At 55 minutes long, Lament for Jerusalem is a mere bagatelle by John Tavener's epic standards, but it is nevertheless an impressive example of his ability to generate large, architectural spans of music from the slenderest material and the simplest of ritualised processes. Composed in 2002, it was described by Tavener as a "mystical love song", and combines texts from Christian, Islamic and Judaic sources, sung in English and Greek, to create a sequence of seven cycles.
Each cycle follows the same pattern, with a choral setting of a passage from a psalm followed by an instrumental lament, solos for countertenor and soprano, and a final choral lament. As the work goes on, however, the different elements in each cycle are extended and elaborated, so that what seems like a repetitive formula actually takes on an unexpected power and interest. Jeremy Summerly's performance with the Choir of London achieves the right kind of balance between austere rigour and devotional intensity, too.
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