Taken from our performance of his music at the European Festival of Church Music in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany in July 2013, at which he was presented with the 2013 Prize for European Church Music.
What a beautiful rendition of Tavener works! For those who wants to know the songs, here it is. 0:00 - Mother of God 0:47 - Today the Virgin 3:29 - The Lamb 7:25 - Funeral Ikos 15:08 - Song for Athene 21:24 - Mother of God
This is a truly remarkable performance and totally personifies John Tavener a musical genius and mystic - God rest his soul. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this.
I conducted the college chorale (Covenant College) in a performance of Funeral Ikos in 2011 or 2012 in Chapel at the request of a colleague in the English department.
Wow - world class! The performance of the Ikos is some of the finest choral singing I've ever heard. This kind of simple, restrained singing is the ultimate challenge. Nothing to hide behind. Tone, control, phrasing, vowels, endings - everything has to be spot on. Stephen Layton is a true master. And so touching, given that Tavener's health was failing - what a tribute. Ex-member of the Trinity Choir
@@paulcaswell2813 I learned a lot from Richard, and even more from the year we spent with Stephen Barlow as choirmaster. But Leyton is truly remarkable - to mould singing of this quality from such a tiny pool of undergrads is beyond understanding. Taking his work with professional ensembles into account, I think that there is a fair argument that he is the world's finest director of small choirs. For Trinity to land him as Director of Music was a brilliant coup!
