John Tavener: Two Hymns To The Mother Of God

Two hymns written for unaccompanied choir by Tavener. The first is for SAATBBSAATBB double choir, and is a setting of a text from the Liturgy of St. Basil. The second is for SSATBBB choir and comes from the Vigil Service of the Dormition (or falling asleep) of the Mother of God. She invites the apostles to gather together from the ends of the earth to bury her body in Gethsemane, and asks her son to receive the spirit.
Two hymns to the Mother of God were first performed in December 1985 by the Choir of Winchester Cathedral conducted by Martin Neary.