Tavener, Sir John

▪ 2001

      As thousands ushered in the year 2000 under London's Millennium Dome, John Tavener's choral composition A New Beginning was premiered. The piece set the tone for the evening's magnificent festivities and served to acknowledge Tavener's standing as Great Britain's most popular living composer. The choice of his music to celebrate and welcome the future was a bit ironic; unlike most of his contemporaries, Tavener, who was knighted in January 2000, was influenced by some distinctly nonmodern sources—sacred and spiritual texts. Although some critics dismissed his work as lightweight (“holy muzak,” reported The Guardian newspaper), he was widely considered a composer who could succeed in making classical music accessible to the masses.

      Significant Tavener works that brought praise and widespread approval throughout the 1980s and '90s included such pieces as Orthodox Vigil Service, Akathist of Thanksgiving, and The Protecting Veil, a piece for solo cello and strings popularized by renowned cellists, including Steven Isserlis and Yo-Yo Ma. Other works included Resurrection, a large-scale choral piece, and Mary of Egypt, an opera. Tavener's Song for Athene was played during the funeral of Diana, princess of Wales. Another of his choral works, Fall and Resurrection, premiered in the first days of 2000 to mark the new year.

      Tavener was born on Jan. 28, 1944, in London. He composed music as early as the age of three and learned to play piano and organ. He attended the Royal Academy of Music, London, where his instructors included the composers David Lumsdaine and Sir Lennox Berkeley. Tavener made his first significant mark with The Whale, an avant-garde cantata that received a popular debut at the London Sinfonietta in 1968. Tavener was soon befriended by the rock group the Beatles, whose record label, Apple, issued a recording of the piece. Always spiritual in content, Tavener's style became even more inwardly focused after he joined the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977. He suffered a stroke at age 36 and in 1991 was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the connective tissues. Tavener acknowledged that these events further strengthened his commitment to his faith and his commitment to expressing it through music. He likened composing to prayer, and he said he thought of himself as more of a conduit to the spiritual world than a composer. His spiritual mentor, Mother Thekla, an abbess at an Orthodox monastery in North Yorkshire, was also his librettist. Tavener's music hewed more to Eastern than to Western styles, drawing from Russian, Byzantine, and Greek influences.

Anthony G. Craine

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▪ British composer

born January 28, 1944, London, England

      British composer who was strongly influenced by sacred and spiritual texts. Although some critics dismissed his work as lightweight, Tavener drew praise for making classical music accessible to the masses.

      Tavener composed music as early as age three and learned to play the piano and organ. He attended the Royal Academy of Music in London, where his instructors included the composers David Lumsdaine and Sir Lennox Berkeley (Berkeley, Sir Lennox). Tavener made his first significant mark with The Whale, an avant-garde cantata that received a popular debut at the London Sinfonietta in 1968. His music drew from Russian, Byzantine, and Greek influences and became more inwardly focused after he joined the Russian Orthodox church in 1977. At age 36 Tavener suffered a stroke, and in 1991 he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the connective tissues. Acknowledging that these events strengthened his commitment to his faith and to expressing it through music, Tavener likened composing to prayer and described himself as more of a conduit to the spiritual world than a composer. His spiritual mentor, an abbess at an Orthodox monastery in North Yorkshire, was also his librettist.

      Significant Tavener works during the 1980s and '90s included Orthodox Vigil Service, Akathist of Thanksgiving, The Protecting Veil, the large-scale choral piece Resurrection, and the opera Mary of Egypt. Tavener's Song for Athene was played during the 1997 funeral of Diana, princess of Wales, and his choral composition A New Beginning was premiered as part of the celebration in London's Millennium Dome to welcome the year 2000. Tavener was knighted in 2000.

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