Edward Bhesania visits London’s Round Chapel on 6 July 2025 for the performance of John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil, par of the Spitalfields Festival
The premiere of The Protecting Veil at the BBC Proms in 1989, with Steven Isserlis as soloist, launched a new wave of popularity for John Tavener’s music – even if it was to be trumped by the global exposure of Song for Athene at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, eight years later.
The veil in question is that of the Mother of God, who appeared in the tenth century to Andrew and his disciple Epiphanios, offering her protection to the Greek Christians under Saracen invasion. Tavener’s aim was to capture ‘the almost cosmic power’ of the Virgin Mary.
Perhaps hampered by the spacious but cool acoustic of Hackney’s Round Chapel, Wallfisch appeared detached, unattuned to the work’s songful ardour and spirituality. He did, however, hold the attention during the six-minute unaccompanied ‘Lament of the Mother of God at the Cross’, with its vocal inflections and focus on the bottom string, but the effect still fell short of mesmeric.
Anna Morrissey’s direction, featuring four dancers and involving the participation of the 22 string players, made a feature of white veils and offerings of light; and, in the ‘Lament’, touchingly recalled the Cross, with the double bassists bent over, instruments carried on their backs. This was a thoughtful staging, even if it sometimes upset the work’s contemplative core.
EDWARD BHESANIA
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