Sir John Kenneth Tavener was born on January 28, 1944, and passed away on November 12, 2013. He was an English composer who created choral religious music. Some of his famous works include The Lamb (1982), The Protecting Veil (1988), and Song for Athene (1993).

Tavener became well-known for his cantata The Whale, which was first performed in 1968. At the age of 24, The Guardian called him "the musical discovery of the year," and The Times said he was "one of the most talented creative people of his generation." Throughout his career, Tavener became one of the most well-known composers of his time. His work The Protecting Veil, recorded by cellist Steven Isserlis, became a best-selling album. Song for Athene was performed at the funeral of Princess Diana. The Lamb was included in the soundtrack of the movie The Great Beauty by Paolo Sorrentino.

Tavener composed A New Beginning to celebrate the Millennium events on New Year's Eve, 1999, when the Millennium Dome in London opened. In 2000, Tavener was knighted for his contributions to music and received an Ivor Novello Award. In 2001, he was given an Honorary Fellowship by Sarum College.

Early life and education

Tavener was born on January 28, 1944, in Wembley, London. His parents owned a family business that built structures, and his father also played the organ at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Frognal, Hampstead. When he was 12 years old, Tavener attended Glyndebourne to hear Mozart's The Magic Flute, a piece he loved for the rest of his life. That same year, he listened to Stravinsky's most recent work, Canticum Sacrum, which he later called "the piece that woke me up and made me want to be a composer."

Tavener became a music scholar at Highgate School, where one of his classmates was John Rutter. The school choir often performed for the BBC in works that required boys' voices, so Tavener gained experience singing in choirs, including Mahler's Third Symphony and Orff's Carmina Burana. He began composing music at Highgate and also became skilled enough at playing the piano to perform the second and third movements of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. In 1961, he played with the National Youth Orchestra in Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. That same year, he became the organist and choirmaster at St John's Presbyterian Church in Kensington (now called St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church), a position he held for 14 years.

In 1962, Tavener entered the Royal Academy of Music, where one of his teachers was Sir Lennox Berkeley. During his time there, he decided to stop playing the piano and focus entirely on composing music.

The Whaleand early operas

John Tavener first gained recognition in 1968 with his dramatic musical piece The Whale, inspired by the Old Testament story of Jonah. It was first performed at the London Sinfonietta’s first concert, which also marked the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. At the time, Tavener’s younger brother, Roger, was working on Ringo Starr’s home. He interested the musician, who then convinced the Beatles to record The Whale with Apple Records. The recording was released in 1970. The following year, Tavener began teaching at Trinity College of Music in London. Other works by Tavener released by Apple included A Celtic Requiem, which impressed Benjamin Britten enough to ask Tavener to write an opera for Covent Garden. The opera, Thérèse, based on a libretto by playwright Gerard McLarnon, was first performed in 1979. However, it was considered too still to be successful as a drama.

Tavener was also deeply affected by his short marriage in 1974 to Greek dancer Victoria Maragopoulou. His chamber opera A Gentle Spirit (1977), with a libretto by McLarnon based on a story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, tells the story of a pawnbroker whose marriage fails, leading his wife to commit suicide. This work has been considered much better than Thérèse, as its story is more suitable for the stage. It also explored Russian Orthodoxy, a religious tradition to which McLarnon had been a member for several years.

Conversion to Orthodox Christianity

In 1977, Tavener joined the Orthodox Church. The beliefs and religious traditions of the Orthodox Church greatly influenced his music. He was especially interested in the spiritual ideas of the church, studying the writings of early religious leaders and creating music based on their words. He completed a musical version of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is the main worship service in the Orthodox Church. This piece marked the first time Tavener directly used Orthodox traditions in his music.

Later career

Tavener’s later works explored Russian and Greek culture, including Akhmatova Requiem. This piece did not gain success during its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 1981 or during its performance at the Proms the next week, when many audience members left before it ended. A more lasting success was Tavener’s short, unaccompanied four-part choral piece based on William Blake’s poem “The Lamb,” written in 1982 for his nephew Simon’s third birthday. This simple piece, which uses harmony, is often performed as a Christmas carol. Other notable works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987), celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church; The Protecting Veil (1989), first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis and the London Symphony Orchestra; and Song for Athene (1993). The two choral works were based on texts by Mother Thekla, a Russian Orthodox abbess who was Tavener’s spiritual adviser until her death in 2011. Song for Athene became widely known after being performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

Tavener’s Fall and Resurrection (2000) used instruments such as the ram’s horn, Ney flute, and kaval. It was dedicated to the then Prince of Wales, with whom Tavener shared a long friendship. His work Ikon of Eros (2003) was commissioned for violinist Jorja Fleezanis, then concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, and included vocal soloists, the Minnesota Chorale, and was recorded at the Cathedral of St. Paul, conducted by Paul Goodwin. In 2003, Tavener also composed The Veil of the Temple, a large-scale work based on texts from multiple religions. Premiered at the Temple Church in London, it features four choirs, several orchestras, and soloists and lasts for at least seven hours. Tavener called this piece “the supreme achievement of my life.” Another work, Prayer of the Heart (2004), was written for and performed by Björk. In 2007, he composed The Beautiful Names, a piece based on the 99 names of God in the Muslim tradition, sung in Arabic.

Some reports, especially in British newspapers, suggested that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity to explore other religious traditions, including Hinduism and Islam, and became a follower of philosopher Frithjof Schuon. In an interview with The New York Times, Tavener explained that his music had become too limited by the musical rules of the Orthodox Church and that he wanted to create more universal music that included other traditions. He also said he remained devotedly Christian. In a 2010 BBC Four program, Sacred Music, Tavener described himself as “essentially Orthodox.” He repeated this belief in a 2013 interview, stating his continued faith in Orthodox Christianity and his interest in exploring other religious musical traditions.

In 2020, Sir David Pountney, former artistic director of the Welsh National Opera, announced that Tavener’s final opera, Krishna (completed in 2005 but not performed until now), would be staged by Grange Park Opera. Pountney will direct the production, which is set to premiere in 2026.

Personal life

In 1974, he married Victoria Maragopoulou, a Greek dancer. Their marriage lasted eight months. In 1991, he married Maryanna Schaefer, and together they had three children: Theodora, Sofia, and Orlando. He experienced many health problems throughout his life. He had a stroke in his thirties, underwent heart surgery, and had a tumor removed in his forties. He also suffered two heart attacks, which made him weak. In 1990, doctors diagnosed him with Marfan syndrome. In October 2008, Lady Tavener spoke on BBC Radio 4 to raise money for the Marfan Trust.

Tavener enjoyed collecting classic cars. He owned an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, a Jaguar XJ6, and a white Bentley Mulsanne Turbo. He was also known for wearing a white suit.

Death and legacy

Tavener died at the age of 69 on 12 November 2013 at his home in Child Okeford, Dorset. Many people in the music world honored him, including composers John Rutter and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, cellist Steven Isserlis, Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, oboist Nicholas Daniel, Roger Wright (controller of BBC Radio 3 and director of the Proms), and soprano Patricia Rozario. A tribute was also received from Charles, Prince of Wales. Tavener’s funeral took place at Winchester Cathedral on 28 November 2013. The service followed the Orthodox tradition and was led by Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira, who represents the Ecumenical Patriarch and is the highest-ranking Orthodox bishop in the UK. Approximately 700 people attended the funeral.

John Rutter said Tavener had a "very rare gift" that allowed him to "make an audience fall into deep silence." Steven Isserlis stated, "He had his own unique style. He didn’t write music to be popular—he wrote the music he felt he had to create."

Musical style

John Tavener's early music was influenced by composers Igor Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen. His early works often sounded similar to Stravinsky's Canticum Sacrum and had the emotional intensity found in some of Messiaen's pieces. Later, Tavener's music became simpler, using more space between high and low notes and often using simple, familiar scales. He also considered Arvo Pärt a fellow composer with similar ideas, sharing a common religious background and a preference for clear and simple musical textures.

Career highlights

• 1968 – The Whale was first performed by the London Sinfonietta and later recorded on the Beatles' Apple label.
• 1971 – A Celtic Requiem was recorded by Apple.
• 1973 – Thérèse, a work about Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, was commissioned by the Royal Opera in London.
• 1989 – The Protecting Veil premiered at the Proms in London.
• 2000 – Fall and Resurrection premiered at St Paul's Cathedral in London on January 4, 2000.
• 2000 – Received a knighthood in the Millennium Honours List.
• 2001 – Composed the soundtrack for Werner Herzog's short documentary Pilgrimage.
• 2003 – The all-night vigil The Veil of the Temple premiered at the Temple Church in London, performed by the Holst Singers and the Choir of the Temple Church.
• 2005 – Laila (Amu), Tavener's first dance collaboration, premiered with the Random Dance company and choreography by Wayne McGregor.
• 2006 – Contributed Fragments of a Prayer to the film Children of Men by Alfonso Cuarón.
• 2007 – The Beautiful Names premiered at Westminster Cathedral, performed by the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. The work, sung in Arabic, sets the 99 names of Allah from the Qur'an. Received an honorary degree from the University of Winchester.
• 2008 – An anthem was first performed at St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
• March 2009 – Tu ne sais pas premiered, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and mezzo-soprano Katherine Pracht. The piece includes texts from poems by French poet Jean Biès and from Islamic and Hindu sources.
• 2011 – Excerpts from the album Eternity's Sunrise, including Funeral Canticle by the Academy of Ancient Music, were used in Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life.
• April 2013 – Tolstoy's Creed and Three Hymns of George Herbert premiered at the Washington National Cathedral by The City Choir of Washington.
• July 7, 2013 – The Love Duet from The Play of Krishna, If Ye Love Me, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich premiered during an all-Tavener concert at the Manchester International Festival.
• 2013 – The Lamb was included in the critically acclaimed soundtrack for Paolo Sorrentino's film The Great Beauty, which was Italy's official selection for the 2013 Academy Awards and won.

Selected recordings

Albums:
• The Whale, Apple Records
• The Protecting Veil, Virgin 561849-2
• Schuon Lieder, Black Box BBM1101
• The Veil of the Temple, RCA 82876661542
• Songs of the Sky, Signum Records SIGCD149
• "Tavener: Choral Works," Hyperion CDA67475
• Missa Wellensis, Signum Records SIGCD442
• Palintropos, A Flock Ascending AFACD001

Publications

Ikons: Meditations in Words and Music. By John Tavener and Mother Thekla. Published in 1994 by Fount (ISBN 000627871X).