John Tavener: Ikon of Light

Track Listings

1. A Hymn to the Mother of God

2. Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God

3. The Lamb

4. The Tyger

5. Eonia

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Despite the mystic beauty of his music, John Tavener's place in Western music is a controversial one. His desire to create musical ikons for a time in which he believes 'man has lost his belief not only in God, but also in himself' is provocative. Yet part of the attraction of his music must surely arise from its symbolic nature, a reflection of his deeply-held Orthodox faith.

This collection celebrates a wide range of Tavener's choral output and includes his immediately popular setting of William Blake's The Lamb, and the luminously spiritual Ikon of Light.

Tracks:

In Alium - Eileen Hulse
To A Child Dancing In The Wind - Heidi Grant Murphy
The Lamb - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
The Tyger - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
Movement 1: Fos I, Doxa - The Sixteen
Movement 2: Piu Intensita - The Sixteen
Mandelion For Organ (Extract) - Kevin Bowyer
Chant For Guitar (Extract) - Jonathan Richards
Ikon Of Saint Cuthbert Of Lindisfatne - Ian Shaw
The Protecting Veil For Cello And Orchestra - Maria Kliegel
Mary Of Egypt - Stephen Varcoe
Akhmatova Songs For Soprano And String Quartet - Patricia Rozario
Solemn - The Vanbrugh Quartet
[Rehearsal Letter I] - The Vanbrugh Quartet
Song For Athene - Choir Of St John's College, Cambridge

Tracks:

Zodiacs For Piano - Thalia Myers
Prayer Of The Heart - Brodsky Quartet
Movement 2: Eros - Jorja Fleezanis
Mother And Child - Nigel Short
'My Earliest Musical Memories...' - John Tavener
'I Saw In The Russian Orthodox Churck...' - John Tavener
'I Think The Protecting Veil...' - John Tavener
'The Icelandic Pop Singer Bjork...' - John Tavener
'The Fact That I've Been Given...' - John Tavener
'When My Publishers Ring...' - John Tavener
'The Only Goal...' - John Tavener

Tavener: Ikon of Light; Funeral Ikos; The Lamb

Average customer rating:

Luminous
Tavener: Ancient and Modern in one package

Tavener: Ikon of Light; Funeral Ikos; The Lamb

Manufacturer: Gimell
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001I4L
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Tracks:

Ikon Of Light: Phos I
Ikon Of Light: Dhoxa
Ikon Of Light: Trisagion I: Agios o Theos
Ikon Of Light: Mystic Prayer To The Holy Spirit
Ikon Of Light: Trisagion II: Agios o Theos
Ikon Of Light: Phos II
Ikon Of Light: Epiphania
Funeral Ikos
Carol: The Lamb

Amazon.com essential recording

This is the only disc of contemporary music the Tallis Scholars ever made; its centerpiece was composed especially for them by British "New Mystic" composer John Tavener. Ikon of Light, a suite for choir and string trio set to an early Greek Christian text, is less easy on the ear than many of Tavener's later, better-known works (such as Song for Athene, made famous at Princess Diana's funeral), but it's fascinating, with glowing sustained notes and occasionally harsh chords reminiscent of Ligeti. The two remaining pieces are more conventionally beautiful: Funeral Ikos sets an eloquently mournful text from the Orthodox burial service to a plain but heartbreaking melody; Tavener's famous setting of Blake's poem "The Lamb" (conducted here by the composer) is simple and beguiling. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Luminous.......2000-01-11

I am not much of a Tavener fan. His mystical minimalism usually just strikes me as boring. But the major work on this recording, Ikon of Light, while having the usual Taverneresque austerity, is also one of the most beautiful and striking choral works of the 20th century. The Sixteen has also recorded this work (I haven't heard their version) but I doubt any group will perform this better than the Tallis Scholars do here.

Tavener: Ancient and Modern in one package.......1999-06-14

At the outset, I can't say this is my favourite disc (of admittedly my favourite composer), but that opinion stems mostly from the fact that half the time I try to play it, my machine kicks in with the words "NO DISC!" When I can get it to play, I never listen to it all at once. I find that "Funeral Ikos" and "The Lamb" go very well together in one hearing, whereas "Ikon of Light" stands alone and I need a different set of ears on... "Ikon of Light" is one of the purest examples of Tavener's mystical qualities- as Peter Phillips explains in the notes, the composer is trying to express what cannot be expressed in music. Hence, for such sections as "Phos" (both versions) and "Epiphania", you will need to steel yourself for "radiant" harmonies that cloy rather than attract (when I listen to "Epiphania" in particular, I think to myself, 'is this the Light of the Holy Spirit, or was Tavener writing this staring into a lighthouse bulb on full beam?'). The two "Trisagions" are sung at very high volume and also have the potential to split eardrums. The other sections ("Dhoxa" and "Mystic Prayer") are by far the best sections of the work, the "Mystic Prayer" almost being a complete work in itself. Listening to it makes me think of those beautiful, just-out-of-reach Orthodox Monasteries in Greece where the atmosphere is shaded and cool. It has to be said that the four basses of the Tallis Scholars really do this movement justice. "Funeral Ikos" is one of Tavener's simplest creations and never fails to have an effect on me. Like "Funeral Canticle", this is a moving display of unaccompanied homophony that is sung with real tenderness by the choir. My only complaint is the length- really, the piece is a hymn, and hymns do tend to chafe when they become long. If I had this work performed at my funeral, I would just have the first three verses performed and leave it at that. Finally, the recording of "The Lamb" is not perfect because the choir goes out of tune slightly towards the end, but that is insignificant compared to the sheer thrill of knowing that Tavener himself is directing the piece- it is thus the most sincere-sounding version I have ever heard. All in all, it's interesting stuff, and the Tallis Scholars really deserve the highest praise for stepping away from their usual repertoire and doing well at something completely modern.

Average customer rating:

Tavener: Ikon of Light / Funeral Ikos / The Lamb
Tallis Scholars , Peter Phillips , John Tavener , Mark Butler , Philip de Groote , Csaba Erdelyi , and Chilingirian String Quartet
Manufacturer: Gimell UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Darkness into Light

ASIN: B00005ATCT
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

Ikon Of Light: Phos I
Ikon Of Light: Dhoxa
Ikon Of Light: Trisagion I: Agios O Theos
Ikon Of Light: Mystic Prayer To The Holy Spirit
Ikon Of Light: Trisagion II: Agios O Theos
Ikon Of Light: Phos II
Ikon Of Light: Epiphania
Funeral Ikos
The Lamb

Average customer rating:

Tavener: Ikon of Light; Funeral Ikos; The Lamb

Manufacturer: Gimell
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000E58X
Release Date: 2001-01-01

John Tavener: Works for Chorus - Hymns to the Mother of God; Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God; The Lamb; The Tyger; Ikon of Light, for chorus & string trio;

Average customer rating:

Tavener at his best

John Tavener: Works for Chorus - Hymns to the Mother of God; Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God; The Lamb; The Tyger; Ikon of Light, for chorus & string trio;
John Tavener , Harry Christophers , The Sixteen , and Duke Quartet
Manufacturer: Collins Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003VY7
Release Date: 1994-12-12

Tracks:

Two Hymns To The Mother Of God: A Hymn To The Mother Of God
Two Hymns To The Mother Of God: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God
The Lamb - Ruth Dean/Sally Dunkley/Patricia Forbes/Nicola Jenkin/Michael Lees/Philip Newton...
The Tiger
Ikon of Light: Movt 1. Fos I, Doxa
Ikon of Light: Movt 2. piu intensita
Ikon of Light: Movt 3. Trisagion I
Ikon of Light: Movt 4a. Mystic Prayer To The Holy Spirit
Ikon of Light: Movt 4b
Ikon of Light: Movt 4c
Ikon of Light: Movt 4d
Ikon of Light: Movt 4e
Ikon of Light: Movt 5. Trisagion II
Ikon of Light: Movt 6. Fos II
Ikon of Light: Movt 7. Epiphania
Today The Virgin - Rick Koster/John Metcalfe/Ivan McCready
Eonia - Rick Koster/John Metcalfe/Ivan McCready

Customer Reviews:

Tavener at his best.......2004-04-10

How sad, that this lovely CD appears to be overlooked. It is vastly superior to Tavener's recent and deplorably grandiose Ikon of Eros, the disappointing Fall and Resurrection, etc.

I have been listening to Tavener for ten years, and the central section of "Ikon of Light," a prayer to God the Holy Spirit, remains, for me, one of Tavener's most fine works. The whole composition does a much better job, it seems to me, of expressing a longing for the true God, than the multicultural farrago of Ikon of Eros.

The CD includes the delightful "Today the Virgin" and other fine pieces.

Tracks:

A Hymn to the Mother of God
Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God
The Lamb
The Tyger
Eonia

Album Description

Despite the mystic beauty of his music, John Tavener's place in Western music is a controversial one. His desire to create musical ikons for a time in which he believes 'man has lost his belief not only in God, but also in himself' is provocative. Yet part of the attraction of his music must surely arise from its symbolic nature, a reflection of his deeply-held Orthodox faith.

This collection celebrates a wide range of Tavener's choral output and includes his immediately popular setting of William Blake's The Lamb, and the luminously spiritual Ikon of Light.

Customer Reviews:

Where is this going?.......2007-03-20

I try and try to understand the fascination with Tavener. I still don't get it. This is mediocre, meandering music. At least it's well performed.

Track Listings: