Pratirūpa, by John Tavener

Written by John Tavener in 2003, “Pratirūpa” is an exotic piece that unfolds like a Hindu ceremony and, in the composer’s words, “presents a series of self-reflecting resonances, harmonies, melodies and rhythms, which attempt to reflect the Divine Presence which resides in every human being.” In lieu of a traditional development, a sequence of meditations with markings such as “as slow as possible, serene, tender, beyond time, beyond being” is periodically interrupted by wild, ecstatic outbursts marked “Full of Atma (higher being, divine spirit), ‘Je me mis a danser nue…’”. The composer instructs the pianist to hold the final chord until the roaring resonances die away completely.