Title: a great exposure to tavener's work
Product review: i've read that some of tavener's recent compositions have ranged from pretentious to excruciating, but the selections on this naxos issue are very approachable and performed with a great deal of reverence.the longest piece, "svyati", is also the most haunting. a combination of mournful solo cello and simple choral underlay is wonderful.my main complaint is that in places it sounds... mushy. it possibly has to do with the acoustics of the venue, but on passages like "the tiger" the vocal layers end up smearing each other.comparing it to the clean sound of "psalms for the soul" (naxos 8.554823) only adds to the frustration. still, a good cheap way to get some excellent late 20th century choral music and a must for tavener fans.
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