MUSIC REVIEW: Tavener Requiem, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Feb 29 2008 by Glyn Mon Hughes, Liverpool Daily Post

AS WORLD premieres go, Tavener’s Requiem was one of the most anticipated of recent years.

A stupendous performance using the entire cathedral space, the work fused the common traditions of four major religions into one vision – the notion that “our glory lies where we cease to exist”.

The Dies Irae had to be one of the most hellishly disturbing of any similar movement, while the mantra-like passages of serene beauty almost transcended thought.

Soprano soloist Elin Manahan Thomas and her tenor counterpart Andrew Kennedy surpassed themselves in their highly complex and demanding lines, while solo cellist Josephine Knight – acting like a narrator – added an additional almost celestial sound.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, under Vasily Petrenko, again produced a commanding performance.

The choir was particularly disciplined in their unaccompanied performance of excerpts from Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, a piece of serene power and intensity.

Last night’s concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, on March 5.