Tuvayhun: Beatitudes for a Wounded World [Blu-ray]

Our world is wounded. All around us we see the cracks. And yet the world is beautiful and blessed in so many ways. This extraordinary work begins from the Beatitudes and responds with new poetry that sheds light on who among us might be in need of blessing. These texts, ancient and new, are woven into a colorful tapestry of music inspired by a variety of traditions, highlighting the universality of the human experience. TUVAYHUN creates an opportunity for performers and listeners alike to inspire and be inspired, to be blessed, and be a blessing.

Recording date: November 2020 and February 2021
Location: Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway

In "TUVAYHUN—Beatitudes for a Wounded World" we seek to address this fragility, and the part we are called to play in healing it. "Tuvayhun" in Aramaic is the first word in each of the Beatitudes, "Blessed…" In the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus likely spoke this exact word as he pointed out those who were especially blessed in the eyes of God; but his was not a predictable list. He did not say, "Blessed are the big donors" or "Blessed are the Church leadership" or "Blessed are those who pray the loudest.” Instead, he shocked his listeners by blessing not those who have joy, but those who mourn; not the righteous, but those who are poor in spirit; not the powerful, but the peacemakers, and the meek. He blessed the sinners, the broken, the marginalized.

TUVAYHUN responds to each of Jesus' blessings as if to say, "Yes, and…" These new texts illustrate how that blessing applies in the real world. It seems as though Jesus' words two millennia ago still resonate, and the types of people he sought to comfort with his blessings are still in need of that blessing, and the societal shortcomings he drew attention to then are still challenging us today.

The music of TUVAYHUN takes us on a journey through deep emotions and deeply human situations. The music moves in and out, occupying the liminal space between ancient and modern, sacred and profane. We move from semi-liturgical chant to lively folk dance, from rich orchestral layers to stark solos, from the familiar to the exotic, and back again. The music illuminates the many different peoples and experiences the texts evoke, and serves in sonic form as a reminder of the universal and enduring message of the Beatitudes.

One might think that each of the eight verses in the Beatitudes concerns a different group of people: the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful. However, these are not eight different groups of people, but instead are eight moral qualities that all of us can possess. We are all in need of these blessings, and we are all called to act as the agents of blessing.

Immersive Audio is a sonic sculpture that you can literally move around and relate to spatially; surrounded by music you can move about in the aural space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. Dolby Atmos and the Auro-3D on this Pure Audio Blu-ray delivers a new standard in immersion, fully enveloping the audience in a cocoon of life-like audio. Recorded in discrete 7.1.4 at DXD resolution.