MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Tavener triumph
Excellent interpretations capture profound spirituality of late composer's work
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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Tavener: No Longer Mourn For Me
Steven Isserlis
(Hyperion)
CONTEMPORARY classical composers aiming for spiritual depth and new dimensions in their music have long been seen as in the artistic vanguard, never more so than if they find a unique voice.
John Tavener, with his exploration of the Anglican faith in the 1960s, then his conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977, is one who found that unique voice.
Renowned cello player Steven Isserlis, a devotee of Tavener and a personal friend through much of his career, is noted for the lyricism, tenderness, power and beauty in his playing and he helped shape and realise the composer’s sound, most notably on his seminal work The Protecting Veil, nominated for the 1992 Mercury Prize.
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