Tavener, (Sir) John

(28 January 1944, London)

   Pianist and organist, in January 1962 he began composition studies with Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989) at the Royal Academy of Music, then studied with the Australian David Lumsdaine (1931– ), and first came to public attention in 1968 with the performance of a cantata, {}The Whale. Through the 1970s he composed works deriving from Roman Catholic traditions: Canciones espan˜olas (1972), In Memoriam Igor Stravinsky (1971), Responsorium in Memory of Annon {}Lee Silver (1971), Requiem for Father Malachy (1973), and the setting of a text from St. John of the Cross in Ultimos Ritos (1972). In 1977, he was received into Eastern Orthodoxy, whose liturgy and Byzantine chants inspired many of his subsequent works: The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (1981), Orthodox Vigil Service (1984), The Protecting Veil (1987), Akathist of Thanksgiving (1988), and Lamentations and Praises (2000) are among the best known. His most recent works, influenced by the universalist philosophy of Fritjhof Schuon, may combine references to various world religions. In all, Tavener has composed nearly 100 sacred works for chorus, nearly 60 of them unaccompanied, and another 20 instrumental works on religious themes. He was knighted in 2000.