and when the video was done, my friend asked why I was crying, and I told her that I wasn't sure why. I tried putting into words what I was feeling. Wendell Berry has a poem called "The Peace Of The Wild Things", he says that when he's frustrated or nervous about the world or his children's future, he goes out by the water, in nature. The beauty draws him from his fears and into the present moment; and he rests in the peace of the wild things. This song, gives me that same peace, only it's reached a very far chasm of despair I have had over death. Though I'm uncertain about many things, the rhetoric of this song, Malick's film, and the peace of the wild things have given me a deep hope. I have heard this song many times now, and every time I start crying.
The Lives Of The Wild Ones What you said is so beautiful. I know and love that Wendell Berry poem. There's a Robert Frost poem, Acceptance, that has a similar effect on me. Both times that I saw The Tree of Life, I cried through so many scenes. In the movie, and in this music by Tavener, I find comfort, hope, and some peace in this sometimes difficult world. I think you will enjoy the Frost poem if you ever read it. It's posted here on You Tube to read/listen to, if you search Robert Frost Acceptance. Violet :)
Wow, thank you for sharing! I love the poem!
The Lives Of The Wild Ones That makes me happy. Thanks for letting me know :)
Of cours! :)
The Lives Of The Wild Ones I also cried and still cry when hearing this sing. Despite the obvious title it doesn't feel sad to me. It's rather a solemn tranquility. Knowing that we humans are capable of creating and feeling such pure beauty makes me believe in the good in people and that we may some day overcome the carelessness and hate.
I like to think this is what you hear when angels come to carry you to heaven when you die...... Amazing...
You're optimistic
Simply beautiful and uplifting even for a non-believer.
Delta Fox But that's exactly what this song is about. It's about the mystery of death, and hope. It does matter.
Delta Fox John Tavener is Orthodox. And this song is a religious song written for his father's funeral. That entails the song being about death and hope. It is a religious belief.
Don't send me a wikepedia page to haphazardly scroll through. I've already read it on my own anyways. I'm talking about what John Tavener believes. I'm talking about theology. You cannot separate what one believes from their music. This song cannot be separated from Orthodox faith because that's what it is.
Trying to take the religion out of what is religious is very belittling. It's nice that you can enjoy it anyways though.
Delta Fox I think you're missing the point to what I'm saying. This song is a belief. It's not separate. You might interpret it a different way. But that does not change what the song was meant to be by John Tavener.
Delta Fox I don't really understand what you're arguing here. Which leads me to believe that you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm going to give an example to make things clear.
There are many beautiful religious buildings, but let's take the Dome of the Pisa for example, simply because I like their paintings. It is undeniably a beautiful building whether you are Christian or not. But understanding the religious context that went into making that building allows you to appreciate it that much more, even if you are not religious. The architecture of the Dome of the Pisa is meant to create a sacred space. For example: The dome stretches infinitely towards the heavens imitating the mystery and infinity of God. But imagine how much more beautiful and meaningful all of this literal architecture and figurative symbolism means if you actually believe in what it is figuratively and literally saying? It is infinitely more beautiful.
It is the same with this song. It is good that you appreciate it, and that it strikes a chord in your heart. But if you actually believe in what the song is playing, about death and hope, it is infinitely more beautiful. Every time I hear this song, I cry, sometimes sob, because it gives me hope about life and death. It can't do that for you because you don't believe in what it is saying.
Delta Fox You can feel what he's feeling, but you are not given hope about death, simply because you do not believe that there's anything to hope for afterwards. Perhaps you feel it for the duration of the song, but it does not give you a hope that lasts because you do not believe in it. That is the difference.
This song points to God, to hope, and to redemption. But for you, it does not do so in a life changing way because you do not actually believe in what the song is saying. It is only a feeling. But to me, it is a feeling and very much real. And those are two very significant differences.
John, you slipped right through my fingers, yet God holds your soul. And say, what would Heaven's orchestra be without you?
In each person, differently, the Father calls. To some it is a clear a joy or a pain, to some it is the sea, to others it is the grief behind this melody, and frankly, these people are blessed by the ease of clear calling. But I think to most of us, it is some whisper, a murmur...from some corner of our lives, a gentle beckon, sometimes almost imperceptible....a void, a lacking...it gnaws quietly at us no matter how much we pursue the surface...the lack persists...and through this, He beckons.
RIP John Tavener... - Another true loss for humanity
I guess Lucifer isn't all bad after all.
I have listened to this over and over and over again since Tree of Life's showing with a live orchestra. One of the aspects of it that haunts me is that it has the rhythm, the cadence of the soft breath - in and out - of someone lying next to you, sleeping in graceful peace untouched in a world of serenity.
Or agony... Someone or something lying next to me, dead in the raw sense of the word. POV...
One of the most beautiful choral pieces that I've heard in my life.
John Tavener was a real genius composer!
"How did you come to me? Under what disguise?"
That line always destroys me in the tree of life movie. Fills me with gratitude
What suggest you this line? Could you explain your thoughts, please? 🤗
@@LaureanoFarina In the movie, a child dies. When I hear his mother say that line, I always wonder if she's talking about God's grace and how she doesn't know how it reached her. I get the overwhelming feeling that God's grace is all around me, but I can't see it fully. His grace is disguised as something else to the eyes of an ignorant and fearful man like me. So I wonder how it was able to show itself to me again. And was it there the whole time? I end up feeling sad but grateful.
Why do people "thumb down" masterpieces such as this? Music like this is cathartic and essential for relaxation and healing. I'd have to be a Satanist to dislike this, but even then, I believe anyone could appreciate the beauty in this composition. Tavener was brilliant in that manner. This piece is nearly a facsimile of the praises that angels sang to God. Thank you Tivizzz for posting this.
Bye dad! Rest in peace
This is why the internet is great. This piece right here. Without the internet I would never have heard this absolutely awesome (and by "awesome" i truly mean the feeling of being in awe) and fantastic piece of music. It is so perfectly emotional. It strikes a nerve and seeps into my soul whether I want it to or not. It sorrounds me and renders me incapable of even imagining anything more beautiful other than the vastness of life and existence in this universe of everything.
S totally it just grabs you and sends shivers down your spine. Masterpiece
May your memory be eternal, dear brother, worthy of blessedness and everlasting memory.
I grew up singing in the children's choir of a Catholic church. Although I had a great childhood in that Church, as I grew into adult, bit by bit the dogma of Catholicism has fallen away from me, so that by most definitions, I am not Catholic anymore.
Yet, I must say I believe in a god or, at least, the universe; things which are greater than us. Hearing music like this seems to bring me closer to that greatness. I can't say I am a religious person, but music makes me a spiritual one.
God is waiting your return to the Church as father is waiting his child. God bless
I cant believe it RIP John Tavener a brilliant and awesome composer! Funeral Canticle the soundtrack of Tree of life will stay with me for ever! =(
i just find out about Sir. John Tavener...RIP
It does not matter that U belong to which religion(I am Muslim), this music is purely amazing, like a white blood in our souls...
Like white blood in our souls... I wish more people waxed lyrical in such poetic terms.
Memory Eternal to you Sir John! Thank You for being a conduit through which we could hear the music of heaven... One day, you and Terence Malick will converse about this piece of sublime music.
No need of churchy words to make this any sweeter. It resonates with spiritual splendor. Tavener's work is so underappreciated.
10 years later I could not agree more with you Dave
Without Jesus Christ and his Church there is no Peace and Salvation.Its sąd that you font understand this.Gregorian Chat was made to glorify GOD.
Without Jesus Christ and his Church there is no Peace and Salvation.Its sąd that you font understand this.Gregorian Chat was made to glorify GOD.
Without Jesus Christ and his Church there is no Peace and Salvation.Its sąd that you font understand this.Gregorian Chat was made to glorify GOD.
Without Jesus Christ and his Church there is no Peace and Salvation.Its sąd that you font understand this.Gregorian Chat was made to glorify GOD.
I think this may truly be my favorite song of all time. Whenever I listen to it, I feel closer to God, every time. I could be having a bad day, or even a good day, and when I turn this on, it just brings me to another place I very rarely ever feel in. At 2:22 it gives me chills everytime, and gives me such a calming peace, and an appreciation for life and how lucky I still am to be alive. Thank you for this Mr. Tavener.
me too!!!
Dankeschön
Everything you said, Amen. I feel it too, it's Ethereal.
Have you ever thought what if there is no another place beyond the death ? I recently think about it a lot and there is no soild evidence of another holy place. I really want to believe but need more scientific evidence. Cant believe %100 holy books.
@@yagzz6295 I don’t at all. I believe in god more than any of the faiths. I think most people share this deep down. There will never be another god for humans. And they nailed it (no pun intended) with Christ as close as they could have. I also love that he have no third option when Alive. I am god, or I am crazy. That’s it. As cs Lewis said. I have dug very deeply into all of this. The beauty of churches, to see people have faith holding their hand as they walk into death in confidence, the parents who wheel their poor child that has no idea where he is and never will for his entire life around a store, to give people confidence to say no to that first drink. I’ve been on both sides. I was always a deist more than the so called atheists. In a bout of extreme pain I threw my coin back in with Christ. I’ll go to the grave with him.
Tavener was deeply influenced by the spiritual depth of the Orthodox Church as this piece of music evidently shows - it starts and ends with the Byzantine hymn "Αιωνία η μνήμη", i.e. "Memory eternal" in Greek.
goosebumps, nostalgia, youth sentiment and everything in between.
"For John Tavener, mortality is a knot in a string whose ends extend forever in both directions, and while virtually all of his works have an air of prayerfulness to them, in memoriam works such as the Funeral Canticle afford the opportunity for deep musical and poetic rumination on the duration of life and the infinity of existence. The Funeral Canticle is one of two works inspired by the passing of the composer's father." FC appears in Eternity's Sunrise (1999).
His works have unmistakable quality don't they?
Holding my baby in my arms, feeling the love, hard not to cry...
Every time i listen to this, i feel like there is still goodness in the world.
I agree with you! If we look in the right places there is an abundance of love, joy and goodness.
If a more beautiful piece of music has ever been composed, I have not heard it.
There are no words to describe how beautiful this is. RIP Sir John.
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We are born as naked infants,
Then baptized into Christ our God.
Rocks and shoals of life beset us,
Washed in waters of our Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros:]
｢What earthy sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?
What glory standeth immutable on earth?
All things are but shadows most feeble,
But most deluding dreams.
Yet one moment only,
And death shall supplant then all.
But in the light of thy countenance,
Oh Christ, and in the sweetness of thy beauty,
Give rest to him whom thou hast chosen,
Because thou lovest mankind.｣
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We must run the course that tempts us.
With the idols of the world,
Yet we have our Lord and Master,
And His Mother for our shield.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros]
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Grant, Oh Lord, in love unceasing,
Rest to him now lying here.
Grant him rest among the faithful,
In the life beyond compare.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία αὐτοῦ ἡ μνήμη
So rare for a composer to invoke true feeling and movement in the heart.
i've never heard something as beautiful as this piece of music
Rest in Peace Sir John.
Truly. I'm glad his music will live on, however.
So, so very beautiful. Tavener being gone is such a tragedy because his was some of the most stunning work ever created.
I used to live one block from the house in that film in Smithville, Texas.
Only one possible response remained when I learned that Robin Williams was dead: to go and listen to John Tavener.
In high school I had to go to cathedral services several times a week due to my school's policies, and while I was never interested in religion in the slightest, I was always excited for the quire to sing. This sort of music made and still makes me feel peacefull and calm. Very beautiful.
Bluebird - some ppl believe that feeling you describe is religion or God inside you
+Early G that the feeling of "being "peaceful and calm" is exactly that; its religion or "spiritually", if you like - maybe there is a way to identify with that feeling without calling it religion or whatever other word you find objectionable
Blue Bird b
Once we believe that the power this music exercises is merely a 'feeling' and may be duplicated by other means, the music loses all power and become merely another sensation, not a guide to something real and independent of we ourselves.
Blue Bird -- I would be excited if the "quire" started to sing, too. If a sheaf of papers burst into song, that would be something to behold, wouldn't it? But, if your school had spent more time on English lessons, and less on cathedral visits, perhaps you would have learnt how to spell "choir".
I looked online for the text. My heart hurts over these words:
lyricstranslate.com/en/john-tavener-funeral-canticle-lyrics.html#ixzz47YL01oOQ
(Solo singer)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
(bass and treble duet)
We are born as naked infants,
Then baptized into Christ our God.
Rocks and shoals of life beset us,
Washed in waters of our Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
(SATB choir and strings)
[Kliros:]
｢What earthy sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?
What glory standeth immutable on earth?
All things are but shadows most feeble,
But most deluding dreams.
Yet one moment only,
And death shall supplant then all.
But in the light of thy countenance,
Oh Christ, and in the sweetness of thy beauty,
Give rest to him whom thou hast chosen,
Because thou lovest mankind.｣
(Soloist)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
(duet)
We must run the course that tempts us,
With the idols of the world,
Yet we have our Lord and Master,
And His Mother for our shield.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
(SATB/Strings)
[Kliros]
(Soloist)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
(Duet)
Grant, Oh Lord, in love unceasing,
Rest to him now lying here.
Grant him rest among the faithful,
In the life beyond compare.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
(SATB/Stringe)
[Kliros]
(Soloist)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία αὐτοῦ ἡ μνήμη
You will hear the Crusaders footsteps march over the hills Saracen. Repent, for cometh the day of thy judgement.
Duke Dean, I'm not about to get into a theological debate with you because, I presume, you practice Islam...? If so, we will agree on very few premises to enter into meaningful discourse.
What confuses me about your post, however, is that you accord Jesus and Mary the power to deny "you people" on the last day, which connotes some sort of authority over our souls. Is that not reserved for God the Father/Allah alone in your understanding of Islam? Your insinuation runs contrary to your citations of the Quran, which state how Jesus and Mary can't have that kind of authority.
While I appreciate your thoughtful documentation, I do not accept the theological truths the Quran claims with regard to rejecting the divinity of Christ and of the Trinity.
Good day to you, and peace be with you.
Yes, the lack of facility in English may have been the reason for the confusion. In any case, my faith informs me you are in error, just as yours informs you that I am in error. Regardless of our differences in religious faith, Christ has taught me to think of you as brothers/sisters, so I will pray for you.
As someone knowledgeable in and practicing Islam, I would hope that you pray for me: not for my death or eternal damnation, but for wisdom and grace, as I will do for you.
I am moving on from this discussion. I will no longer respond and do not wish any further to read about how I am a murderer or how eternal flame will be my resting place when you do not know my heart.
Peace be with you and yours.
tharkun21280 You are leaving the conversation because you know you are going to be defeated in debate?
Muslims do the same same in Yemen ... Eritrea, Kenya, Nigeria, Lybia, Egypt, Soudan, Philippines, so tit for tat!
My opinion to express the universe and mystery of all life.
There is no word to describe it.
It will always be a mystery, that's what the word may be the MYSTERY...
It's stunning how this makes you think of think of all the complexities of life and yet makes you contemplate the most simplest and purest of things too.
Sometimes I need a rest from listening to music , even magnificent pieces can lose their brilliance - and then you discover something like this and all the beauty is restored!
So THAAAATS why the movie is so highly rated
So profound and spiritual. Somehow healing
Music touches that which lies beyond the reach of words. The eternal radiance of light divine...
Ethereal
This song could be 23 hours long. Try listening to this when you are felling asleep.
+S|D it's not a song :-)
? I'm sorry. I did not understood. There's is singing, so... or not?
+S|D I did that. I had a nightmare which I never have. Thank you.
+S|D I'd say it's more a canticle. 😉
I went to sleep to this many times and 80% of the time I had a nightmare. nothing that I couldn't handle but man the dreams were dark. I never felt alone in those dreams but they were just so dark. idk how to explain it. not depressing. just dark. a type of darkness that I wouldn't experience in my life. very quiet and gray.
Just discover this by watching the Tree of Life movie , yesterday - This is incredible music that touches one's soul.....
"Guide us...into the light..."
Rest in peace. Thank you for your divine music.
Vale, John Tavener. You composed some of the most affecting and thoughtful music I have ever heard. This piece remains a favourite.
I bought the recording "Eternity's Sunrise" in college, which included this recording as well on the album. I can't begin to say how influential it was. Tavener's connection to the Orthodox Church supplied him with deep and rich inspiration.
I'm obsessed with this song. Tried to find a composition of this qualities and still can not find it. Heard it every night before going to sleep.
This has to be one of my favorite songs of all time. First heard it in The Tree of Life and will stay with me forever.
Its just a gorgeous piece. It just hits the soul.
J'aimerai me rassembler avec tous mes semblables devant ce chant et pleurer avec eux. Ensuite viendra la paix, j'en suis sûre.
+Ethinsel j'en suis sure aussi... on dirait des anges
+Ethinsel je suis avec toi
Some of the comments here give me faith in music as a profession, speaking as a musician myself. I sometimes think it can only intoxicate the senses and not point beyond them, but maybe I'm wrong
I feel like "The Tree of Life" transcribes, in all possible aspects, my life and my worldview in such natural way that makes me cry during the whole movie.
Everything is recapituled by this beautiful music and the situations in the film we can hear it.
How can anybody click on the dislike button? This is BEAUTIFUL! This is truth, naked and whole..
Maybe these people missinterpret the sorrow of their own soul...
This acapela sounds just like angels singing on sky whit a beautiful echo...sometimes I remember my chilhood listening to this...God bless your soul Sir John Tavener
Wonderful music and so apt as John Taverner died today. R.I.P.
thank you for finding and uploading. XXX
John Tavener is risen !
So pure and comforting
Here is the lyrics -
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη (means Memory Eternal)
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We are born as naked infants,
Then baptized into Christ our God.
Rocks and shoals of life beset us,
Washed in waters of our Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros:]
｢What earthy sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?
What glory standeth immutable on earth?
All things are but shadows most feeble,
But most deluding dreams.
Yet one moment only,
And death shall supplant then all.
But in the light of thy countenance,
Oh Christ, and in the sweetness of thy beauty,
Give rest to him whom thou hast chosen,
Because thou lovest mankind.｣
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We must run the course that tempts us,
With the idols of the world,
Yet we have our Lord and Master,
And His Mother for our shield.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros]
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Grant, Oh Lord, in love unceasing,
Rest to him now lying here.
Grant him rest among the faithful,
In the life beyond compare.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros]
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία αὐτοῦ ἡ μνήμη
rose tainted sky - It’s an SATB choir (not sure if they split at all) and a string orchestra.
christian inspired art is quite simply the best and it's not a coincidence as to why. The beauty of the narrative and the message translates into the art through the inspired artist. You can hear theology in the music. You can see it in the sculptures, the paintings, the architecture.
+BaldPetros Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion man.
+Dylan Roberts "Yeah, well, that's just like your opinion man."
It's my opinion too.
But if opinion determines truth Dylan, how many opinions does it take? 50.001% ??
+Dylan Roberts - it is his opinion - you ok with that?
+Dylan Roberts mr.lebowski?? That you?
Arvo Part, another great contemporary example.
How can the choir sing this without sobbing and losing control of their voice? I can't speak listening to this. Desperately beautiful and stark. Pärt should have written his lament. Only he could match Tavener's skill.
Right? As much as I would love to sing like this, I don't think I ever could without being overcome with emotion.
I'm so sad when I'm listening this gift from heaven. I don't know why but I love this sadness, that's makes me such calm, such good, I'm between God and myself. I feel angel's songs, I'm as their. I just want to be in paradise, in accordance with this extraordinary and sublime marvel that are this singing and most of the religious' singings. They raise the soul and make it closer to God and to the perfection. Miles times thank you. In SAECULA SAECULORUM, AMEN.
I've just found this from watching the film 'The Light between Oceans'. what a beautiful piece of music. it's life nothing I've ever heard in my life'. Utterly gorgous.
Blessed is the mind that first encompassed such music.
I love how this movie, despite its clear and blatant assertion that we have evolved, still leaves our modern status as an unknown resting, neither fully developed or primitive. The only thing i believe in is the power of love. If you trust it, and if you build a life around it, you grow, and evolve. How much is obviously limited to a lifetime.. but every drop of water creates a ripple, even in the largest bodies of water. I love this piece and film, it evokes such strong emotions.. truly blessed
I imagine all the saints in Heaven singing this with perfect harmony as they glorify God and pray for the holy souls in Purgatory
RIP Sir.
This is the creation of someone(john)R.I.P who was gazed upon like a lighthouse beam passing through this galaxy's solar system, touched by a greater force than can ever be imagined.The bond of true love earth and the heavens this creation of JOHN TAVENER beautiful!
There's a lot of beauty that can be found in religion, and a lot of life lessons that can be learned from it even if you don't believe in it.
Tavener deserves to have his beliefs respected for giving the world something this incredible.
Boy, you ain't lyin! Where was this miracle 50 years ago? Hell, I'd'a been smarter than God by now if it'd been around when I was very young. Most of what I've learned, read, heard, experienced has been since the 'net hit. It's such a quantum leap in education, etc. I think people just don't know! It's the Library of Congress at your fingertips, the oracle with the answer to your every question, every song and video that you'll ever want! It made me a connoisseur of fine music for sure!!!
Truly magical touching song
All the words in the world would would fail in an instant trying to describe this piece of art.
It, for me, has strains of those Armenian Christian chants. Hauntingly beautiful.
I feel the tiring dross and frantic pace of life in the 21st century washed over by something beyond time and steadfast. Something deep deep within me resonates
I am not religious and I have little love for Christianity or Catholicism coming from a Catholic school background. I do have my own perspective on spirtuality, eternity, and the soul.
Something in Taveners music transcends all that for me. It's so beautiful, intricate, and sincere that not only can I empathise with it, I can respect his perspective and beliefs. This music makes me feel healed.
Another day In Paradise
Those that like this should give Tchaikovsky's 9 Sacred pieces a try, the Cherubic Hymn's are especially beautiful...
A beautiful end to a beautiful story. Tragic song to fit many more life long happenings~~
Breathtaking
from 2:22... it moves me to tears. It's so tragic and beautiful. I sense a lot of depth in the piece. I cannot even put into words what it does to me.
Requiem in peace John Tavener
Funeral Canticle lyrics
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We are born as naked infants,
Then baptized into Christ our God.
Rocks and shoals of life beset us,
Washed in waters of our Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros:]
｢What earthy sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?
What glory standeth immutable on earth?
All things are but shadows most feeble,
But most deluding dreams.
Yet one moment only,
And death shall supplant then all.
But in the light of thy countenance,
Oh Christ, and in the sweetness of thy beauty,
Give rest to him whom thou hast chosen,
Because thou lovest mankind.｣
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
We must run the course that tempts us,
With the idols of the world,
Yet we have our Lord and Master,
And His Mother for our shield.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros]
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Grant, Oh Lord, in love unceasing,
Rest to him now lying here.
Grant him rest among the faithful,
In the life beyond compare.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
[Kliros]
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη
Αἰωνία αὐτοῦ ἡ μνήμη
Academy of Ancient Music, George Mosley, Paul Goodwin, Andrew Manze and The Choir of the AAM. "The commissioning of new works under Paul Goodwin represented a new development for the orchestra. The first commission and recording, John Tavener's Eternity's Sunrise, met with enthusiastic critical acclaim and led to a second new Tavener work and recording, Total Eclipse." Funeral Canticle can be purchased only as the complete album, "Eternity's Sunrise".
"What earthly sweetness remaineth unmixed with grief?"
For John Tavener, mortality is a knot in a string whose ends extend forever in both directions, and while virtually all of his works have an air of prayerfulness and godly mystery to them, in memoriam works such as the Funeral Canticle from 1996 afford the opportunity for deep musical and poetic rumination on the duration of life and the infinity of existence. Though mortal mourning is never entirely absent from works in this vein, it is coupled by an assurance of celestial existence-an assurance fueled by the composer's personal religiosity.
The Funeral Canticle is one of two works inspired by the passing of the composer's father, Kenneth. The other, Eternal Memory, is a co-memorial to Tavener's father and to the late Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. While the ruminations of that work are more secularly philosophical-it takes its text from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence and Eternity-the Funeral Canticle is more explicitly religious, having been prepared for the interdenominational funeral service that his father had requested. Its texts include the kliros from the traditional Orthodox funeral service, interspersed with verses composed by Tavener's longtime friend, collaborator (Mary of Egypt, Akathist), and spiritual guide, Mother Thekla of the Monestary at Normanby. As is the case with many of Tavener's other works, an overarching motto permeates the piece. Here, it is a solemn chant in Greek: "Remember eternal things."
Though a sense of stasis pervades the work-for there is no hurry when distances are traversed over eternities-each sectional division is marked by a distinct kind of calm. The opening motto is given in what sounds like Byzantine chant; the subsequent lines, "We are born as naked infants, Then baptized into Christ our God," are set in delicate, sinuous parallel chords; the kliros that follows is set in rich chord progressions overlaid with solemn repetitions, the sustained tones in the upper voices hovering over a restlessly ponderous bass. The Greek chant returns, followed again by a lush texture of parallel thirds and a rich Alleluia passage. The warm harmonies of the kliros return, followed by another Greek chant, and another verse: "Grant O Lord in love unceasing ... rest among the faithful, in the life beyond compare." After the Alleluia, the final iteration of the kliros brings the work to a close.
One senses a deliberate (and to those familiar with Tavener's work, expected) attempt to create an air of timelessness in this work. There seems to be a circular trajectory to the repeating textural patterns: the liturgical and ancient sounds of the Greek chant give way to the parallel harmonies, which are supplanted by the rich chords of the kliros. Law, theology, speculation seem to fade and blend into the higher reality of the eternal unknown; material objects and mortal ideas, "the idols of the world," disappear in the wake of "eternal things." Tavener has constructed a terrestrial musical frame, made of simple signs and symbols, through which to view existence from a celestial perspective. "
© All Music Guide
Sublime. One of humanity's greatest achievements.
R.I.P Sir John Tavener
A mans heart has heard two ways through life, the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.
Proof that modern music can be beautiful!
No other piece of music, I have listened to so far, describes heaven more intensely than this.
John Tavener moves me so much, I can't explain how this music wrings me.
It gives me such sorrow, such pain but such peace as well, I don't understand it.
In the style of the Renaissance. John Tavener is a living British composer, not to be confused with John Taverner, who composed in the 16th century. A recording of this piece is on a CD of Taverner's music, "Eternity's Sunrise."
Listening to this song makes me feel free
Every step that you take is important, every word that you read, an ocean of self knowledge, understanding is incomprehensible, knowing is undermined, belief is lost but not the mysticisms in each of us, we are incomprehensible, our impossibility makes us infinite, be infinite, be forever, be grand, be minute in your stature but never in your thinking, to be small is to be of no effect, to think small is sacrilege, to the universe, to yourself, which is to say, I repeat myself
Parts of this remind me of the gentle and lovely song (sung by priest, choir and the faithful together) from the Good Friday evening service in the Greek Orthodox Church. I heard somewhere that Tavener is Orthodox, so his drawing upon elements of the service makes sense.
So beautiful and deeply sad in the same time..You can also hear this music in "The Immigrant"
I listened to this on loop. Very beautiful and inspiring.
In moments of grief, this piece grants contact to forgivness. I feel like I am coming home.
Very spiritual and beautiful music.
This canticles make my think that at the end, the only think the matter is to be lived a saint life, while any other experience is a mere distraccion, a grain compare to the vasted of a real living life.
This songs make me want to life more pure, more perfect, less defective, defensive, more peacful, more harmony, feels like at the end is the only think that matter is that, to be pure, to be compasive, to give love, to give life, even if that imply, in the process, a great sacrifice for a greater good for others.
Thanks for your efforts. This music is a calling for greater reflexions.
"Glory be to God for All Things."