It has just been announced that Tavener’s colossal 8 hour long The Veil of the Temple will be the opening concerto at this years Edinburgh Festival. So I thought I re-publish my earlier thoughts on Tavener’s structural procedures as this piece is a good example of his approach to structure in his larger works. (17/03/256)  

The meticulous structural planning of The Veil of the Temple is an aspect of John Tavener’s creative procedure that ran throughout his career and output especially in his larger works. His instrumental masterpiece The Protecting Veil (1988), though vastly different in scope and orchestration, similarly unfolds through an ordered, cumulative structure. Each of its movements is carefully proportioned, with melodic material developing in a manner akin to sacred chant, creating a sense of both stillness and forward motion.

Likewise, Ikon of Light (1984), for chorus and string trio, is built around Tavener’s fascination with numerical patterns and the concept of illumination through sound. The work’s use of canonic writing and symmetrical phrasing reflects his belief that structure should not merely support a piece but serve as an audible representation of divine order.

This structural precision can be traced even further back to Palintropos (1978), an earlier instrumental work that demonstrates Tavener’s preoccupation with balance and transformation akin to sacred geometry. Taking its title from Heraclitus’ concept of opposing forces coexisting in unity, Palintropos exhibits a dialectical approach to sound and silence, movement and stasis – ideas that would later evolve into the grand cyclical forms of The Veil of the Temple. Even at this stage in his career, Tavener’s works were never loosely constructed; rather, they were shaped by an underlying logic that reflected his deep engagement with both philosophical and theological ideas. (see my analysis of Palintropos here)

Having had the honour of studying with Tavener in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I was fortunate to discuss these very ideas with him first hand – his thoughts on proportion, symmetry, and structure as an integral part of his sacred vision. It was clear to me, even then, that his approach to composition was deeply methodical. Later, as a commentator on his work -writing articles and booklet notes – I found that much of the discourse around his music focused on its spiritual and emotional impact, sometimes overlooking the intricacy of its construction. Yet Tavener was as much an architect as he was a mystic, and The Veil of the Temple is perhaps his most monumental statement of this principle.

Michael J. Stewart 2024