Worldes Blis generated considerable notoriety upon its 1969 premiere when the performance caused most of the audience to leave the concert hall.
For its first quarter-hour, quietness reigns: lapping and overlapping string lines underneath, transformations of 13th-century monody expressed through horn and high trumpet solos.
As its unbroken line rises like an incoming tide, Mr. Maxwell Davies introduces series of drones: first a calm, prolonged sound, then a querulous squealing and finally ringing bells and percussion.
"[5] Reviewing a 1993 performance by Davies and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael White of The Independent called it "an orchestral juggernaut whose slow, massive progression from transparent austerity to sonic barrage made such tough demands on its initial 1960s audience that it acquired a reputation as a concert-killer."
He added, "Wednesday's was a rare hearing and still tough, but perhaps with more appeal for 1990s ears attuned to slow massivity through Tavener, Gorecki and the holy minimalists.