The best recordings of works by John Tavener
We round up some of the greatest recordings of the British composing legend Sir John Tavener

Ikon of Light
The Sixteen/Harry Christophers
Coro 16015
A good introduction to Tavener’s finest choral writing, including The Lamb and the early seven-movement sequence that gives the disc its name.
The Protecting Veil
Steven Isserlis (cello); London Symphony Orchestra/Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Erato 3-63293
A classic release of the hypnotically spaced-out score that still wins converts after 18 years. We named the London Symphony Orchestra one of the best orchestras in the world.
Ex Maria Virgine
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/Timothy Brown
Naxos 8.572168
A recent carol sequence that does surprising things to familiar texts.
Requiem
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Vasily Petrenko
EMI 235 1342
In his later, stylistically inclusive mode, the Requiem contains grandiloquence and a state of surrender.
Read more of our reviews of the latest Tavener recordings
Find out more about Tavener and his works here
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Authors

Freya Parr is BBC Music Magazine's Digital Editor and Staff Writer. She has also written for titles including the Guardian, Circus Journal, Frankie and Suitcase Magazine, and runs The Noiseletter, a fortnightly arts and culture publication. Freya's main areas of interest and research lie in 20th-century and contemporary music.