The quality of meditation is so central to John Tavener’s music that indifferent performances of it can easily sound boring. There is no danger of that here…[Svyati] is shaped with great subtlety by conductor Suzi Digby…Barley contributes a beautifully shaped and shaded cello obbligato, and his performance of the solo cello piece Threnos is equally eloquent.

Cellist Matthew Barley’s contributions are beautifully played, not least Tavener’s moving Threnos; and Voce Chamber Choir offer a well-balanced sound with a polished sheen to their singing. An unusual and most welcome CD.

There are two factors…that set this disc apart. The first is the superlative cellist Matthew Barley…Rhetorical without sentimentality, musical without being self-conscious, his contributions give much of this repertoire…a life beyond Isserlis, and his thoughtful, highly textured improvisation dissolves and reassembles the composer’s signature sounds in a provocative musical intervention and commentary.