Sir John Tavener: the Beautiful Names

In 2005 the music team at the British Council were informed of an extraordinary new commission of Sir John Tavener to compose a major new work for orchestra and chorus. The work entitled The Beautiful Names referred to the 99 names for God according to Islamic tradition.

In partnership with the BBC and the Istanbul Festival we took the opportunity to host a second premiere performance of the work in the Byzantine church of St Irene in Istanbul in 2007. This event, together with a tailor-made Creative Learning programme supported the cultural sector in Turkey to develop their capacity to engage effectively with the UK and to promote greater understanding between the peoples of UK and the region.

Music, especially music associated with inspirational texts, has always demonstrated its ability to reflect upon and stimulate the development of values for the way we live together. Therefore, in advance of the 2008 European year of Intercultural Dialogue the British Council captured the spirit of the moment with this project, and at the centre of a major pan-European initiative by being involved in world class high profile performances of Beautiful Names in Turkey. This project provided a direct fit for the British Council in the promotion of intercultural dialogue in Europe through the UK’s artistic culture.

The project was not without risk, and sensitive cultural issues had to be assessed and managed to ensure that an open dialogue was encouraged. Using the Beautiful Names as a starting point for discussion we participated in a live current affairs arts programme on the leading national 'conservative / Islamic' TV news channel 'Haber 7'.  In public diplomacy terms this was significant, maintaining contact and relevance to the concert audience whilst reaching a quite different audience of programme viewers.