Communion music
This Sunday, we shall be listening to “Mother of God, here I stand” by John Tavener, sung by Voces8.
John Tavener, (who claimed descent from the Tudor composer John Taverner, with whom he is often confused) composed this anthem in 1985 in memory of his mother.
The words are his own, and depict him praying before an icon of the Virgin Mary and commending his mother’s soul to the Virgin’s care.
Tavener had joined the Orthodox Church in 1977, and most of his works after that date reflect his Orthodox faith.