This recording of Tavener works dating from between 1996 and 2003 was sure to attract attention in any case; Tavener is one of the major choral composers of our time, and the works included show evidence of a significant new direction in his style. And the composer's de-conversion from the Eastern Orthodox Church seems likely to win it even more interest. "I like going to church less and less," he told the Independent in 2004. "It strikes me now that all religions are as senile as one another. But I do pray within my heart ...
Read More
This recording of Tavener works dating from between 1996 and 2003 was sure to attract attention in any case; Tavener is one of the major choral composers of our time, and the works included show evidence of a significant new direction in his style. And the composer's de-conversion from the Eastern Orthodox Church seems likely to win it even more interest. "I like going to church less and less," he told the Independent in 2004. "It strikes me now that all religions are as senile as one another. But I do pray within my heart all the time." Was this shift in outlook prefigured in Tavener's music?The answer is an emphatic yes. Although he still favors the a cappella texture (The Second Coming is accompanied by an organ), this holy minimalist over the seven-year span delimited by these works became a good deal less minimalist and in some cases not even holy. The liner notes claim that such texts as the Butterfly Dreams cycle were chosen with Christian symbolism in mind, but recent events make one wonder...
Read Less
