Ikon of light is John Tavener's most recent large-scale work. It was first performed in July 1984 as part of the Cheltenham Festival, and although this recording was not made in the same building—Tewkesbury Abbey—the chapel of Merton College, Oxford is a more than adequate substitute, with (as recorded here) an admirably spacious yet clearly-focused acoustic.
As the title suggests; Ikon of light is no Anglican cantata but a setting of Greek mystical texts. The most extended movement is a meditation on the longing of the soul for the consolation which comes from God as Light, a text whose incantatory repetitions are balanced by a rich diversity of imagery. The general effect of the music is of consonant intervals and chant-like melodic phrases repeated to an extent which you may find either compellingly hypnotic or maddeningly static. Variety (and respite for the singers) is achieved principally through the use of a string trio, and this device does much to convince me of the music's genuine power. This is not merely music of 'ecclesiastical austerity'; the consonances do generate sufficient variety of harmonic character, and the chant-like phrases transcend liturgical pastiche.
Tavener's concentrated yet sensuous recent style is even more strongly in evidence in his Funeral Ikos. an English setting of the Greek funeral sentences with six sections ringing telling changes on material whose final ''Alleluia'' is almost too nostalgic for its own good. Both these works, as well as the brief Carol (Blake's ''The lamb'') are sung with appropriate conviction by the Tallis Scholars. There may be an occasional sense of strain in the more exposed passages of Ikon of light, but the overall effect is suitably vigorous and expressive.'