Post Description

Among the most commercially successful of living composers, John Tavener has undergone a remarkable musical and spiritual odyssey. After his acceptance of the Orthodox Christian faith, he formulated a unique new idiom, often employing a slow, almost minimalist unfolding of melodic material. Much of his music is designed for religious services. His works often require odd combinations of forces. By the mid-1990s Tavener's popularity in Britain rivaled that of Benjamin Britten in his prime, and he was gaining international attention. Overall, he may be considered a unique eclectic, part mystical and part populist. 

- Children of Men [Original Soundtrack] [2006]
met muziek van Tavener, maar ook een nummer van Mahler, Händel en Penderecki
http://www.allmusic.com/album/children-of-men-original-soundtrack-mw0000446394

- Towards Silence (European Premiere) radio-opname 2009-09-25
met introductie en toelichting van John Tavener.
Violinist Paul Robertson, a founder of the Medici Quartet, asked John Tavener to compose a work on near-death experience for the Music Mind Spirit Trust and the Rubin Museum in 2007. The resulting work, Towards Silence, scored for four string quartets and large Tibetan temple bowl, was performed later that year in Winchester Cathedral. Tavener described Towards Silence as "a meditation on the different states of dying." It's a piece whose title pretty well describes its content. In four continuous movements, it begins with a monumental cacophony and ends in silence. Along the way, the tone is one of mystery; there is ebb and flow of volume and activity, with the players sometimes called on to vocalize, but the overall direction of the piece moves from more to less. Just before the ending, Tavener thins out the textures to create a moment of radiant, transparent harmonies reminiscent of Pärt's Fratres, which dissolves into an evanescent haze that gradually fades into nothingness. Towards Silence makes for a very short CD, lasting only 34 minutes.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/john-tavener-towards-silence-mw0002087297