John Tavener may not have won over the entire musical world with his brand of music, but he has undoubtedly won a sincere and popular following with his obvious gift for communicating directly to his audience. This disc offers a broad cross section of his work, from the early In Alium (1968) which features a pre-recorded tape of people making irritating noises (to this listener’s ears) to some of his most recent works. It features many of his obvious hits (such as an excerpt from The Protecting Veil), and embraces genres from solo piano and organ music to his opera (or ‘moving icon’ as the composer calls it), Mary of Egypt. As one would excerpt, there are many beautiful sounds on this CD and the performances are very good. What makes this disc so recommendable, however, is that it has been put together so well by the project editor, Genevieve Helsby, making this two CD set equally enjoyable as an introduction to Tavener’s music, or as a compilation for those who have already succumbed. The booklet notes are lavish and the second CD includes a 45minute interview with the composer.