G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns is an album of music written by George Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann, performed by pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1980.[1]
G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1980, September [1] | |||
Recorded | 1980, March [2] | |||
Studio | Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg (West Germany) | |||
Genre | Classical music | |||
Length | 50:56 | |||
Label | ECM Records [ECM 1174] | |||
Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
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Keith Jarrett solo piano chronology | ||||
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Jarrett's interest in Gurdjieff dated back to the 1960s and his association with Charles Lloyd, who was "on a Gurdjieff kick" at the time, and whose copies of Gurdjieff's books Jarrett read.[3] Jarrett eventually immersed himself in Gurdjieff's writings and music, the latter having been transcribed by Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann.[4] At some point, a member of the London Gurdjieff Foundation suggested that Jarrett record some of Gurdjieff's music,[5] and Jarrett accepted. The resulting recording marked the first occasion on which Gurdjieff's music, as notated by de Hartmann, was made available to the public,[6] and was a major catalyst in bringing the music to the attention of a mainstream audience.[7]
Jarrett later reflected: "It was the most appropriate thing for me to record at the time, given that I knew more about it than just the music, and also given that I was asked by [a member of] the London group whether I would do it or not. That was enough for me. But it was also an exercise in disappearing personality. In the so-called Gurdjieff world, personality is not a positive thing... So I used that recording as an exercise in not inflicting that music with my personality."[8] (Not surprisingly, Jarrett abstained almost completely from the use of improvisation on the album.[4]) Jarrett stopped reading Gurdjieff's writings in the early 1980s, but stated: "the impression shouldn't be that I have at some point or other refuted it."[9]
The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 3 stars, noting, "The whole record has a serene dignity, even at its loudest levels, that gets to you, and that should be enough for the devout Jarrett following. As for others -- well, it's definitely not a Top Ten choice for a basic Jarrett collection".[10]
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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