Ex Maria Virgine & other choral works

"Tavener has taken a number of texts, both the familiar and the less familiar, and woven them into a sequence not unlike the Britten Ceremony, though with no sense that he is imitating the more established work. Whereas Britten opens with the plainsong Hodie, Tavener sets the words in a modern idiom from the start, and that idiom, as I have already indicated, is a fairly uncompromising one. The familiar words from the opening of St John's gospel in Verbum caro factum est are set in unison but, though the music displays what the excellent notes (by David Truslove) describe as 'poignant chromaticism', this is a tough chromaticism and its irregular rhythms indicate that we had better not sit back and wallow in the familiar message. Tavener's Word made flesh is more a challenge to the world than a consolation. Yes, it is 'serene', to quote the notes again, but it is an unsettling serenity.

"As with all the Naxos CDs of English choral music that I have heard, the recording is wholly worthy of the performances. Strongly recommended - but you may need to persevere. It's well removed from the cosy Christmas of renaissance art or of chestnuts roasting by the fire, though there's a place for those, too."
(MusicWeb Bargain of the Month Dec 2008)