Opera Scotland

Veil of the Temple The Veil of the Temple

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Music

John Tavener (born Wembley, 28 January 1944; died Child Okeford, 12 November 2013)

 

Premieres

First Performance: London (Temple Church), 2003.

First Performance in Scotland: Edinburgh (Usher Hall), 2 August 2025.

 

Background

An astonishing eight-hour long choral epic, The Veil of the Temple is composed in eight cycles, representing four major religions.  The various texts use five languages (English, Aramaic, Church Slavonic, Greek and Sanskrit).

The Veil of the Temple was commissioned by the Temple Music Trust as an 'all-night vigil' to last through from darkness to dawn.