John Tavener: The Whale; Celtic Requiem

London Sinfonietta/David Atherton Apple Records 908 6352****

The popular and critical success of the 1968 premiere of The Whalein the debut concert of the London Sinfonietta launched the careers of composer John Tavener, the Sinfonietta itself and its founding conductor, David Atherton. The recordings of The Whaleand the later Celtic Requiemon The Beatles' Apple label (made at the instigation of Ringo Starr) are here for the first time coupled on a single CD, with track separation that follows the composer's musical wishes. The music is in most ways unlike the familiar Tavener of recent years. It's theatrical and polyglot, and not only mixed gestures of the avant-garde and elements of traditional harmony with astonishing confidence for a composer in his early 20s, but did so in a way that easily reached out to audiences unaccustomed to the sounds of new music. See url.ie/bo4t