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Messiah, or Mashiach, designates a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25. The term was not applied exclusively to Jewish kings, and the Hebrew Bible refers to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, as a messiah. Following the death of Simon bar Kokhba, the term came to refer to a Jewish king who would rule at the end of history. In later Jewish messianic tradition and eschatology, messiah refers to a leader anointed by God, and in some cases, a future King of Israel, physically descended from the Davidic line, who will rule the united tribes of Israel^[1] and herald the Messianic Age^[2] of global peace.

The translation of the Hebrew word Mašíaḥ as Χριστός (Khristós) in the Greek Septuagint^[3] became the accepted Christian designation and title of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe that prophecies in the Hebrew Bible (especially Isaiah) refer to a spiritual savior and believe Jesus to be that Messiah (Christ).

Islamic tradition holds the view that Isa (cf. Islamic views of Jesus), son of Maryam (cf. Islamic views of Mary) was indeed the promised nabi (Prophet) and masih (Messiah) sent to the Israelites, and that he will again return to Earth in the end times, along with al-Mahdi, and they will defeat Masih ad-Dajjal (lit. "false Messiah"; cf. antichrist).^[4]

Etymology[link]

Messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, Modern Mashiaẖ Tiberian Māšîăḥ; in modern Jewish texts in English sometimes spelled Moshiach; Aramaic: משיחא, Greek: Μεσσίας, Syriac: ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ, Məšîḥā, Arabic: المسيح‎, al-Masīḥ, Latin: Messias) literally means "anointed [one]". In standard Hebrew, the Messiah is often referred to as מלך המשיח (Méleḫ ha-Mašíaḥ in the Tiberian vocalization, pronounced Méleḵ haMMāšîªḥ), literally meaning "the Anointed King."

The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders all thirty-nine instances of the Hebrew word for "anointed" (Mašíaḥ) as Χριστός (Khristós).^[3] The New Testament records the Greek transliteration Μεσσίας, Messias twice in John.^{[Jn. 1:41][4:25]}

Judaism[link]

The literal translation of the Hebrew word moshiach (messiah) is “anointed,” which refers to a ritual of consecrating someone or something by putting holy oil upon it.^{[1 Sam. 10:1-2]} It is used throughout the Hebrew Bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects; for example, a Jewish king,^{[1 Kings 1:39]} Jewish priests,^[Lev. 4:3] and prophets,^[Isa. 61:1] the Jewish Temple and its utensils,^{[Ex. 40:9-11]} unleavened bread,^[Num. 6:15] and a non-Jewish king (Cyrus king of Persia).^[Isa. 45:1]

The Torah describes the advent of a messiah in the Torah portion of Balak, couched in poetic prophetic prose: "I see him, but not now. I perceive him, but he is not near. There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel... From Jacob shall issue out and destroy the remnant of the city",^[5] which Jewish Biblical scholars expound refers to the king's victory over Israel's enemies.^[6]

Modern Jewish movements are based on Pharisaic Judaism was embodied in the Talmud. The Talmud is replete with references and anecdotes about the Messiah and the Messianic era. It states in tractate Sanhedrin "The Jews are destined to eat [their fill] in the days of the Messiah", "The world was created only...for the sake of the Messiah."^[7] and "All the prophets prophesied [all the good things] only in respect of the Messianic era."^[8] It also provides exegesis of scriptural verses which illustrate the events that will occur at that time. For example, resurrection of the dead, which is exegetically supported by a verse in Exodus 15: "Az Yashir Moshe..." - "Then [Moses] will sing...", from which is derived that "then" (in the Messianic Era) Moses will arise and once again sing as he did at the time of the Exodus.^[9] (Some Jewish texts also refer to a "Messiah ben Joseph" or "Messiah ben Ephraim", a military leader descended from the biblical Ephraim, who will successfully lead the army of Israel in many battles before being killed by Armilus, when Israel is defeated by Gog and Magog. His body will subsequently lie unburied in the Jerusalem streets for forty days, and he will be the first person resurrected by the Messiah descended from King David).^[10][11]

In Jewish eschatology, the term came to refer to a future Jewish King from the Davidic line, who will be "anointed" with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age. Belief in the eventual coming of a future messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism, and is one of Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith.^[12] In Judaism, the Messiah is not considered to be God or a Son of God.

The Messianic Age is described as follows by Maimonides:

And at that time there will be no hunger or war, no jealousy or rivalry. For the good will be plentiful, and all delicacies available as dust. The entire occupation of the world will be only to know God... the people Israel will be of great wisdom; they will perceive the esoteric truths and comprehend their Creator's wisdom as is the capacity of man. As it is written (Isaiah 11:9): "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea." "^[13]

Maimonides describes the identity of the Messiah in the following terms:

And if a king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight Hashem's [God's] wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue, so that they will all procalim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a united resolve (Zephaniah 3:9)."^[14]

A prominent Judaism Web site states:

Belief in the eventual coming of the mashiach is a basic and fundamental part of traditional Judaism. It is part of Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith, the minimum requirements of Jewish belief. In the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, recited three times daily, we pray for all of the elements of the coming of the Moshiach: gathering of the exiles; restoration of the religious courts of justice; an end of wickedness, sin, and heresy; reward to the righteous; rebuilding of Jerusalem; restoration of the line of King David; and restoration of Temple service.^[15]

A common modern rabbinic interpretation is that there is a potential messiah in every generation. The Talmud, which often uses stories to make a moral point (aggadah), tells of a highly respected rabbi who found the Messiah at the gates of Rome and asked him, "When will you finally come?" He was quite surprised when he was told, "Today." Overjoyed and full of anticipation, the man waited all day. The next day he returned, disappointed and puzzled, and asked, "You said messiah would come 'today' but he didn't come! What happened?" The Messiah replied, "Scripture says, 'Today, 'if you will but hearken to His voice.'"^[Ps. 95:7]

Christianity[link]

The Last Judgment, by Jean Cousin the Younger (c. late 16th century)

Christianity emerged early in the first century AD as a movement among Jews (Jewish Christians) and their Gentile converts (sometimes called Godfearers) who believed that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah. The Greek translation for 'Messiah' is khristos (χριστος), anglicized as Christ. Christians commonly refer to Jesus as either the "Christ" or the "Messiah." In Christian theology the two words are synonymous.

Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah that Jews were expecting:

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.^{[Jn. 1:41-42]}

The Christian concept of the Christ/Messiah as "the Word made Flesh" (see also Logos) is fundamentally different from the Jewish and Islamic. The majority of historical and mainline Christian theologies, as seen within the Nicene Creed, consider Jesus to be God or God the Son.

Christians believe that Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, or Daniyyel) was a prophet and gave an indication of when the Messiah, the prince mashiyach nagiyd, would come in the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks.^{[Dan. 9:25-26]} Daniel's prophecies refer to him as a descendant of King David, a Son of Man, who will rebuild the nation of Israel, destroy the wicked, and ultimately judge the whole world.

In Christian theology, the Christ/Messiah serves a number of roles. The Nicene Creed of 325 and 381 A.D. provides a convenient framework:^{[16][Full citation needed]}

• He suffers and dies to make reconciliation with God.^[17][18]
• He was raised from the dead on the third day after He was crucified to prove that He has defeated death and the power of Satan, thus enabling those that receive Him as their Savior to live under God's grace. ^{[Galatians 2:16]}
• He ascended to heaven ^{[Acts 1:9-10]} where He currently reigns over the world at God's right hand ^{[Romans 8:34][Ephesians 1:20][Colossians 3:1]} and from where he will return ^{[Acts 1:10][1Thessalonians 4:16]}
• He serves as the pioneer and embodiment of the culture and living presence of the Kingdom of God
• When he returns he will judge the world ^{[2Corinthians 5:10]} and reign over a new creation^{[Revelation 21:1]}. Christian believers are invited to spend eternity in this new world.^{[Revelation 21:22-27]} (The exact order of these things differs according to the preferred theological framework of Millennialism used to interpret the passages)
• He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and he came to earth as a human. John 1:1-2,14a: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 14a And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 8:58: Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.

In the New Testament, Jesus often referred to himself as 'Son of Man'^{[Mk. 14:61-62] [Lk. 22:66-70]}, a clear reference to the first century apocrophal book of Enoch ^[19]

""He was chosen and hidden with God before the world was created, and will remain in His presence forevermore ... He will judge all hidden things, and no one will be able to make vain excuses to him"

Christianity often interprets the phrase as a reference to Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV):

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."^{[Daniel 7:7,13]}

Because Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he claimed to be the Son of Man referred to by Daniel, Christianity interprets Daniel 7:13-14 as a statement of the Messiah's authority and that the Messiah will have an everlasting kingdom in the Messianic Age. Jesus' use of this title is seen as a direct claim to be the Messiah.^[20]

Some identified Jesus as the Messiah,^[Mk. 8:29] his opponents accused him of such a claim,^[Lk. 23:2] and he is recorded at least twice as asserting it himself directly.^{[Mk. 14:60-62] [Jn. 4:25-26]}

Christianity interprets a wide range of biblical passages in the Old Testament (Hebrew scripture) as predicting the coming of the Messiah (see Christianity and Biblical prophecy for examples), and believes that they are fulfilled in Jesus' own explicit life and teaching:

• Will be born in Bethlehem ^{[Micah 5:2-5]}
• The root of Jesse ...to whom the Gentiles will seek. ^[Ia. 11:10]
• He said to them..."Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."^{[Lk. 24:25-27]}
• "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."^{[Lk. 24:45-47]}
• The Gospel of Matthew repeatedly says, "This was to fulfill the prophecy…."
• Psalm 22 describes the actions of the crucifixion in John 19 ^{[Ps. 22][Jn. 19]}

Christians believe the Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in the mission, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and seeks to spread throughout the world its interpretation that the Messiah (Jesus) is the only God, and that Jesus will return to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy.

Islam[link]

Mary and Jesus in old Persian Shi'a miniature.

The Qur'an states Jesus the Son of Mary (Arabic: Isa ibn Maryum) is the Messiah or "Prophet" sent to the Jews,^{[Quran 3:45]} and Muslims believe Jesus is alive in Heaven and will return to Earth to defeat the Antichrist (Arabic: Dajjal).^[4]

A hadith in Abu Dawud (37:4310) says:

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus. He will descend (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish hair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill the swine, and put an end to war (in another Tradition, there is the word Jizyah instead of Harb (war), meaning that he will abolish jizyah); God will perish all religions except Islam. He [Jesus] will destroy the Antichrist who will live on the earth for forty days and then he will die. The Muslims will pray behind him.

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims agree^{[citation needed]} al-Mahdi will arrive first, and after him, Jesus. Jesus will proclaim that the true leader is al-Mahdi. A war, literally Jihad (Jihade Asghar) will be fought—the Dajjal (evil) against al-Mahdi and Jesus (good). This war will mark the approach of the coming of the Last Day. After Jesus slays al-Dajjāl at the Gate of Lud, he will bear witness and reveal that Islam is indeed the true and last word from God to humanity as Yusuf Ali's translation reads: "And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them.^{[Quran 4:159]}" He will live for several years, marry, have children and will be buried in Medina^{[citation needed]}.

A hadith in Sahih Bukhari (Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:55:658) says:

Allah's Apostle said "How will you be when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam is from amongst you."

Very few scholars outside of mainstream Islam^{[citation needed]} reject all the quotes (Hadith) attributed to Prophet Muhammad that mention the second return of Jesus, the Dajjal and Imam Mahdi, believing that they have no Qur'anic basis. However, Quran emphatically rejects the implication of termination of Jesus’ life when he was allegedly crucified. Yusuf Ali’s translation reads "That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";― but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.― (157) Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (158) Verses ^{[Quran 4:157]} imply that Jesus was not killed physically but it was made to appear so. Verse ^{[Quran 19:33]} "So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)"! implies that Jesus will die someday. The unified opinion of Islam maintains that the bodily death of Jesus will happen after his second coming.^{[citation needed]}

Many classical commentators^{[citation needed]} such as Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, Suyuti, al-Undlusi (Bahr al-Muhit), Abu al-Fadl al-Alusi (Ruh al-Maani) clearly mention that verse ^{[Quran 43:61]} of the Qur'an refers to the descent of Jesus before the Day of Resurrection, indicating that Jesus would be the Sign that the Hour is close.

And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour)... ^{[Quran 43:61]}

Ahmadiyya[link]

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement

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In Ahmadiyya, the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person.^[21] The term "Mahdi" means guided by God, thus implying a direct ordainment by God of a divinely chosen individual.^{[citation needed]} According to Ahmadiyya thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering suffering for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge).^{[citation needed]} Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^[22] among others.

Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, were in fact to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets.^[23] The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the Second Coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical and subject to interpretation. It is argued that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name.^{[citation needed]}

Numerous hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view, such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah which says, There is No Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary.^[24]

Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(1835–1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Contrary to mainstream Islam, the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.^{[citation needed]}

Other traditions[link]

• Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed to be the figure prophesied in the scriptures of the world's religions.^[25]
• Maitreya (Theosophy), a being that Theosophists believe will physically manifest sometime in the 21st century and who will be the Messiah expected by various religions.
• Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is regarded to be the Messiah by followers of the Rastafari movement.^[26]

See also[link]

• False messiah
• Jewish Messiah claimants
• Kalki, a figure in Hindu eschatology
• Li Hong, a figure in Taoist eschatology.
• List of messiah claimants
• Maitreya, a bodhisattva in Buddhist eschatology.
• Maitreya (Theosophy)
• Messianism
• People claiming to be the Mahdi
• Saoshyant, a figure in Zoroastrian eschatology.
• Year 6000

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kaplan, Aryeh. From Messiah to Christ, 2004. New York: Orthodox Union.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Messiah

• Messiah in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Messiah
• The Qur'anic Verses That Mention the Title "Messiah"
• The Concept of Messiah in Islam
• The Concept of Messiah in Messianic Judaism

Sir Colin Davis (2007)

Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE (born 25 September 1927) is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.

He studied as a clarinettist, but was intent on becoming a conductor. After struggles as a freelance conductor from 1949 to 1957, he gained a series of appointments with orchestras including the BBC Scottish Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has been associated with the London Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years, including over ten years as its principal conductor. He has also held the musical directorships of Sadler's Wells Opera and the Royal Opera House, where he was principal conductor for over fifteen years. His guest conductorships include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dresden Staatskapelle, among many others.

As a teacher, Davis holds posts at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and the Carl Maria von Weber High School of Music in Dresden. He made his first gramophone recordings in 1958, and his discography built up in the succeeding five decades is extensive, with a large number of studio recordings for Philips Records and a growing catalogue of live recordings for the London Symphony Orchestra's own label.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey, the youngest of three sons among seven siblings, to Reginald George and Lillian Davis.^[1][2] The family was musical, and Davis was exposed to music from his early years. He recalled, "I can still see Sargent conducting the first concert I ever attended. I can still hear Melchior in the final scene of Siegfried – an old 78 playing on my father's gramophone. … I can also remember the moment I decided to make music my life. I was 13 or 14 at the time and the performance was of Beethoven's Eighth. Doors were suddenly opened. I became totally involved, even obsessed by music, although I was frightfully enclosed by my likes and dislikes. Today I'm game for anything."^[3]

The Royal College of Music, where Davis studied

Davis was educated at Christ's Hospital and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied the clarinet with Frederick Thurston.^[4] As a clarinettist he was overshadowed by his fellow-student Gervase de Peyer, but he had in any case already set his mind to conducting. He was, however, not eligible for the conducting class at the college, because he could not play the piano.^[5]

His ambitions to conduct were further disrupted by compulsory military service, which was in force in Britain at that time. After leaving the college, Davis served as a clarinettist in the band of the Household Cavalry. Stationed at Windsor he had continual opportunities to attend concerts in London under conductors including Sir Thomas Beecham and Bruno Walter. After completing his military service, he launched himself in 1949 into what he later described as the "freelance wilderness", where he remained until 1957.^[2] His first conducting work was with the Kalmar Orchestra, which he co-founded with other former students of the Royal College. He made a good impression and was invited to conduct the recently founded Chelsea Opera Group in Don Giovanni. In the early years of his career he also took some engagements as an orchestral clarinettist.^[6] What seemed at first to be a full-time conducting appointment, for the Original Ballet Russe in 1952, came to an abrupt end after three months, when the company collapsed. In between sparse conducting engagements, Davis worked as a coach and lecturer, including spells at the Cambridge University Musical Society and the Bryanston Summer School, where a performance of L'enfance du Christ awakened his love of Berlioz's music.^[7]

BBC and Sadler's Wells[link]

His first breakthrough came in 1957, when at his third attempt he secured the post of assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra (now the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra). The chief conductor of the orchestra generally chose to conduct the standard repertoire pieces himself, leaving Davis with modern works and non-standard repertoire works including those of Berlioz.^[8] By 1959 he had developed to the extent that, after a concert of Stravinsky and Mozart with the London Mozart Players, the chief music critic of The Observer, Peter Heyworth, wrote, "Mr Davis conducted two works in a manner that showed that he is not only outstanding among our younger conductors, but probably the best we have produced since Sir Thomas Beecham, his senior by forty-eight years."^[9]

Glyndebourne, scene of one of Davis's early breakthroughs

Davis first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of Don Giovanni, at the Royal Festival Hall in 1959. A year later, Beecham invited him to collaborate with him in preparing The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne. Beecham was taken ill, and Davis conducted the opera. After the Don Giovanni, The Times wrote, "A superb conductor of Mozart declared himself last night at the Festival Hall…. Mr Davis emerged as a conductor ripe for greatness."^[10] Neville Cardus in The Guardian was less enthusiastic but nevertheless considered that Davis "had his triumphs" in the performance.^[11] After The Magic Flute, The Times called Davis "master of Mozart's idiom, style and significance",^[12] although Heyworth in The Observer was disappointed by his tempi, judging them to be too slow.^[13]

In 1960 Davis made his début at the Proms in a programme of Britten, Schumann, Mozart and Berlioz.^[14] In the same year, he was appointed chief conductor of Sadler's Wells Opera, and in 1961 he was made musical director of the company, with whom he built up a large repertoire of operas, conducting in London and on tour.^[15] Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians wrote of this period, "He excelled in Idomeneo, The Rake's Progress and Oedipus rex, and Fidelio; his Wagner, Verdi and Puccini were less successful. He introduced Weill's Mahagonny, and Pizzetti's Assassinio nella cattedrale to the British public and conducted the première of Bennett's The Mines of Sulphur (1965)."^[16] Together with the stage director Glen Byam Shaw, he worked to present operas in a way that gave due weight to the drama as well as the music.^[17] In his early years, Davis was known as something of a firebrand with a short fuse in rehearsals, and his departure from Sadler's Wells in 1965 was not without acrimony.^[18]

After he left Sadler's Wells it was widely expected that he would be offered the chief conductorship of the London Symphony Orchestra, but the post went to István Kertész. Soon afterwards Davis was offered the post of chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though the appointment was not effective until September 1967.^[19] At first, so far as the public was concerned, his tenure was overshadowed, at least during the orchestra's most conspicuous concert seasons, the Proms, by the memory of Sir Malcolm Sargent, who had been an immensely popular figure as chief conductor of the Proms until 1966. Sargent had been "a suave father figure"^[20] to the promenaders, and it took some time for the much younger Davis to be accepted.^[19] The BBC's official historian of the Proms later wrote, "Davis never really identified himself with the Proms in the way that Sargent had done.^[20] Davis was uncomfortable with the traditional hullabaloo of the Last Night of the Proms and attempted, unsuccessfully, to modernise it.^[21] The BBC's Controller of Music, William Glock, was a long-standing admirer of Davis, and encouraged him to put on adventurous programmes, with a new emphasis on modern music, both at the Proms and throughout the rest of the orchestra's annual schedule.^[22]

Covent Garden[link]

In 1970, Sir David Webster, who ran the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet companies at Covent Garden, invited Davis to succeed Georg Solti as principal conductor of the opera.^[23] At about the same time, the Boston Symphony Orchestra invited him to become its musical director, but Davis felt that if Covent Garden needed him, it was his duty to take on the post.^[17] Webster's vision was that Davis and the stage director Peter Hall, formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company, would work in equal partnership as musical director and director of productions. After early successes together, including the première of Michael Tippett's The Knot Garden in December 1970, Hall left to succeed Laurence Olivier as director of the National Theatre. Webster had retired by that time, leaving Davis, together with Webster's successor as General Administrator, John Tooley, to run the Royal Opera.^[23]

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where Davis was musical director, 1970–86

Davis's early months in charge at Covent Garden were marked by dissatisfaction among some of the audience, and booing was heard at a "disastrous" Nabucco in 1971, and his conducting of Wagner's Ring was at first compared unfavourably with that of his predecessor.^[24] Among his successes were Berlioz's massive Les Troyens and Benvenuto Cellini, Verdi's Falstaff, the major Mozart operas, and, as one critic put it, he "confirmed his preeminence as a Britten and Stravinsky interpreter" with productions of Peter Grimes and The Rake's Progress.^[24] Davis conducted more than 30 operas during his fifteen-year tenure,^[16] but "since people like Maazel, Abbado and Muti would only come for new productions", Davis yielded the baton to these foreign conductors, giving up the chance to conduct several major operas, including Der Rosenkavalier, Rigoletto and Aida.^[24]

In addition to the standard operatic repertoire, Davis conducted a number of atonal and other modern operas, including Alban Berg's Lulu and Wozzeck, Tippett's The Knot Garden and The Ice Break (of which he is the dedicatee),^[16] and Alexander Zemlinsky's The Dwarf and Eine Florentinische Tragödie.^[25] With later stage directors at Covent Garden, Davis preferred to work with those who respected the libretto: "I have a hankering for producers who don't feel jealous of composers for being better than they are, and want to impose their, often admittedly clever, ideas on the work in hand."^[26] Davis hoped that Goetz Friedrich, with whom he worked on Wagner's Ring cycle, would take on the role of principal producer vacated by Hall, "but it seemed that nobody wanted to commit themselves."^[24]

During his Covent Garden tenure, Davis was also principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1975 and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1972 to 1984.^[2] Another guest conducting engagement was in 1977, when he became the first English conductor to appear at Bayreuth, where he conducted the opening opera of the festival, Tannhäuser. Despite the Bayreuth habitués' suspicion of newcomers,^[27] Davis's Tannhäuser was "highly successful".^[28] He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in 1969, the Vienna State Opera in 1986 and the Bavarian State Opera in 1994.^[2]

Bavarian Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestras[link]

From 1983 to 1993, Davis was chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom he developed his concert hall repertoire, including symphonies by Bruckner and Mahler.^[18] He was offered but declined the chief conductorships of the Cleveland Orchestra in succession to Maazel and the New York Philharmonic in succession to Zubin Mehta.^[29] As a principal guest conductor he was associated with the Dresden Staatskapelle, which appointed him honorary conductor (Ehrendirigent) in 1990, the first in the orchestra's 460-year-history.^[30] From 1998–2003, he was principal guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic.^[2]

In 1995, Davis was appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. It was the culmination of a long association with the orchestra. He had first conducted the LSO in 1959, and in 1964 he headed the orchestra's first world tour. He became principal guest conductor in 1975 and was at the helm in the LSO's first major series at its new home, the Barbican Centre, in a Berlioz/Tippett festival in 1983.^[30] In 1997 he conducted the LSO's first residency at Lincoln Center in New York City.^[30] Davis was the longest-serving principal conductor in the history of the LSO holding the post from 1995 until 2006, after which the orchestra appointed him President of the LSO, an honour previously held only by Arthur Bliss, William Walton, Karl Böhm and Leonard Bernstein.^[31] On 21 June 2009, 50 years to the day after his first LSO performance, a special concert was given at the Barbican, at which present-day players were joined by many past members of the orchestra.^[30] Davis's programme for the concert was Mozart's Symphony No 40 in G minor, and Brahms's Piano Concerto No 2, with Nelson Freire as soloist.^[32]

During his time with the LSO, both as principal conductor and later as president, Davis has conducted series and cycles of the music of Sibelius, Berlioz, Bruckner, Mozart, Elgar, Beethoven, and Brahms,^[30] and in 2009 began presenting a cycle of the symphonies of Carl Nielsen.^[33] Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians wrote, "He conducted a Sibelius cycle in 1992 and a concert performance of Les Troyens the following year, both of which have become the stuff of legend. More recently he has added grand performances of Bruckner, Richard Strauss and Elgar, the première of Tippett's last major work, The Rose Lake (1995), and a Berlioz cycle begun with Benvenuto Cellini in 1999 and crowned by an incandescent Les Troyens in December 2000, all confirming his partnership with the LSO as one of the most important of its time."^[16]

Teacher[link]

Davis is president of the Landesgymnasium für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden,^[34] and holds the International Chair of Orchestral Studies at the Royal Academy of Music, London.^[35] Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, principal of the academy, wrote of Davis, "As the Academy's International Chair of Conducting over 25 years, Sir Colin has helmed six opera productions and over sixty concerts, classes and chamber music projects. Such extraordinary generosity from a major international conductor is surely unique. He has inspired a whole generation here, as did Henry Wood and John Barbirolli before him."^[30]

Recordings[link]

Davis's discography is extensive. He made his first records in 1958 for the World Record Club: three Mozart symphonies and the Oboe Concerto with Leon Goossens. He made several records for the small independent label L'Oiseau Lyre, including a 1960 L'enfance du Christ and a 1962 Béatrice et Bénédict which, at January 2010, were both still available on CD. For EMI he made both operatic and orchestral recordings, the former with Sadler's Wells forces, including excerpts from Carmen and a complete Oedipus Rex, and the latter including Harold in Italy with Yehudi Menuhin, and what remains one of his best-known recordings, a 1961 Beethoven Seventh Symphony.^[36][37]

Philips and RCA[link]

In the 1960s, Davis signed as an exclusive artist for Philips Records, with whom he made an extensive range of recordings in the symphonic repertoire and a large number of operatic recordings, including the major Mozart operas; operas by Tippett, Britten, Verdi and Puccini; and a comprehensive survey of the operas of Berlioz, culminating in an award-winning first recording of the complete Les Troyens issued in May 1970.^[18][38]

Davis's 1966 Philips recording of Handel's Messiah was regarded as revelatory at the time of its issue for its departure from the large-scale Victorian-style performances that had been customary before then.^[39] Other Philips recordings included a 1982 set of Haydn's twelve London Symphonies with the Concertgebouw Orchestra "distinguished by performances of tremendous style and authority, and a sense of rhythmic impetus that is most exhilarating";^[40] and a 1995 Beethoven symphony cycle with the Dresden Staatskapelle, of which The Gramophone wrote, "There has not been a Beethoven cycle like this since Klemperer's heyday."^[41]

Davis made a number of records with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Philips, including the first of his three Sibelius cycles, which remains in the CD catalogues. They also recorded works by Debussy, Grieg, Schubert, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky.

For RCA, Davis recorded complete symphony cycles of Sibelius (with the LSO), Brahms (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1989–98), and Schubert (Dresden Staatskapelle, 1996).

LSO Live[link]

Davis's terms as chief conductor, and latterly president, of the LSO have coincided with the orchestra's decision to launch its own record label, issuing live recordings (patched where necessary with takes from rehearsals) at budget prices. Davis's recordings on the LSO Live label include Beethoven's opera Fidelio (2006), a wide range of Berlioz works, including a second recording of Les Troyens (2000), La Damnation de Faust (2000), Roméo et Juliette (2000), Béatrice et Bénédict (2000), Harold en Italie (2003), and the Symphonie Fantastique (2000); Britten's Peter Grimes (2004); Dvořák's Symphonies Nos. 6–9 (1999–2004); five Elgar sets: the Enigma Variations (2007) and the Introduction and Allegro for Strings (2005), the three symphonies (2001), and The Dream of Gerontius (2005); Handel's Messiah (2006); Haydn's Die Schöpfung (2007); Holst's The Planets (2002); James MacMillan's St John Passion, (2008) The World's Ransoming and The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (2007); Mozart's Requiem (2007); Nielsen's Symphonies Nos. 4-5 (2011); a third Sibelius symphony cycle (2002–2008); Smetana's Má vlast (2005); Tippett's A Child of our Time (2007), Verdi's Falstaff (2004), Requiem (2009), and Otello (2010); and Walton's First Symphony (2005).^[42]

Awards[link]

Davis was appointed CBE in 1965,^[43] knighted in 1980^[44] and appointed Companion of Honour in 2001.^[45] He was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society's gold medal in 1995,^[2] the Queen's Medal for Music, 2009,^[46] and has numerous international awards, including Commendatore of the Republic of Italy, 1976; Commander's Cross, Order of Merit (Germany), 1987; Commandeur, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), 1990; Commander, Order of the Lion (Finland), 1992; Order of Merit (Bavaria), 1993; Officier, Légion d'Honneur (France), 1999 (Chevalier, 1982); Order of Maximilian (Bavaria), 2000.^[2]

Other awards include Pipe Smoker of the Year in 1996,^[47] Male Artist of the Year in the Classical Brit Awards 2008,^[47] and the Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Opera for his LSO Live recording of Verdi's Falstaff.^[30]

Personal life[link]

In 1949, Davis married the soprano April Cantelo. They had two children, Suzanne and Christopher. Their marriage ended in 1964, and in that same year, Davis married Ashraf Naini, known as Shamsi. To satisfy both the Iranian and British authorities, the couple were married three times, once in Iran and twice in the UK, in the Iranian Embassy as well as in a regular UK civil ceremony; they had five children.^[48] One of their children is the conductor Joseph Wolfe, who chose a different surname, because he wanted to "create some space to grow and develop my own identity as a musician."^[49] Lady Davis died in June 2010.^[50]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Blyth, Alan (1972). Colin Davis. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 675416. 
• Cox, David (1980). The Henry Wood Proms. London: BBC. ISBN 0-563-17697-0. 
• Haltrecht, Montague (1975). The Quiet Showman: Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House. London. ISBN 0-00-211163-2. 
• Morrison, Richard (2004). Orchestra – The LSO: A Century of Triumph and Turbulence. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN -571-21584-X. 
• Orga, Ateş (1974). The Proms. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. OCLC 1121308. 

External links[link]

• Morrison, Richard. "Monarch of all he's survived", Profile of Davis at 80 – The Times, 21 September 2007
• Colin Davis at Allmusic

Mark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.

Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent in England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1982 with an honours degree in music.

He was first recognised as a singer with potential by William Christie and Philippe Herreweghe, with whom he sang several pieces written by Bach. His operatic experience is well-rounded and extensive, performing songs from such operas as Don Giovanni, Jephtha, and Platée. He has performed at various festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

References[link]

• Artist's website, accessed 25 January 2010
• Management webpage, accessed 25 January 2010
• Mark Padmore at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times review by Steve Smith (February 26, 2009), accessed 25 January 2010
• Classical Archives Interview

This article about a British opera singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Chris Tomlin
Chris Tomlin
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Dwayne Tomlin
Born	(1972-05-04) May 4, 1972 (age 40)
Origin	Grand Saline, Texas U.S.
Genres	Contemporary worship music, CCM
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist worship leader
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	1998–present
Labels	sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records
Website	Official website

Christopher Dwayne "Chris" Tomlin (born May 4, 1972) is an American Christian Contemporary Music artist, worship leader, and songwriter from Grand Saline, Texas, United States. He was a staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is signed to EMI's sixstepsrecords. Tomlin leads worship at many Passion events. Some of his most well-known songs are "How Great Is Our God", "Jesus Messiah", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)", and the recent song "Our God" which he co-wrote with Matt Redman, Jesse Reeves and Jonas Myrin. He is currently a worship leader at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia with Louie Giglio and Christy Nockels.

He was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2006, 2007, 2008 GMA Dove Awards, and Grammy Award Winner for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2012. He was named Artist of the Year in 2007. Tomlin released his seventh studio album, And If Our God Is for Us..., on November 16, 2010. He is one of the members of CompassionArt, a charity founded by Martin Smith (and Smith's wife, Anna) of the band Delirious?.

His newest album is How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection. released on November 15, 2011.

Early life[link]

Tomlin was born in Grand Saline, Texas in 1972 to Connie and Donna Tomlin. He has two younger brothers, Ryan and Cory.^[1] Chris Tomlin first learned how to play the guitar by playing along side Willie Nelson records.^[2]

Tomlin wrote his first worship song at age fourteen. He entered college planning to study physical therapy, but says he felt God's calling to something else.^{[citation needed]}

In the mid-1990s Tomlin was a worship leader at the Dawson McAllister Youth Conferences, as well as at various church camps in Texas.

After attending Tyler Junior College and Texas A&M University, Tomlin continued to play and write songs, and in 1997, youth speaker Louie Giglio asked if he would be interested in working with the Passion Conferences. Tomlin has been in that movement ever since.

Musical career[link]

Chris performing at a concert in Johnson City, Tennessee

His first nationally released solo project, titled The Noise We Make, was released in 2001, featuring the songs "Forever," "Be Glorified", and "Kindness", each of which made the top 200 in the CCLI 2005 top 500 worship songs.^[3] He released the live EP 545 in 2002, and the studio album Not to Us (2002).

Although he is a solo artist, Tomlin uses a consistent band lineup. He writes many of his songs with the band members. The band includes of Daniel Carson (electric guitar, backup vocals), Jesse Reeves (bass guitar, backup vocals), Travis Nunn (drums), and Matt Gilder (piano, keys). He plays guitar and piano.

According to Christian Copyright Licensing International's list of the top 25 worship songs in the US in August 2007, Tomlin held 5 spots with songs he has either written or co-written: "How Great Is Our God" (No. 1), "Forever" (No. 5), "Holy Is the Lord" (No. 7), "We Fall Down" (No. 12), and "Indescribable" (No. 22). In 2008, Tomlin held 6 spots on 20 The Countdown Magazine's top 20 praise and worship songs: "We Fall Down" (No. 14), "Forever" (No. 10), "Holy is the Lord" (No. 8), "Indescribable" (No. 6), "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" (No. 3), and "How Great is our God" (No. 1).^[4]

Tomlin has toured with contemporary Christian music artists, such as Delirious? during his first tour, and as a supporting act of Steven Curtis Chapman during his All Things New Tour. Tomlin has headlined several tours, such as the Chris Tomlin Indescribable Tour, which featured worship artist Matt Redman, and speaker Louie Giglio,^[5] and headlining the See the Morning Tour. From April to October 2007, Tomlin toured with Louie Giglio and Matt Redman on his "How Great Is Our God" tour.^[3] In 2008, Tomlin toured with Passion Conferences on its world tour. In early 2009, he was in the Hello Love tour with Israel Houghton and New Breed. In summer of 2010, he was in the "Hello Tonight" tour with TobyMac.

Tomlin has been featured at conferences and music festivals. Among these, he played at Grand Saline's annual Salt Festival.^[6] Hillsong's 2007 conference, and the 2008 Compassionart International Songwriting retreat, which was dedicated to writing songs whose revenue would support charities serving the poorest of the world's poor. Other prominent songwriters included were Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Stuart Garrard, and Steven Curtis Chapman. In 2009, Tomlin played at the Harvest Crusade at Anaheim Angels Stadium.

On June 14, 2007, Tomlin's version of the song "Indescribable" was used as the official wake-up call for Mission Specialist Patrick Forrester on Space Shuttle mission STS-117.

In May 2008, Tomlin announced a move from The Austin Stone Community Church, to start a new church with Louie Giglio in Atlanta, Georgia.^[7][8]

In 2009, Tomlin released a Christmas album, Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship.^[9] It includes three original Christmas songs and features duets with Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, and Audrey Assad. The album peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 list and at No. 1 for Holiday albums.

Personal life[link]

Tomlin married Lauren Bricken,^[10] on November 9, 2010.^[11][12][13]

In May 2011, Tomlin announced that he and Lauren are expecting their first child.^[14][15] He announced on Twitter that the couple's daughter, Ashlyn Alexandra Tomlin, was born in September 2011.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

• Inside Your Love (1995)
• Authentic (1998)
• Too Much Free Time (1998) with Ross King
• The Noise We Make (2001)
• Not to Us (2002)
• Arriving (2004)
• See the Morning (2006)
• Hello Love (2008)
• Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship (2009)
• And If Our God Is for Us... (2010)
• How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection (2011)

Passion event albums

• Better Is One Day (1999)
• The Road To One Day (2000)
• One Day: Live (2000)
• Our Love is Loud (2002)
• Sacred Revolution: Songs From OneDay 03 (2003)
• Hymns: Ancient and Modern (2004)
• How Great Is Our God (2005)
• Everything Glorious (2006)
• The Best of Passion (So Far) (2006)
• Live From Passion 07 Pts. 1 & 3 (2007)
• God of This City (2008)
• Awakening (2010)
• Here for You (2011)
• White Flag (2012)

Non-album songs

• "Whisper My Name" [Forefront] - Eterne: Never Be the Same (2000)
• "Salvation" - Pour Over Me - Worship Together Live 2001 (2001)
• "Give Us Clean Hands" - Pour Over Me - Worship Together Live 2001 (2001)
• "Satisfied" [Forefront] - Secrets Of The Vine: Music... A Worship Experience (2002)
• "Lord, I'm Gonna Love You" [Sparrow] - Your Love Broke Through (2002)
• "Expressions of Your Love" (duet w/ Rebecca St. James) [Sparrow] - It Takes Two: 15 Collaborations & Duets (2003)
• "Where the Streets Have No Name" [Sparrow/EMI CMG] - In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa (2004)
• "You're The One" [Disney/EMI CMG] - Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)
• "Angels We Have Heard On High" [Word] - WOW Christmas: Green (2005)
• "Mighty to Save" [Integrity] - Bonus disc included with Fruitcake and Ice Cream DVD (2008)
• "Your Heart [David] - Music Inspired by The Story (2011)

Charts[link]

Albums - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)

¹ Currently active on the charts

Music videos[link]

• "Expressions of Your Love" (With Rebecca St. James) (2004)
• "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)" (2007)
• "I Lift My Hands" (2011)

Awards[link]

Grammy Awards[link]

GMA Dove Awards[link]

Throughout his career, Chris Tomlin has been nominated to 32 Dove Awards (6 of them, collaborative efforts) and won 17 of them.

• *Denotes a collaborative effort or a song contribution to a "Various artists" album.
• ¹ The song was performed by Tomlin, but written and produced by Laura Story.
• ² The song was performed by LaRue Howard, but written by Tomlin.

[edit] Billboard Music Awards

Others[link]

Tomlin was nominated for two 2009 Visionary Award: Male Entertainer of the Year and Song of the Year for "Jesus Messiah".^[17]

Bibliography[link]

• Chris Tomlin, The Way I Was Made: Words and Music for an Unusual Life, Multnomah, 2004. ISBN 978-1-59052-327-8

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Austin Stone Community Church
• Article in Time Magazine
• One Million Can

Roy Buchanan
Buchanan performing at the Pinecrest Country Club in Shelton, Connecticut
Background information
Birth name	Leroy Buchanan
Born	(1939-09-23)September 23, 1939, Ozark, Arkansas, US
Died	August 14, 1988(1988-08-14) (aged 48), Fairfax, Virginia, US
Genres	Blues, blues rock, electric blues, rock and roll, rockabilly, country
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass, vocals
Years active	1958–1988
Labels	Polydor, Atlantic, Alligator
Associated acts	Robbie Robertson, Danny Gatton, Dale Hawkins, Danny Deever, The Snakestretchers, The British Walkers
Notable instruments
1953 Fender Telecaster "Nancy"

Roy Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound,^[1] Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career,^[2] and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still considered a highly influential guitar player.^[3] Ranked #57 on the Rolling Stone list "100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time," Guitar Player praised him as having one of the "50 Greatest Tones of all Time."^[1]

Early career[link]

Roy Buchanan was born in Ozark, Arkansas, and was raised there and in Pixley, California, a farming area near Bakersfield. His father was a sharecropper in Arkansas and a farm laborer in California.^[4] Buchanan told interviewers that his father was also a Pentecostal preacher, a note repeated in Guitar Player magazine but refuted by his older brother J.D.^[4][5] Buchanan told how his first musical memories were of racially mixed revival meetings he attended with his mother Minnie. "Gospel," he recalled, "that's how I first got into black music." He in fact drew upon many disparate influences while learning to play his instrument (though he later claimed his aptitude derived from being "half-wolf"). He initially showed talent on steel guitar before switching to guitar in the early 50s, and started his professional career at age 15, in Johnny Otis's rhythm and blues revue.^[3]

In 1958, Buchanan made his recording debut with Dale Hawkins, including playing the solo on "My Babe" for Chicago's Chess Records.^[4] Two years later, during a tour through Toronto, Buchanan left Dale Hawkins to play for his cousin Ronnie Hawkins and tutor Ronnie's guitar player, Robbie Robertson. Buchanan plays bass on the Ronnie Hawkins single, "Who Do You Love?"^{[citation needed]}. Buchanan soon returned to the U.S. and Ronnie Hawkins' group later gained fame as The Band.^[6] In the early '60s, Buchanan performed numerous gigs as a sideman with various rock bands, and played guitar in a number of sessions with Freddy Cannon, Merle Kilgore, and others. At the end of the 1960s, with a growing family, Buchanan left the music industry for a while to learn a trade, and trained for a while as a hairdresser.^[4] In the early '70s, Roy Buchanan performed extensively in the Washington D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area with the Danny Denver Band, which had a large following in the area.^{[citation needed]}

Recording career[link]

Buchanan's 1962 recording with drummer Bobby Gregg, nicknamed "Potato Peeler," first introduced the trademark Buchanan "pinch" harmonics. An effort to cash in on the British Invasion caught Buchanan with The British Walkers. In the mid-'60s, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, D.C., area, playing for Danny Denver's band for many years while acquiring a reputation as "...one of the very finest rock guitarists around. Jimi Hendrix wouldn't take up the challenge of a 'pick-off' with Roy."^[7] The facts behind that claim are that in March 1968 a photographer friend, John Gossage gave Buchanan tickets to a concert by the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Washington Hilton. "Buchanan was dismayed to find his own trademark sounds, like the wah-wah that he'd painstakingly produced with his hands and his Telecaster, created by electronic pedals. He could never attempt Hendrix's stage show, and this realization refocused him on his own quintessentially American roots-style guitar picking."^[8] Gossage recalls how Roy was very into the Hendrix 1967 debut album "Are You Experienced?" which was why he made sure to give Roy a ticket to the early show at the Hilton. Gossage went backstage to take photos and tried to convince Jimi to go see Roy at the Silver Dollar that night after the show, but Jimi seemed more interested in hanging out with the young lady that was backstage with him. Gossage confirms Hendrix never showed up at the Silver Dollar, but he did talk to Roy about seeing the Hilton show. That same night (as the Hilton show) Roy did several Hendrix numbers and "from that point on, had nothing but good things to say about Hendrix".^[9] He later released recordings of the Hendrix composition 'If six was nine' and the Hendrix hit 'Hey Joe'.

Buchanan's life changed in 1971, when he gained national notice as the result of an hour-long PBS television documentary. Entitled Introducing Roy Buchanan, and sometimes mistakenly called The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, it earned a record deal with Polydor and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard, besides an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones (which he turned down).^[10]

He recorded five albums for Polydor, one of which, Second Album, went gold,^[11] and after that another three for Atlantic Records, one of which, 1977's Loading Zone, also went gold.^[2][12] Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.^[10]

Four years later, Alligator Records coaxed Buchanan back into the studio.^[10] His first album for Alligator, When a Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time he had total artistic freedom in the studio.^[13] His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge (with vocals on three tracks by Delbert McClinton), was released in the fall of 1986.

He released the twelfth and last album of his career, Hot Wires, in 1987. According to his agent and others, Buchanan was doing well, having gained control of his drinking habit and playing again, when he was arrested for public intoxication after a domestic dispute.^[2][5] He was found hanged from his own shirt in a jail cell on 14 August 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia Jail. According to Jerry Hentman, who was in a cell nearby Buchanan's, the Deputy Sheriff opened the door early in the morning and found Buchanan with the shirt around his neck.^[6][12]

His cause of death was officially recorded as suicide, a finding disputed by Buchanan's friends and family. One of his friends, Marc Fisher, reported seeing Roy's body with bruises on the head.^[6]

After his death, compilation and other albums continue to be released, including in 2004 the never-released first album he recorded for Polydor, The Prophet.

Guitars, tone, and technique[link]

Guitars[link]

Buchanan used a number of guitars in his career, although he was most often associated with a 1953 Fender Telecaster, serial number 2324, nicknamed "Nancy."^[14] There are two very different stories explaining how Buchanan got the guitar. He himself said that, while enrolled in 1969 in a school to learn to be a hairdresser, he ran after a guy walking down the street with that guitar, and bought him a purple Telecaster to trade. A friend of Buchanan's, however, said that Buchanan was playing a Gibson Les Paul at the time, and traded it for the '53 Tele.^[4] One of Buchanan's Telecasters was later owned by Danny Gatton and Mike Stern, who lost it in a robbery.^[15]

Tone[link]

Buchanan achieved his sound through minimum means. He played the Telecaster through a Fender Vibrolux with the volume and tone "full out," and used the guitar's volume and tone controls to control volume and sound^[16] (he achieved a wah wah effect using the tone control).^[5][14] To achieve his desired distorted sounds, Buchanan at one point used a razorblade to slit the paper cones of the speakers in his amp, an approach also employed by the Kinks' Dave Davies; additionally, he was even reputed to have poured water over the tubes in his amplifiers.^[17] Buchanan rarely used effects pedals, though he started using an Echoplex on A Street Called Straight (1976),.^[5] In his later career he played with a Boss DD-2 delay.^[14]

Technique[link]

Buchanan taught himself various playing techniques, including "chicken pickin". He sometimes used his thumb nail rather than a plectrum, and also employed it to augment his index finger and pick. Holding the pick between his thumb and forefinger, Buchanan also plucked the string and simultaneously touched it lightly with the lower edge of his thumb at one of the harmonic nodes, thus suppressing lower overtones and emphasising the harmonic, sometimes referred to as pinch harmonics,^[14] though Buchanan called it an "overtone."^[5] Buchanan could play harmonics at will, and could mute individual strings with free right-hand fingers while picking or pinching others. He was famous as well for his oblique bends.^[18]

Having first played lap steel guitar, Buchanan often imitated its effect and bent strings to the required pitch, rather than starting on the desired note.^[5][14] This was particularly notable in his approach to using double and triple stops.

Legacy[link]

Buchanan has influenced many guitarists, including Gary Moore,^[19] Danny Gatton, and Jeff Beck;^[20] Beck dedicated his version of "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" from Blow by Blow to him.^[21] His work is said to "stretch the limits of the electric guitar,"^[11] and he is praised for "his subtlety of tone and the breadth of his knowledge, from the blackest of blues to moaning R&B and clean, concise, bone-deep rock 'n' roll."^[22] In 2004, Guitar Player listed his version of "Sweet Dreams," from his debut album on Polydor, Roy Buchanan, as having one of the "50 Greatest Tones of All Time."^[1] In the same year, the readers of Guitar Player voted Buchanan #46 in a top 50 readers' poll.^[23] Roy is the subject of Freddy Blohm's song "King of a Small Room."

Buchanan's "Sweet Dreams" provides the soundtrack to the final scene in the Best Picture-winning film The Departed.

Roy Buchanan is interred at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Discography[link]

• Buch and the Snakestretchers, 1971, BIOYA
• Roy Buchanan and the Snakestretchers, 1972, BIOYA
• Roy Buchanan, 1972, Polydor
• Second Album, 1973, Polydor
• That's What I Am Here For, 1974, Polydor
• In the Beginning (UK title: Rescue Me), 1974, Polydor
• Live Stock, 1975, Polydor
• A Street Called Straight, 1976, Atlantic
• Loading Zone, 1977, Atlantic
• Live in U.S.A. & Holland 77-85 - Silver Shadow CD 9104
• You're Not Alone, 1978, Atlantic
• Live in Japan - 1977, 1978, Polydor MPF 1105
• My Babe, 1981, AJK
• When a Guitar Plays the Blues, 1985, Alligator
• Live - Charly Blues Legend vol. 9 85-87, Charly Schallplatten GMBH, CBL 758*
• Dancing on the Edge, 1986, Alligator
• Hot Wires, 1987, Alligator
• Early Years, 1989, Krazy Kat
• Sweet Dreams: The Anthology, 1992, Polydor
• Guitar on Fire: The Atlantic Sessions, 1993, Rhino
• Charly Blues Masterworks: Roy Buchanan Live, 1999, RedX entertainment
• Deluxe Edition: Roy Buchanan, 2001, Alligator^[10]
• 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Roy Buchanan, 2002, Polydor
• American Axe: Live In 1974, 2003, Powerhouse Records
• The Prophet - The Unreleased First Polydor Album, 2004, Hip-O Select/Polydor
• Live, 2006, Charly Records
• The Definitive Collection, 2006, Polydor
• Rhino Hi-Five: Roy Buchanan, 2007, Rhino Atlantic
• Live: Amazing Grace, 2009, Powerhouse

References[link]

External links[link]

• Discography
• Biography, Discography and Photo Gallery
• Roy Buchanan discography at Discogs