BRATTLEBORO — Most people may consider an icon to be a flat painting of religious images that is venerated by Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.
But British composer John Tavener wrote that he envisioned his musical work “The Protecting Veil” as “an icon in sound for cello and strings based on eight feasts or icons in the life of the Mother of God.”
On Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 18, at 3 p.m., at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Winged Productions presents the Brattleboro premiere of “The Protecting Veil.”
An orchestra of stellar string players directed by Susan Dedell joins internationally noted cellist Paul Wianko for the performance.
Forty-five minutes before each concert, Brattleboro iconographer Zachary Roesemann will begin delivering remarks about icons and their meaning in Tavener's work.
This concert is the final presentation of the first year of Winged Productions. Created and directed by Paul and Susan Dedell, Winged Productions is a series of events that aims to explore “these basic animating questions that lie at the heart of the human experience.”
The Dedells say that, through musical performances, theatrical productions, visual art, workshops, and lectures, Winged Productions “delves into these fundamental questions with curiosity, humor, and thoughtful perspective.”
“'The Protecting Veil' is an ideal project for us,” Susan says. “Winged Productions' mission is to do works of art, and even some science, that explore the sacred. I want to make clear that by sacred I do not mean religious. We are not dogmatic, nor do we present one point of view. For us, even the Beatles and [U2's] Bono write what we considered sacred music.”
Tavener's goal to write music that was an icon intrigued the Dedells.
“An icon is not merely a picture, but a representation of reality which partakes of the original and, in traditional orthodoxy, a passageway from one state to another,” Susan explains. “Tavener makes this claim for his music. The work does what it sets out to do, to put people in another set of mind.”
The title of Tavener's work refers to the Feast of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God, which was instituted in the Orthodox Church to commemorate her miraculous appearance in Constantinople in the early 10th century. Tavener's music has eight sections, each representing a different time in the life of Mary.
“These sections are not stories but, rather, the essence of Mary,” Dedell says.
Dedell writes in the program notes, “In 'The Protecting Veil,' Tavener uses the cello to represent, as he puts it, 'the cosmic power and beauty of the Mother of God.' He states that although it is perfectly possible to listen to 'The Protecting Veil' as 'pure' music without any sacred intent, his intention was to 'make a lyrical icon in sound, rather than in wood, using the music of the cellist to paint rather than a brush.'”
According to Dedell, Tavener was “undoubtedly the single most popular British classical composer of the late 20th and [early] 21st centuries.” His most beloved work arguably is “The Protecting Veil,” which, recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis, became a rare best-selling classical album.
Isserlis, for whom “The Protecting Veil” was written, has said that “we worried about the piece's initial appeal. As it turns out we need not have worried; the piece became an instant classic. Why did it capture people's imaginations? I believe that it was because the beauty came from within; many people write beautiful music - but music of such intense rapture, such aching fervor, is rare indeed.”
The cellist for the Brattleboro performances of “The Protecting Veil,” Paul Wianko, is a member of the Brooklyn-based electro-acoustic chamber ensemble Bright Wave. He performs regularly with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra and Mark Morris Dance Group, and tours with Musicians from Marlboro.
At home in almost every style of music, Wianko has also created arrangements for bands including U2 and Pearl Jam and has toured and performed extensively with jazz greats Chick Corea, Etta James, and Stanley Clarke, and rock legend Joe Cocker.
Dedell says she feels that Wianko's eclectic musical background lines up well with Tavener's own. “Our cellist is great,” Dedell says. “He is still fairly young and has played with jazz, rock, and blues musicians. He has written film scores. He even fly-fishes. We are lucky to have him for these concerts.”
Tavener also has roots in many forms of music. According to Dedell, “He was a friend of Ringo Starr and John Lennon. In fact, it was through his connection with the Beatles that he got his first recording on Apple Records.”
Dedell writes, “The music Tavener was famous for in the sixties was tumultuous, chaotic, modernist, and radical - another world from the Orthodox-inspired spirituality of his later works.
“His wacky cantata 'The Whale' was the piece that inaugurated the new-music firebrands of the London Sinfonietta in 1968, and it was also his first release on Apple a couple of years later, with its mix of electronics, football rattles, serialism, crunching dissonance, and even a whip.
“His 'Celtic Requiem,' also released by Apple, was even wilder, a postmodern political happening with its Irish folk tunes, electric guitars, and children's songs.”
Tavener's turn to a world of spirituality, through the Russian Orthodox church, was the inspiration for much of his music of the late 1970s onward.
As Dedell tells The Commons, “He and the Beatles turned to spirituality at the same time; the big difference was that they [the Beatles] went to Eastern religions while Tavener turned to Orthodoxy.”
Dedell says she believes that Tavener's personal spiritual journey is the backbone of his work, even to the point when he said that his spiritual journeys almost paralyzed him.
“At its best, Tavener's music is a cathartic confrontation with the biggest of all life's questions,” Dedell writes. “Yet, like the man who wrote it, the music invites you into its world with charm, gentleness, humility, and sometimes a twinkle in the eye.”