the lamb

Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was a British composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Protecting Veil, Song for Athene and The Lamb. Said to be ‘among the very best creative talents of his generation’, he became one of the best known composers of his age and was knighted in 2000 for his services to music. He was one of the very few Orthodox in the United Kingdom to have a title. From this point on the customs of the Orthodox Church affected his work until in the early 2000s he became interested in a more universalist philosophy and sought inspiration elsewhere. Thus, in 2007 he composed The Beautiful Names, a setting of the 99 names of God in the Muslim tradition, sung in Arabic. He also explored a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism, and became a follower of the philosopher Frithjof Schuon. In the late 1960s, his cantata The Whale brought him fame with the help of the Beatles, who released it on their Apple records label