Not being particularly attracted to modern English music, I had not heard the music of John Tavener (except for an involuntary and unrewarding exposure to The Protecting Veil). This CD has left me with no desire to hear any more.

The Requiem contains sections from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, lines from the Koran and Sufi texts and Hindu words. It calls for cello, soprano and tenor soloists, mixed chorus and orchestra. The composer states that “the essence of this Requiem is contained in the words ‘Our glory lies when we cease to exist’.” Whatever its other values, the Requiem seems to me to be worthless as a piece of music. It has no sense of musical direction.

The vocal parts are ungainly and awkward, the cello solos uninteresting and the choral writing turgid and oppressive. The final section, lasting nine minutes, sounds like something that might be written as a finale to a film depicting a fairy tale. Mahashakti, about Celestial Feminine Energy, written for solo violin, strings and tam-tam, is an exasperating work lasting 18 minutes with no musical argument and replete with sickly, cloying harmonies. Surprisingly, Eternal Memory, for cello and strings, does bear some resemblance to a...