{"id":5448,"date":"2013-11-13T10:53:27","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T09:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/?p=5448"},"modified":"2013-11-13T12:54:04","modified_gmt":"2013-11-13T11:54:04","slug":"in-memoriam-sir-john-tavener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/2013\/11\/13\/in-memoriam-sir-john-tavener\/","title":{"rendered":"In memoriam: Sir John Tavener"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sad loss to the world of contemporary music, the death of Sir John Tavener yesterday at the age of 69.<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/a>
Sir John Tavener: 1944-2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s become something of clich\u00e9 to write Tavener’s music off as a sort of ‘holy minimalism,’ yet this is to glibly dismiss a music that tapped into a unique corner of the British musical landscape, and one in which the composer’s profound religious faith\u00a0found articulation in a music that combined striking simplicity with chromatic colours and soaring lines. His music touched the heart of millions round the world when his serene Song for Athene <\/em>was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales; his rhapsodic, ecstatic, spine-tingling\u00a0The Protecting Veil<\/em> achieved widespread popularity under the bow of Stephen Isserlis; his musical language – accessible, yet richly colourful – made him that wondrous thing, a contemporary composer who spoke to many, and gainsayed the argument that modern music appeals only to a tiny elite.<\/p>\n

Listen to pieces such as The Lamb<\/em>, or Today The Virgin<\/em>, and hear the workings of Tavener’s unique language operating beneath the surface colours – proof, if any were needed, that modern music can touch the heart.<\/p>\n