G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns

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]

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 3 stars, noting, "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]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[11]

All compositions by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann

1. "Reading of Sacred Books" - 8:19
2. "Prayer and Despair" - 3:50
3. "Religious Ceremony" - 4:07
4. "Hymn" - 2:45
5. "Orthodox Hymn from Asia Minor" - 3:04
6. "Hymn for Good Friday" - 1:35
7. "Hymn" - 2:30
8. "Hymn for Easter Thursday" - 3:26
9. "Hymn to the Endless Creator" - 2:04
10. "Hymn from a Great Temple" - 4:30
11. "The Story of the Resurrection Of Christ" - 1:37
12. "Holy Affirming - Holy Denying - Holy Reconciling" - 4:14
13. "Easter Night Procession" - 2:54
14. "Easter Hymn" - 5:49
15. "Meditation" - 1:42

• Keith Jarrett – piano

Production

• Manfred Eicher - producer
• Kathelin Hoffman - research and co-ordination
• Martin Wieland - recording engineer
• Barbara Wojirsch - cover design and layout