Sir John Tavener was knighted by The Queen in 2000 for his services to music, and he remains one of Britain’s most popular classical composers. Back in the late Sixties, John Tavener was championed by John & Yoko, and befriended by Ringo Starr. Apple's recordings of The Whale, his avant-garde oratorio, and Celtic Requiem, written for soprano, orchestra and children’s choir, were his first ever full-length releases, and remain extraordinary examples of British contemporary classical music. 　　 　　This remastered CD also contains two supporting pieces, ‘Nomine Jesu’ (‘Name Of Jesus’) and ‘Coplas’ (‘Verses’), that were originally issued on the Celtic Requiem album in 1970, and were later reworked into the major Tavener composition of 1972 Ultimos Ritos. For this new CD, Sir John has re-presented The Whale as it was originally published in the score. Instead of spanning two tracks as per all previous releases, the oratorio has now been split into its seven discrete sections, allowing the listener for the first time to follow on record the individual elements of this early and most innovative work.