The Sixteen, Harry Christophers - John Tavener: Ikon of Light (Special Commemorative Edition) (2013)

Roughly half of Sir John Tavener's output is choral music, and his renown is largely due to this body of work. While most of his music is sacred, Tavener seldom writes in an anonymous or traditional church style. His music bears the stamp of his Orthodox Christian faith and is often derived from Byzantine chant, but his use of canons, dense harmonies, and sharp contrasts of timbre reveal that modern British choral techniques are influential as well. This is a collection of pieces composed in the 1980s, a period during which Tavener's work was rather varied. The two Hymns to the Mother of God, along with Eonia, are the simplest works structurally, but they represent Tavener's love for complex harmonies achieved through layered voices. The Lamb and The Tiger are effective settings of Sir William Blake's poetry and convey the poems' sentiments without obvious tone painting. The Virgin is a joyous song based on metrical changes evocative of those in Eastern dances. The Ikon of Light is the most dramatic work on the disc, and a radiant mood is sustained throughout its seven mystical movements. , under the direction of Harry Christophers, offer an immaculate sound wholly appropriate to these transparent pieces.