"Beautiful sounds that will fill every part of the building"

Barcelona"It's just about sitting back and being overwhelmed by the music," says Simon Halsey, music director of The veil of the temple, The masterpiece by composer John Tavener (1944-2023), which will be performed at the shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Barcelona this Saturday (9 p.m.) as part of the Grec Festival. This is the first time the work will be performed in Barcelona, and it will be performed in a reduced version of two and a half hours, as the original, premiered in London in 2003, lasts almost eight hours. The piece will be performed by the choral family of the Orfeó Català—the heart of the Orfeó Català, the Cor Jove and the Cor de Noies—and the Albada and Roig Korai choirs, with solo voices led by soprano Montserrat Seró. "Beautiful sounds that will fill all parts of the building," explains Halsey.

Joan Oller, general director of the Palacio de la Música, explains that the choice of the concert's location "makes a lot of sense because it's a very eclectic work and shares this characteristic with the church." Pau Masaló, who has been in charge of the artistic direction, assures that it has not been easy to adapt the space for the project: "We have been working every day until almost midnight." The sanctuary, located on Diagonal at the height of Roger de Llúria street, has maintained its own oratory activity, although the space is not designed to support the technical requirements of a large-scale project. The Veil of the TempleLighting plays a very important role in the show, which is why a 12-meter horizontal LED bar was installed on the building's ceiling and a laser was installed to illuminate the dome. "We had to be very creative in installing the spotlights so they were invisible to the spectators," Masaló adds.

The Veil of the Temple It is inspired by texts from different religions and was commissioned by Tavener from the Temple Church in London. It is intended as a gigantic prayer, taking the listener on a spiritual journey from darkness to light. Halsey explains that, although the texts are in different languages, the message is very simple and easy to understand. "The pieces grow, adding voices and instruments. The music is very simple, very colorful, and full of musical history," she adds.

Tavener's work, which premieres to a sold-out audience, is part of the four concerts that the Palau de la Música will offer as part of the Grec Festival program. The rest will take place at the Palau: The planets by Gustav Holst, on July 21; the World Youth Choir, conducted by Daniel Reuss, on July 27; and the concert by the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, on July 28.