G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns is an album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded March 1980 and released on ECM September that year, featuring solo piano performances of the sacred hymns of George Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann.[1]
Background
Jarrett's interest in Gurdjieff dated back to the 1960s and his association with Charles Lloyd, who was "on a Gurdjieff kick" at the time, and whose copies of Gurdjieff's books Jarrett read.[3] Jarrett eventually immersed himself in Gurdjieff's writings and music, the latter having been transcribed by Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann.[4] At some point, a member of the London Gurdjieff Foundation suggested that Jarrett record some of Gurdjieff's music,[5] and Jarrett accepted. The resulting recording marked the first occasion on which Gurdjieff's music, as notated by de Hartmann, was made available to the public,[6] and was a major catalyst in bringing the music to the attention of a mainstream audience.[7]
Jarrett later reflected: "It was the most appropriate thing for me to record at the time, given that I knew more about it than just the music, and also given that I was asked by [a member of] the London group whether I would do it or not. That was enough for me. But it was also an exercise in disappearing personality. In the so-called Gurdjieff world, personality is not a positive thing... So I used that recording as an exercise in not inflicting that music with my personality."[8] (Not surprisingly, Jarrett abstained almost completely from the use of improvisation on the album.[4]) Jarrett stopped reading Gurdjieff's writings in the early 1980s, but stated: "the impression shouldn't be that I have at some point or other refuted it."[9]
Reception
The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell noted: "The whole record has a serene dignity, even at its loudest levels, that gets to you, and that should be enough for the devout Jarrett following. As for others—well, it's definitely not a Top Ten choice for a basic Jarrett collection."[10]
