Tavener: Svyati 'O Holy One'

“If John Tavener's reputation were to rest solely on his unaccompanied choral music and nothing else, then his stature as one of the most striking and original composers working today would be just as high. Much of Tavener's creativity is founded on the traditions of his Orthodox faith and of Orthodox chant, and yet curiously, intentionally or unintentionally, he has also, through works such as those presented here, extended the tradition of English choral music. Through their popularity The Lamb, The Tiger and Songfor Athene have become immovably imbedded in our choral tradition, but one need only listen to the splendid Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, for instance, to find a unique symbiosis of Eastern and Western traditions at work.
Many of the works presented on this CD have enjoyed wide circulation on numerous Taveneronly and compilation discs, but the performances here from the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, under the direction of Christopher Robinson, have much to recommend them and the super-budget price makes this issue especially desirable for those seeking a survey of Tavener's choral music for the first time.
Svyati for solo cello and choir, with echoes of The Protecting Veil, opens a window on Tavener's more overtly Eastern/ Orthodox-inspired music. Tim Hugh's serenely beautiful account of the solo cello part is a winner from beginning to end. The recording, made in St John's College Chapel, is resplendently atmospheric.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The Christmas Proclamation, God is with Us, is the striking first item in this collection of John Tavener's shorter choral pieces. It was inspired, like so many of Tavener's works, by Greek Orthodox liturgy, rising in a thrilling crescendo and punctuated at the end by fortissimo organ chords. The Song for Athene, well-remembered from the funeral, of Princess Diana, is here presented as an anthem rather than a processional, with the other works, including most of the favourite Tavener items, also superbly sung and atmospherically recorded” Edward Greenfield, The Guardian, December 8, 2000

“John Tavener's choral music is inspired by his Orthodox faith, and on this disc the choir…. eloquently communicate the music's timeless spirituality…[and] the composer's richly coloured blend of Eastern and Western liturgical traditions” The Telegraph

“This collection of mainly unaccompanied litanies and prayers will appeal far beyond the classical or Christian fold” Financial Times, 30th June 2012

“Blend, unanimity, dynamics: this CD is gratifyingly strong on the eternal verities of good choral singing...this imaginatively programme disc marks the Exultate Singers out as a choir to be reckoned with.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****

“The choir doesn't really have the force needed to raise the roof in the middle of the Rachmaninov, but this is a refreshingly straightforward reading that benefits from conductor David Ogden's refusal to take the piece too slowly...The recording is full and rich, beautifully balanced and clear, with an attractive church acoustic.” International Record Review, September 2012