Why on earth should a composer who is Orthodox be expected to write only music that is suitable for liturgical use? Was Rimsky-Korsakov wrong to write his \"Russian Easter Overture\" or Tchaikovsky to use the Troparion of the Cross in the 1812 Overture?
As it happens, Sir John Tavener did write an English-language Divine Liturgy in the 1960s or 70s, at the behest of Archbishop Anthony Bloom.
Composing music is Tavener\'s secular job. I think it\'s nice that his music introduces people to Orthodox themes, but that\'s not why he writes it.
Tavener and Part are artists and don\'t pretend to be writing Orthodox liturgical music most of the time. Can\'t a painter paint a secular picture with an Orthodox church depicted in it?
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