The Lamb, - John Tavener
Funeral Ikos - John Tavener
Two Hymns to the Mother of God,
Svyati, - John Tavener
Song for Athene, - John Tavener
Today the Virgin - John Tavener
The English composer John Tavener, a convert to Greek Orthodoxy, has a knack for atmospheric, ritualistic music. Such music dominated the all-Tavener concert last Thursday evening in the National Gallery.
The Lassus Scholars, conducted by Ite O'Donovan, acquitted themselves well, though not well enough for the way the programme was ordered. Their strong tone suited Tavener and there was sufficient all-round security to capture character. Yet it was significant that two of the best performances were of music outside this evocative, eastern-liturgical style - The Lamb, which opened the concert, and Today the Virgin, which ended it and was the only really fast piece on the programme.
Between these, the procession of slow works, including the well-known Song for Athene, produced diminishing returns. Especially in quantity, this music needs that bit extra; because it is limited, everything has to matter. Tavener's linear, scrumptiously dissonant textures require impeccable tuning, phrases need to know exactly where they are going and the sectionalised structures need precise timing.
Tavener's style bears comparison with those true easterners, Gorecki and Part. But he does not have Gorecki's ability to sustain an idea; and he does not even approach Part's discipline with technique and expression. Ultimately, this is pseudo-archaic, self-indulgent music.