Matthew Barley - Tavener: The Protecting Veil (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Above the opening notes of The Protecting Veil, John Tavener wrote Transcendent With Awesome Majesty, communicating the scale of this universal, timeless, structurally perfect and emotionally powerful work.

In the composer’s words, “the cello represents The Mother of God and never stops singing.” Indeed, the cello sings without stopping for the entire 46 minutes of the piece, requiring huge mental and physical stamina. Matthew Barley leads Sinfonietta Rīga in this exploration of Tavener’s musical works and inspirations, interspersing performances with readings of WB Yeats and Frithjof Schuon by renowned actors Julie Christieand Olwyn Fouéré. The influence Tavener drew from Indian music in The Protecting Veil is also explored further in Barley’s performance with tabla player Sukhvinder ‘Pinky’ Singh in The Song of Separation and Waiting by Pandit Sultan Khan.

Matthew Barley is known internationally as a cellist, improviser, arranger, music animateur, and as Artistic Director of Between The Notes. His musical world is focused on projects that connect people in different ways, blurring the boundaries that never really existed between genres and people.

Tracklist:
1 He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven 00:38
2 The Protecting Veil: I. The Protecting Veil 09:07
3 The Protecting Veil: II. The Nativity of the Mother of God 05:42
4 The Protecting Veil: III. Annunciation 03:22
5 The Protecting Veil: IV. The Incarnation 03:46
6 The Protecting Veil: V. The Lament of the Mother of God at the Cross 10:44
7 The Protecting Veil: VI. The Resurrection 02:42
8 The Protecting Veil: VII. The Dormition 06:56
9 The Protecting Veil: VIII. The Protecting Veil 03:49
10 The Mother of God 01:04
11 Mother and Child 07:06
12 World Wheel XXVII: ‘I heard the gypsy’s violin play’ 01:00
13 The Song of Separation and Waiting 11:28

Personnel:
Matthew Barley, cello
Sinfonietta Riga