Ivan Moody: Music In and Out of Liturgy
Fr. Ivan Moody is so many things - for us at the Institute of Sacred Arts, and for the wider world. World-renowned composer, conductor, author, scholar. As I point out in my spoken introduction, his generous spirit is such that he answers the call to a great many invitations, and so spreads the wealth of his talent. It is a joy to have him as a close collaborator with our Institute, as one of our affiliated faculty, and as a good and esteemed friend. Have a look at a previous interview that we did on camera, at one of our Institute symposia.
Moody studied music and theology at the Universities of London, Joensuu and York (where he took his Ph.D). He studied composition with Brian Dennis, Sir John Tavener and William Brooks. His music has been performed and broadcast all over the world, and recorded on labels such as Hyperion, ECM, Telarc, Warner Classics, Sony and Challenge. His largest works to date are Passion and Resurrection (1992), the Akathistos Hymn (1998) and Qohelet (2013). Other significant works include The Dormition of the Virgin (2003), the piano concerto Linnunlaulu (2003), Passione Popolare (2005), Ossetian Requiem (2005), Stabat Mater (2008), Moons and Suns (2008), Simeron (2013) for vocal trio and string trio, and the Dante Trilogy (2014) for choir and ensemble. (For further information see http://www.ivanmoody.co.uk.)
As a conductor he works regularly with professional choirs and ensembles in both Europe and America, and has paid special attention to contemporary music and Orthodox church music from Bulgaria, Finland and Serbia.
He has written and published extensively on both early and contemporary music, and recently has concentrated particularly on music from Serbia. His book, Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music, was published by ISOCM in 2014. He is an archpriest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and is Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Music (http://www.isocm.com). He is a researcher at CESEM – Universidade Nova, Lisbon, and is also affiliated with the Department of Orthodox Theology at the University of Eastern Finland.
Credits for EP music:
"Simeron", Album - Sabat Mater, Goeyvaerts String Trio, Ivan Moody composer, Challenge Classics
"Blessed is the Man," Album - Every Day I Will Bless Thee, Saint Vladimir's Seminary Women's Sextet, Ivan Moody composer, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press