The Veil of the Temple

The Veil of the Temple is a piece of choral music by British composer Sir John Tavener. Identified by Tavener as "the supreme achievement of my life",[1][2] it is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours.[3] It is based on text from a number of religions, and received its world premiere performance at the Temple Church, London in June 2003.[4]

Structure

The piece is split into eight cycles. The first seven follow the same structure, with each cycle being a higher key than the previous.[4] For example, Cycles I to VII open with a soprano solo.[5] This is then followed by a setting of the kyrie in either English or the original Greek. Successive cycles add additional musical complexity and words to each movement, with the result that cycle I takes about 20 minutes to perform, but cycle VII takes 1.5 hours.[6]

Cycles I to VII use the following structure:[5]

Title	Section	Sung by	Notes
Mystical Love Song of the Sufis		Solo soprano
Primordial Call		Orchestra
God's Creation	Kyrie 1	Choir
	Tohu, Vohu, Tahem. Logos	Choir, with soloists
	In the beginning	Solo bass
	Kyrie 2	Choir
	You mantle yourself in light.	Choir
	Kyrie 3	Choir
Outside the Gates of Paradise	O Blessed Paradise	Choir, with soloists
	Kyrie 4	Choir
	What God is.	Choir
	Kyrie 5	Choir
Our Father	Lords Prayer	Choir
	Kyrie 6	Choir
Holy Mary	O Mary Theotokos.	Choir
	Hail, O Mother of God!	Choir
	Here I stand now praying.	Choir
	In thee rejoiceth.	Choir	Cycles V to VII only
	Awed by the beauty	Choir	Cycles V to VII only
	Alleelouia 1	Choir	Cycles V to VII only
	Kyrie 7	Choir
Alleluia. Theos Erastos	Alleelouia 2	Choir
	Kyrie 8	Basses
	Kyrie 9	Choir
Gospel of St John	Gospel of John	Solo Bass
	Alleelouia 3	Choir
Thrice-Holy Hymn - Resurrection	Te re rem.	Choir	Not cycle VII
	Agios ischyros.	Choir	Not cycle VII
	Have mercy on me, O God.	Choir	Not cycle VII
	Agios Athanatos 1	Choir	Not cycle VII
	In Thy kingdom remember us, O Lord.	Choir	Not cycle VII
Beatitudes of St. Isaac the Syrian	The Beatitudes	single voice part	Not cycle VII
	Ágiós Athánatos 2	Choir	Not cycle VII
	Christos anestee	Choir	Not cycle VII
Psalm		Solo Bass	Not cycle VII

External links

• Article by composer on johntavener.com
• Discussion of this piece and Tavener by Stephen Layton
• Notes for CD of abridged concert version

References

1. Tavener, John. "The Veil of the Temple". Retrieved 14 November 2016.
2. Anastasia Tsioulcas (12 November 2013). "Remembering 'Holy Minimalist' Composer John Tavener". NPR Music. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
3. Michael White, "A Time for Reflection", BBC Music Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 2 (December 2013): p. 29.
4. Layton, Stephen. "Sir John Tavener (1944 – 2013)". Retrieved 14 November 2013.
5. "The Veil of the Temple" (PDF). CD notes. Chester Music. 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
6. "The Veil of the Temple" (PDF). CD notes. Signum Records Ltd. 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2016.