Ivan Moody (1964-2024), foi um compositor, maestro e musicólogo, pai da tubista Sofia Moody e da trombonista Bárbara Moody. A viúva, Susana Moody, é contralto, é membro do coro do São Carlos, e faz música antiga cantando e tocando viola-da-gamba.

Ivan Moody estudou Música e Teologia nas Universidades de Londres, Joensuu e York (onde se doutorou). Estudou composição com Brian Dennis, Sir John Tavener e William Brooks. A sua música tem sido executada e transmitida por todo o mundo, encomendada e tocada por executantes mundialmente reconhecidos.

As suas obras mais substanciais são Passion and Resurrection (1992), o Akathistos Hymn (1998) e Qohelet (2013), um concerto para marimba para a percussionista croata Ivana Bilic, Vespers Sequence, para o ensemble New York Polyphony, obra estreada en Nova Iorque em Janeiro de 2017, Isangele, estreada pelo Coro de Câmara Inglês em Patmos em Agosto de 2018 e três motetes para Trio Mediaeval, estreados em Oslo em Outubro de 2018.

Projectos futuros incluiam em 2019 obras para Singer Pur, o Coro do Estado da Bielorússia, o cornetista Bruce Dickey e um concerto para o pianista americano Paul Barnes.

Além de compositor, Ivan Moody era maestro e musicólogo. Publicou extensivamente sobre a música das Balcãs, da Rússia e da Península Ibérica, com ênfase especial sobra a música contemporânea e a música sacra. O seu livro Modernismo e a Espiritualidade Ortodoxa na Música Contemporânea foi publicado em 2014, e reimpresso em 2017.

Era investigador integrado no CESEM – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, tendo sido anteriormente Professor de Música Eclesiástica Ortodoxa na Universidade da Finlândia Ocidental, e fundador e presidente da International Society for Orthodox Church Music (www.isocm.com). Era também protopresbítero da Igreja Ortodoxa (Patriarcado Ecuménico de Constantinopla), e reitor da paróquia de São João o Russo no Estoril.

Biografia adaptada de dados enviados pelo próprio Ivan Moody em 2019

Testemunhos

His beautiful compositions and his lovely family will assure that he will remain with us, but it is difficult to accept that we will not meet again in person. (César Viana)

O Ivan foi dos primeiros compositores a ter a generosidade de partilhar connosco a sua música e tivemos o privilégio de cantar muitas das suas obras ao longo dos anos. Guardamos com especial carinho a memória da estreia do seu “Meeting in the Garden” na Igreja de São Roque, encomenda do Festival Música em São Roque, e a “Prophecy of Symeon”, estreada no Convento de São Bento da Vitória por encomenda da Porto 2001. (Grupo Vocal Olisipo)

Homem de relação íntima com o sagrado e de relação fácil com o prosaico; autor de harmonias etéreas e transparentes e dono de um riso contagiante e de piadas rápidas; muito, muito generoso, muito, muito culto e sapiente. (Mara Marques)

Fr Ivan Moody, a deeply revered composer, conductor, musicologist, and priest whose profound contributions to contemporary sacred music left an indelible mark on the landscape of choral and liturgical works, passed away last night in Portugal. A luminary in his field, Moody’s work was characterized by its spiritual depth and a unique blending of musical traditions.

Born in London in 1964, Moody’s education in music was as broad as it was rigorous, setting the foundation for his eclectic compositional voice. He 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 obtained his Ph.D). He was profoundly influenced by the guidance of composition teachers such as Brian Dennis, William Brooks and John Tavener. The latter, a composer also known for his sacred choral music, had a particular impact on Moody’s artistic development and was the best man at his wedding.

Moody’s expertise and expressivity crossed geographical borders, absorbing elements from various orthodox Christian traditions, and his scholarly work greatly informed his compositions. His oeuvre, encompassing a wide variety of sacred and secular works, has been performed and recorded extensively. From his early award winning “Canticum Canticorum I”, premiered by the Hilliard Ensemble in 1990, to recent compositions like “Evangelismos”, composed for the English Chamber Choir on its 50th Anniversary in 2023, Moody’s music was imbued with an intense spiritual resonance that reflected his own deep faith and commitment to the Orthodox Church.
Beyond his accomplishments in conducting, composition and academia, Ivan Moody was a friend to many, including myself—a testament to his generous spirit and profound impact on those who knew him. His warmth, humour and guidance touched countless individuals within the global music community and beyond. He was also a contributor to the ABC Radio National’s the Music Show.

Fr Ivan Moody’s legacy is immortalized through his music, which will continue to inspire, console, and uplift the human spirit. He will be dearly missed, but his music will resonate forever. (Nicholas Cowall)