John Tavener's 'The Veil of the Temple' performed for first time in Barcelona

British composer John Tavener's 'The Veil of the Temple' will make its debut in Barcelona for the first time on Saturday in a joint concert by the Palau de la Música and the Grec summer festival.

Tavener described the work as the "supreme achievement of my life," and the world premiere performance took place in June 2003 at London's Temple Church. Over twenty years later, the choral music piece arrives in the Catalan capital in a 2:30-hour reduced show at the Sanctuary of Mare de Déu del Carme.

The original piece lasted 8 hours as it was composed to play during all night until the sunrise. But the event in the Catalan capital will be a shortened version which is why the light display will have "an important role" during the show, as organizers announced on Friday in the sanctuary.

"The visual side is very linked with the space where the concert is taking place," Pau Masaló, artistic director of the concert, said during a press conference. There will be light displays across the church mixed with artificial fog during the show.

"We have tried to take advantage of every corner of the church without battering the voices and the music, which are the real characters of the show," Masaló added.

'The Veil of the Temple' takes the listener on a musical and spiritual journey from darkness to light in search of divinity.

Barcelona's performance has been musically led by Simon Hasley, who got to know Tavener, who passed away in 2013.

"It is the show's first performance in Catalonia and Spain, and every time it is performed, it is an enormous event," Halsey said. One of the most memorable performances of the piece was back in 2007 at Berlin's contemporary art museum, Hamburger Bahnhof.

The 8-hour piece will be performed as the opening act of the Edinburgh International Festival from August 1 to 24.

"This is a very important piece, it is not very often done," Halsey explained.

"It’s probably only been performed 10 times in 25 years, because the administration is so enormous that most people are frightened by it, but not us here in Barcelona!"

"Tavener was a very religious man," Halsey said, and throughout the choral music piece, people will be able to "taste Catholicism, Protestantism, and Renaissance music. There are many influences of the Greek Orthodox music."

"It is like an extended church service full of music history," the musical director added ahead of the sold-out experience.

There will be 13 soloists and five choirs from the Orfeó Català of the Palau de la Música Catalana music hall. Many orchestral instruments, including an organ, a Tibetan horn, and a Duduk, will also be present. It will be "very exciting," Halsey added.

And although it took one year to write back in 2001, as Tavener's wife said during the press conference, "this piece suddenly feels incredibly modern and relevant," Halsey concluded.

Challenges of performing in church

When asked about the most challenging elements in preparing the show for Saturday's performance, organizers agreed that playing in a church built between 1910 and 1921 by architects Josep Domènech i Estapà and Josep Domènech Mansana was the most challenging.

"It is a church in use, with its service and mass," Leticia Martín, director of the Grec summer festival of Barcelona, said.

One of the other challenges has been having enough electricity to power all the required equipment, which is why 85% of the lights are battery-powered.

"What you will experience tomorrow is beautiful, simple, and calm," Halsey said, referring to the fact that there has been over a year of production that has made something complicated "invisible" to the spectator.

"What the public will understand is very beautiful, very simple music but below that there has been an enormous amount of work with many soloists, instrumentalists and five choirs," he added.

First of four

'The Veil of the Temple' will be the first performance out of four organized by the Palau de la Música Catalana in the Grec summer festival.

On July 21, there will be a performance of 'The Planets' by Gustav Holst with several youth choirs. Later on, on July 27, the World Youth Choir, formed by around 70 international singers, will perform at the Palau de la Música conducted by Daniel Reuss.

The last concert will be on July 28, also at the Palau headquarters. It will feature works by Fabià Santcovsky, Catalan composer Isaac Albéniz, and Igor Stravinsky.