The Millennium Consort and Martin Neary

At St. Sophia Cathedral

Comments (0) By Mary Beth Crain Wednesday, Apr 11 2007

If you’re one of those people who always gets John Taverner and John Tavener mixed up, join the crowd. The 16th-century Taverner was considered the most important English composer of his time. Fellow Brit Sir John Tavener might be considered Taverner’s contemporary counterpart: arguably the most important and innovative choral composer of the 20th and 21st centuries. Tavener, who became a member of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977, describes his requiems, canticles, hymns and liturgical cantatas as “icons with notes rather than colors.” Amid solemn candlelight and the 17 crystal chandeliers, 12 towering stained-glass windows, the exquisitely carved Epitaphios and dazzling gold mosaics of St. Sophia Cathedral, the Millennium Consort will make its world debut with a program that includes Taverner’s best-known mass, the “Western Wynde,” and a selection of Byzantine hymns by Tavener that includes three U.S. premieres. The Consort is directed by Grammy-winning conductor Martin Neary, an institution in his own right. The former director of the Choir of Westminster Abbey, Neary directed the music for Princess Diana’s funeral, and you might have caught a glimpse of him doing just that in the movie The Queen. Presented by The Da Camera Society as part of its Chamber Music in Historic Sites season. St. Sophia Cathedral, 1324 S. Normandie Ave., L.A.; Sat., April 14, 4 p.m.; preceded by a pre-concert talk at 3:15 p.m.; $43-$47. (213) 477-2929 or www.dacamera.org.