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.

The first seven follow the same structure, with each cycle being a higher key than the previous.

[5] This is then followed by a setting of the kyrie in either English or the original Greek.