Tevot

Tevot is a one-movement symphony for orchestra by the British composer Thomas Adès. The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall. The world premiere was given by the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Simon Rattle at the Berliner Philharmonie on February 21, 2007. The United States premiere was given by the same ensemble at Carnegie Hall on November 14, 2007.

Tevot has is composed in one continuous movement and has a duration of roughly 22 minutes.

The title of the piece comes from Hebrew word for "bars of music." In the score program note, Adès added, "Also, in the Bible, (tey-VA) is the ark of Noah, and the cradle in which the baby Moses is carried on the river." The composer further described the meaning in an interview with Tom Service of The Guardian, remarking, "I liked the idea that the bars of the music were carrying the notes as a sort of family through the piece. And they do, because without bars, you'd have musical chaos. But I was thinking about the ark, the vessel, in the piece as the earth. The earth would be a spaceship, a ship that carries us - and several other species! - through the chaos of space in safety. It sounds a bit colossal, but it's the idea of the ship of the world." He continued, "I thought of the piece as one huge journey, but in order to make that journey truthful, to give it movement, there had to be many quite sudden and instant changes of landscape."

Adès also recalled a sense of urgency writing the piece, saying, "I couldn't sleep at night. I would feel that I would absolutely die if I didn't succeed in bringing the piece to harbour. It would have been a frightening feeling not to do that. It's more than a need - it feels essential. It's like transporting a person through the air, and you have to make sure they land in one piece."

The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising five flutes (3rd, 4th, & 5th doubling piccolos; 3rd doubling bass flute), five oboes (4th doubling English horn; 5th doubling bass oboe), five clarinets (2nd doubling E-flat clarinet; 4th doubling E-flat and A clarinets; 5th doubling contrabass clarinet), four bassoons, contrabassoon, eight horns, five trumpets, three trombones, two tubas, timpani, two percussionists, harp, piano (doubling celesta), and strings.

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