John Tavener: Beyond the Veil

Peer into the creative heart of a truly unique musical icon with this music-based portrait of prolific composer John Tavener. Praised by many when his "Song for Athene" provided a tasteful musical backdrop for the funeral of Princess Diana, Tavener was afforded the opportunity to have his music featured in such a high-profile event after winning a Gramophone Award for his memorable cello concerto "The Protecting Veil" in 1992. In addition to discussing his musical influences, his life in 1960s-era "swinging" London, and the influence of religion on his music, Tavener also opens up to interviewer Melvyn Bragg by discussing his idyllic home life with his family in Greece. A man who views his music as a "prayer," Tavener became disenchanted with western philosophy, eventually evolving through many forms of religion before finding solace in Russian Orthodoxy in the late 1970s.