John Tavener's Requiem, given its premiere in 2008 by the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, is not one of the composer's more coherent works. It draws its text not only from the traditional Latin requiem, but from Hindu, Muslim, and Christian scriptures and writings, a diversity that's not uncommon in contemporary religious works, but
Tavener fails to use them in making a convincing musical statement. Part of the problem lies in his general approach, in which a free-floating, vague mysticism prevails; the score is full of directions like "with deepest sympathy" and "awesome, apocalyptic," without much of a larger sense of musical purpose. Specific problems arise from
Tavener's eccentric orchestration. He seems unwilling to use the orchestra to produce conventionally resonant sonorities and the result sounds more strange and inept than visionary. He frequently has the solo cello double the solo soprano and tenor lines (both of which lie extremely high) and the combination tends to sound sour and strident.
Tavener comes closest to the transcendence for which he is aiming in the final movement, in which multiple layers of musical gestures serenely overlap, building and receding, like waves breaking on the shore. He is altogether more successful in the two instrumental works Mahashakti for violin, tam-tam, and strings and Eternal Memory for cello and strings. Mahashakti, in particular, is a work of radiant tranquility, like the
Vaughan Williams of The Lark Ascending meeting the
Hovhaness of Mysterious Mountain, and it's warmly beguiling, a piece that deserves broad exposure. Violinist Ruth Palmer and cellist
Josephine Knight play with self-effacing generosity and make the music really shine. The
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has a chance to show its mettle in its disciplined and nuanced playing in these pieces, led by
Vasily Petrenko. The sound is clean in the instrumental works and is also, in fact, good in the Requiem, but that piece is constructed in such a way that the sonic impression it leaves is sometimes muddled and cluttered.