| Birthday Sleep a meditation on the Incarnation | |
| Composer: | John Tavener |
| Composed: | 1999 |
| Scoring: | SATB choir |
Birthday Sleep is a choral composition by British composer John Tavener. It was completed in 1999 and was destined to be first performed to mark the millennium.
The piece was commissioned by George Watson's College, a private educational institution based in Edinburgh, to be performed to celebrate the new millennium.[1] [2] [3] [4] Subtitled "a meditation on the Incarnation" and set to a text by Welsh poet Vernon Watkins, it explores the topics of spirituality and mysticism drawn from Orthodox Christianity, of which Tavener was a devout follower. The piece was premiered at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, held in St. Giles' Cathedral on December 19, 2000. It was then published by Chester Music.
The piece is scored for a mixed SATB choir, with an elaborate vocal arrangement consisting of two distinct sets of sopranos, three altos, three tenors, and three basses, which give the piece a rich and textured harmony. It has an approximate duration of 11 minutes, even though most recordings are around 5 or 6 minutes long.
Birthday Sleep consists of three verses, all of them set to the same melody and harmonic progression with little modifications. Beginning in B minor, the piece follows the same modulation patterns, all finishing in the key of F major. The episodic and fragmentary aspect of the piece, as well as the transition and the relationship between those two keys reflect the revelation of the mystery of God, as expressed by Tavener.
Although not as well known as other Tavener pieces like Song of Athene or The Lamb, Birthday Sleep has been performed and recorded a few times since its premiere. The following is a short list of some of the most famous recordings of the piece: