Song for Athene was commissioned by the BBC and was first performed on the 22nd January 1994 at St. Giles in the Barbican, London, by the BBC Singers conducted by Simon Joly. The work was written in memory of Athene Hariades, who died tragically in March 1993. The text is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Orthodox Funeral Service. The piece was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.