‘Towards Silence’ by John Tavener

A remarkable piece of music with a remarkable story of creation….

Towards Silence, written for four string quartets and a large Tibetan bowl, explores the nature of consciousness and the process of dying. Tavener had long wanted to write the work and persuaded Paul Robertson to perform it. However, shortly after the manuscript was completed both men became critically ill and close to death themselves. 

Please click here to listen to a clip of Paul Robertson and John Tavener in conversation discussing the birth of ‘Towards Silence’.

Professor Paul Robertson writes;

‘Towards Silence’ was composed in 2007 and jointly commissioned by The Music Mind Spirit Trust and The Rubin Museum, New York.

Earlier that same year I was delighted to be invited to publicly interview Sir John both about his musical compositions and his spiritual influences.

During our quite extensive preparation we discovered a mutual interest in near -death experience and it was therefore entirely natural that I introduced him to my friend, eminent neuro- psychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick who is a leading authority on the subject.

Our onstage dialogue took place following a particularly stimulating and thought- provoking conversation between the three of us. Towards the end of our wide ranging public conversation John suddenly announced that he wished to write us a work about near-death experience.

From the precise details with which he described this piece it was immediately clear to me that this was no mere passing fancy but rather a long held inspiration, fully formed and utterly internally conceived.

Whilst insisting that such a project (for 4 quartets and temple bowl) sadly could not include me ( I had ceased playing in the Medici some years earlier) within a couple of days I found myself with a fully fledged commission and a world premiere arranged for New York and a UK 1st performance programmed in Winchester Cathedral!

Working with an almost manic drive and energy John immediately set about composing the work but, sadly collapsed very seriously ill just a few days after its completion. Having set up the initial performances and funding I also found myself suffering the horrors of months in intensive care and an extended slow recovery.

Both still desperately weak we only managed to speak again by phone about 6 months later and agreed, that if God spared us we would try and meet at Winchester.

Miraculously we did and the Church authorities with great compassion closed the cathedral so that we could perform ‘Towards Silence’ for John alone on the afternoon of the concert. 

Sir John Tavener writes:

‘Towards Silence’  is a meditation on the four states of Atma for four string quartets (in high galleries unseen) and Large Tibetan Bowl (in Dome in highest gallery)

A la memoire de Rene Gueron

‘Towards Silence’ was inspired by reading Rene Gueron’s book ‘Man and his becoming according to the Vedanta’.

From an exoteric sense ‘Towards Silence’ can be seen as a Meditation on the different states of dying, but from an esoteric sense it is a meditation on the four states of Atma.

1] Vaishvanara; The Waking State, which has knowledge of external objects and which has nineteen mouths and the world of manifestation for its province.
Manduka Upanishad 1-3

2] Taijasa; The Dream State, which has knowledge of inward objects, which has nineteen mouths and whose domain is the world of subtle manifestation.
Manduka Upanished 1-4

3] Prajna; The condition of Deep Sleep, When the individual who is asleep, experiences no desire and is not the subject of any dreams, he has become Atma, and is filled with Beatitude. (Ananda)

4] Turiya; That which is beyond. The greatest state (Mahattara) is the fourth, totally free from any mode of existence whatever, with fullness of Peace and Beatitude without duality.

The Four States

The teaching on the four states of consciousness or four levels of being is one of the main tenets of Advaita philosophy.

It is set out clearly in the Mandukya Upanishad which describes three levels of experience, waking, dreaming and deep sleep, through which the individual soul passes when moving from its ordinary, day time state to union with the fourth state, Brahman. This Upanishad makes a connection between sound and levels of consciousness, relating the sounds a, u and m to three realms of experience, waking, dreaming and deep sleep respectively.

In the Indian tradition sound is understood as the creative energy through which the whole Universe comes into being. Aum, or Om, is considered to be the most prevalent sacred sound, syllable and symbol for all that exists whether past, present or future. Everything in the created world originates in Om which is essentially vibrating energy having a subtle form composed of sound. Om is the mystery of the divine.

The way we experience the four states of being may be described as follows: the waking state is the experience of reality common to all which we may call the daydream state. Attention faces outwards. When we let go of the daydream or waking state the world comes to an end. Attention faces inwards and we enter the nightdream state. During our sleep, in our dreams, we are preoccupied with subtler realms and our experiences in the waking state are replaced by symbolic expression. A lot of activity may take place in the dream state. When the waking state is transcended it is seen to be a dream and the dream state, a dream within a dream. Both states are projections of our minds onto the inner screen of our soul.

The daydream of the waking state appears to last longer than the dream state. Thus we may deduce another aspect of the levels of being. Not only do they relate to sound and to vibration but they also relate to different durations of time, to different rates of vibration which become increasingly fine.

We also have a third state, the dreamless state of deep sleep. This state is of two types: one is when we sleep without any recollection of activity and the other is when we enter deep meditation. In the latter state we are disconnected from the world but fully aware of it. There is pure awareness but in deep sleep there is ignorance.

The fourth state transcends all three levels of time. The fourth level is that of the pure Self, of Truth, of Om. This is the mysterious art of the Divine.

Solveig McIntosh

Raga

The concept of raga is a fathomless one because raga is always in a state of becoming.

It is not something which is fixed. Of course there are rules and a sophisticated grammar which underlies its performance but essentially it is a tonal framework which gives scope for a myriad subtle forms of expression and dimensions of experience.

The ancestors of ragas were the jatis and gramaragas of early Indian music derived from the seven tones or principles of sound of the gramas. These fundamentals of sound were cosmic entities embodying an energy of sound within each tone, for this early system of music was based on universal principles connecting humankind to higher dimensions of existence.

Jatis were not yet ragas but contained the early stages of the raga system. Although the word raga, as it is used today, came into existence between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD a clear definition did not emerge in written form until later, in the 7th century AD. In its broadest sense raga is modal but it is not the same as scale.

The essence of raga is entirely dependent upon tone (svara). A single tone may have different shades of intonation and a properly produced tone has a sense of dimension. Svara starts in the realm of language. It is that sound which has the capacity to ‘glow’ on its own having the sense of illumination and of delighting the listener as well as the performer.

A fully expressed raga consists of sentences or phrases, accumulating to form paragraphs which are punctuated, musically, much as in language. A single tone may constitute a phrase. Ragas may be expounded with unmetered free flowing phrases or within the context of rhythmical pulses or meters. Phrase is so important that the same scale of tones (svaras) may give rise to a number of different ragas simply because of the difference in their treatment as regards emphasis, groupings of tones and small tonal nuances and inflections. More important than the ascending and descending scale patterns are the identifying phrases, and in addition to these there are the internal melodic and harmonic relationships, tone to tone, interval to interval, and even motif to motif, which characterise raga. The dynamics of sound which influences raga also include those of the three Vedic accents found in the recitation of mantras as well as a variety of other conditions including the sonant-consonant axis within a raga. Moreover there may be tones which are ‘covered’, ‘concealed’ or avoided altogether for the proper exposition of raga is a complete yoga of sound.

It can be understood that the true nature of a raga is brought out when the speed is slow for the essence of raga is not so much a sequence of tones but more a state of being.

Solveig McIntosh

For further reading please see:
‘Hidden Faces of Ancient Indian Song’ by Solveig McIntosh, Ashgate Publishing, 2005.
‘Music and Musical Thought in Early India’ by Lewis Rowell, The University of Chicago Press, 1992

Advaita

Each person knows the sublime peace which can transcend every day life.This touch of bliss is often linked to beautiful places or happy occasions but it is always available. When we have this recognition we are experiencing the non-duality that is the true way of seeing. This is expressed in the philosophy of Advaita. The word Advaita means simply ‘not two’. It is the philosophy which acknowledges the uninhibited flow of Consciousness from the true Self that we are to a whole view of what appears to manifest, without hardening that view into specific names and forms. When we see the sun rise we temporarily suspend all division in favour of the natural beauty that knows no qualification and transcends everything else. We attribute the feeling of well being to the sunrise but it is in fact a result of the recognition of wholeness.

Adi Sankara knew this truth. It is his formulation of this teaching which is the basis of the philosophy taught today. During his life, thought to be about 700 AD, he set up seats around India which became the custodians of this knowledge. Those holding these seats are known as Shankaracharya after his name. A recent holder of the title Shankaracharya of the North of India, His Holiness Shantand Saraswati, was contacted by Dr Francis Roles, founder of the Study Society, in the1960’s. Conversations with His Holiness, over a period of 20 years, form the basis of the teaching in the Study Society, which continues the non-dual tradition.

This wider awareness is available, not just on special occasions, but constantly. This philosophy forms the basis of all religions which seek to come to an appreciation of the perfection which deep down we all know but which is covered over in attachments to everyday life. The realisation of this truth cuts through the imagined separateness of the person. The beauty of the sunrise or the unity engendered by fine music leave no room for separateness. This occurs when the Consciousness, that we all are, is uninhibited and undivided. The ongoing recognition of this truth is the most profound realisation possible.

Norman Alderton

Sanskrit & Music

There are numerous connections between Sanskrit and Indian music.

One of the oldest forms of sounding together was the recitation of the Vedas, the sacred books of the ancient religion of India. Sometimes referred to as the ‘hymns of the Vedas’ they are formulae expressing eternal laws of creation. They are also songs of praise. The sound of these songs is derived from the language of mantra and its intonations from which classical Sanskrit is derived. This language is a science of sound as much as it is a language The literature which accompanies each tradition of Vedic recitation contains information about an ancient and sophisticated form of music. Thus the way Sanskrit mantras have been chanted represents some of the origins of Indian music as we currently hear it.

Traditionally the knowledge and practice of Indian music is transmitted orally. This was the way before writing came into being and still continues today. With the advent of writing, important treatises on many aspects of music and related subjects were written. They were compilations of the available knowledge of the time describing in minute detail the science, philosophy and grammar of music and how music should be performed.

Each Vedic tradition includes an Upanishad, a text rich in philosophical thought and comprising a sacred teaching. The Mandukya Upanishad explains four states of being from physical to spiritual but a more ancient source, the Rg Veda, describes in reverse order, four levels of sound or hearing: “Four are the levels of speech. The wise who possess insight know them all. Three levels, hidden in secret, cause no movement. The fourth is the level that is spoken by mankind.” (Rg Veda 1.164.45) Thus there is an intimate connection between Sanskrit language, philosophy and music in the Indian tradition with roots extending far back in time.

Solveig McIntosh

For more detail please see ‘Hidden Faces of Ancient Indian Song’ by Solveig McIntosh, Ashgate Publishing