28th January – John Kenneth Tavener

John Tavener is a composer who, throughout his lifetime, has been heavily influenced by religion – not only the Christian faith which he was born into, but also in later years other religions such as Russian and Greek Orthodox, Hinduism and Islam. Most of his works have been inspired by the mysticisms contained within religious texts and can be considered “pan-religious”.

His style tends to be minimalistic, meditative, spiritual and charismatic. The majority of his works are written for vocal ensembles, but not exclusively. One of his most popular pieces is “The Protecting Veil” which is listed in classicfm.com’s “100 Classical Music Recordings You Must Own” and is scored for cello and strings. One of Tavener’s pieces “Athene”, written in 1993, was performed at the funeral of the Princess of Wales in 1997, as her cortege left Westminster Abbey. Its subtitle is “Alleluia. May Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest”.

Tavener has suffered from ill-health since his thirties, and is a sufferer of Marfan Syndrome.

This is “Athene”.

Listen to more works by Tavener – click the box!