The Uncreated Eros (1988) presents us immediately with a Byzantine drone (ison) and a single, chant-like melodic line, and the canonic choral treatment of the melody later in the piece only serves to emphasize the chromatic inflections characteristic of the Greek chant repertoire. The title of the piece requires some explanation: the text deals with the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib as recounted in Genesis. ‘It is an attempt in musical notes’, Tavener has written, ‘to recreate our Paradisial nature.’ ‘Uncreated Eros’ represents the uncreated love of God, love in its fullness: it is beyond mortal love in the same way that the uncreated light of God, present at the transfiguration of Christ, and experienced since by some saints and very holy men, is beyond the light of the sun. The radiant colours and ethereal textures of the music (deliberately recorded from a considerable distance) try to present this idea in physical sound.
from notes by Ivan Moody © 1991
CDH55414
Helios (Hyperion's budget label) June 2013 Release
