We Shall See Him as He Is | John Tavener

Commissioned by Cheshire County Council for the 900th anniversary of Chester Cathedral

Orchestration
2tpt/2timp/org/str(min 10 vc)
ChorusSATB
Soloistssoprano, 2 tenors
Duration1 hr

CategoryChorus and Orchestra/Ensemble

Composer
John Tavener
Text Writer/Librettist
Mother Thekla
LanguageEnglish, Greek

Programme Note

We shall see Him as He is was written in Greece in 1990. The opening melody on the solo cello represents ichnographically the parable of the guest who had no fitting wedding garment, and was not admitted to the feast. In the Orthodox Church, The Heavenly Bridal Chamber is an especially important theme from Monday to Thursday of Holy Week as we prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. This theme of the Bridegroom and bridal Chamber recurs in different guises throughout the work.

The music and text are constructed as a series of ikons with a refrain – We shall see Him as He is – using Byzantine tones as an ikon painter uses brush and paint. Each ikon depicts a different event in the life of Christ, as seen through the eyes of His beloved apostle, John. The climax of the ikon sequence comes at ikon X: "Behold thy mother! Behold Thy Son!” This represents the establishment of the Christian Church, and here material form other ikons is juxtaposed with a constant assertion – We shall see Him as He is.

In the final bars the opening cello theme is played in the high register by a violin, reminding us that "We have no fitting garment to enter the Heavenly Bridal chamber.”

Programme note © John Tavener