TRIBUTES have been received to one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary composers, Sir John Tavener, who has died at his house in Dorset aged 69.

Sir John, who rose to prominence in the late 1960s when his oratorio The Whale was premiered at the London Sinfonietta's first concert and was released by the Apple music label, is said to have died "peacefully at home" in Child Okeford, near Blandford, today.

He attracted popular attention with works such as The Protecting Veil, The Lamb and Eternity's Sunrise, and Song For Athene which was performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

Sir John - who is survived by his wife Maryanna and three children - was knighted for Services to Music in the Millennium Honours list. He is said to have suffered health problems for a number of years.

James Rushton, the managing director of his publisher Chester Music, said: ''John Tavener was one of the unique and most inspired voices in music of the last 50 years.

“'His large body of work - dramatic, immediate, haunting, remaining long in the memory of all who have heard it, and always identifiably his - is one of the most significant contributions to classical music in our times.”

A Clarence House spokesman said: "The Prince of Wales was saddened to hear of the death of John Tavener."