Byzantia: Music Of John Tavener [IMPORT]

Steven Isserlis (Performer), John Tavener (Composer), David Hill (Conductor), Gennady Rozhdestvensky (Conductor), Jeremy Backhouse (Conductor), Stephen Cleobury (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), David Dunnet (Performer), David Dunnett (Performer), William Kendall (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Steven Isserlis, David Dunnet, David Dunnett, William Kendall
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: David Hill, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Jeremy Backhouse, Stephen Cleobury
• Composer: John Tavener
• Audio CD (July 13, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Int'l
• ASIN: B00000JJRA
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,751 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
John Tavener gained large-scale renown when The Protecting Veil for cello and orchestra was featured at the 1989 BBC Proms; his music (if not his name) was heard by millions in 1997 when Song for Athene was sung at Princess Diana's funeral. This compilation from Virgin Classics makes an excellent introduction to the composer's work. Tavener is often lumped together with Arvo Pärt as "Holy Minimalists," but they're quite different: while Pärt's music is usually reflective and austere, Tavener's is often cheerful and joyous--occasionally almost giddy (as in the "Christmas Proclamation" God Is with Us). He often borrows features of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music, such as the ison (low drone), quarter-tone intervals and ornaments of Greek chant or the tightly wound dissonance of early Russian polyphony. (The thrilling Angels for chorus and organ has all of these.) Examples of Tavener's instrumental music include the rhapsodic first movement of The Protecting Veil and excerpts from the radiantly still string quartets The Hidden Treasure (which does sound a lot like Pärt's Fratres) and The Last Sleep of the Virgin (which uses handbells to mesmerizing effect); the most memorable pieces, though, are the wondrously simple The Lamb and Funeral Ikos for unaccompanied choir. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, introspective, spiritual and marvelous blend of v, July 16, 1999

By	[e-mail] (US, in TVC (FFA designation!)) - See all my reviews

I received this disc by mail today and have just finished listening to the entire disc. There was a similarity in the pieces, most pronounced by the use of the pedal board of the pipe organ in a sostenuto. This was repeated in at least two of the predominantly a capella choral pieces, with basses as drones, similar to a bagpipe, but more remarkable because these were human voices. John Tavener is one of the pre-eminent contemporary composers of sacred music which can speak to even the most secular of audience. I especially appreciate his mastery of the timelessness of the musical praise of God. He has connected the Byzantine with today, bridging the gulf of time between "the then" and "the now". This is a very wonderful example of the timelessness of fine music crafted with the cerebrum ans performed with the heart. Willa E. Hayes [e-mail]

5.0 out of 5 stars Tavener is progressive but strangely traditional, January 5, 2008

By	Mr. Mark L. Ward "mainlytheologicalbooks" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this CD for free a few years ago, having little idea who John Tavener was. I'd heard my school's top choir singing Song for Athene, and I loved it, but I didn't think to look into the rest of the composer's oeuvre.

Byzantia has become a perennial favorite. The recording of Song for Athene is fantastic, of course. I still don't have speakers good enough to fully appreciate it.

But I also fell in love with the other a cappella choral works on this CD (the choir[s] on the disc are excellent), and I even sometimes listen to the orchestral pieces (that's saying something for this choral buff!).

This is an excellent sampler to start into Tavener's work.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this CD!, March 20, 2002

By A Customer

I've waited for 2 months for this CD----it's worth the wait! Song for Athene, played @ Princess Diana's funeral is absolutely exquisite! The entire CD is beautiful------it's like a religious experience!