''Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks'' is a

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

album by the English Sinfonia conducted by Bramwell Tovey. The work, by

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...

, is paired with ''

The Protecting Veil ''The Protecting Veil'' is a late 20th-century classical composition for cello and strings by British composer John Tavener. It was on the short list of nominees for the 1992 Mercury Prize. Composition history Completed in 1988, the work was b ...

'' by John Tavener featuring Josephine Knight on the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. The

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

and

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

indicate that Nyman was directly involved in the album (his 31st), the premiere recording of the work, while Tavener, whose piece, eleven years old at the time of the recording, has been recorded more than once, is represented by a headshot and stock commentary from Richard Steinetz.

Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks

''Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks'', written in 1997, was commissioned from Nyman by the English Sinfonia. The work he gave them is a five-movement

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l work based on the '' String Quartet No. 4'', which in turn was based on the solo violin work, '' Yamamoto Perpetuo''. The title is derived from the name of the town of

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

, where the Sinfonia moved in 1997. The

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

name of the town, "Sithenaece" means "Strong on Oaks." Nyman then took a cue from

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

campaign slogan The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...

(in fact coined by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

), "Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes of Crime." He dedicated the work to Simon Jeffes, founder of the

Penguin Café Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

, and a friend and colleague. Jeffes died on 11 December 1997. Nyman was orchestrating the final page when he learned of his death, and in honor of him, styled 4-note pizzicato chords in the style of Jeffes's

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

work.

''The Protecting Veil''

''The Protecting Veil'' is a work composed by John Tavener in 1987 and premiered in 1989, based on his conversion from the Anglican Church to the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. It is scored for strings with a solo cello, but unlike in a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

, the cello part is an "endless arch" in the style of music from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

rather than being virtuosic.

Track listing

#First movement 3'50" #Second movement 3'30" #Third movement 3'02" #Fourth movement 3'05" #Fifth movement 2'47" #The Protecting Veil 9'35" #The Nativity of the Mother of God 6'26" #The Annunciation 3'33" #The Incarnation 4'32" #The Lament of the Mother of God at the Cross 11'41" #The Resurrection 3'05" #The Dormition 8'18" #The Protecting Veil 3'39"

Personnel

* Josephine Knight,

* English Sinfonia * Bramwell Tovey, conductor *Producer: Matthew Dilley *Engineer: Dick Lewzey *20 bit digital recording and post production by Sound Recording Technology, Cambridge *Photography: Neil Applegate *John Tavener photograph: Catherine Manners *Josephine Knight photograph:

Clive Barda Clive Blackmore Barda OBE, FRSA (born 14 January 1945) is a London-based, British freelance photographer best known for capturing the performances of classical musicians and artists of the stage (opera, ballet and theatre). During his career sp ...

*Liner Notes: English Sinfonia, Michael Nyman, Richard Steinitz 1998 classical albums Michael Nyman albums {{classical-album-stub