Priest Ivan Moody (1964-)
Ivan Moody studied music and theology at the Universities of London (winning the Royal Holloway Prize in 1984 for his Three Poems of Anna Akhmatova), 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 and Sony.
His largest works to date are the oratorio Passion and Resurrection (recorded on Hyperion CDA 66999) and the extended a cappella Akathistos Hymn (recorded on Gothic Records CD 49210). Other significant works include a large-scale BBC commission, the oratorio The Dormition of the Virgin (2003), the double-bass concerto The Morning Star (2003), the piano concerto Linnunlaulu (2003), Passione Popolare (for soloists, choir and ensemble, commissioned by the Antidogma Festival in Turin, 2005), Ossetian Requiem (for choir and eight ‘cellos, commissioned by Cello Octet Amsterdam, 2005), Ravenna Sanctus, commissioned by Chanticleer (2006: recorded on Warner Classics R2 146364), Stabat Mater (2008), for choir and string quartet, commissioned by the Oslo International Festival of Church Music and Moons and Suns (2008), commissioned by Ars Nova Copenhagen and the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet.
More recent commissions include Canti della Rosa for The King's Singers, Canticum Canticorum IV for Seattle Pro Musica, the piano quintet Nocturne of Light for Paul Barnes and the Chiara Quartet, the triple-choir Sub tuum praesidium for the English Chamber Choir and a setting of part of the Paschal Canon for the 20th anniversary of Cappella Romana. Current projects include a bass clarinet concerto for Luis Gomes and the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group and a new work for the Aglepta girl’s choir, based in Barcelona. September 2012 will see the world première and subsequent tour of Simeron, a work for vocal trio and string trio based on Byzantine rite texts from Holy Week, commissioned by the Goeyvaerts Trio.
As a conductor he works regularly with a number of professional choirs and ensembles in both Europe and America, having paid special attention to contemporary music and Orthodox church music from Bulgaria, Finland and Serbia. He is also co-founder and co-director of the Victoria 400 Choral Course in Barcelona, Spain.
As a musicologist he has written extensively on both early and contemporary music. He is a priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and is currently Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Music.
