| Set List | 'A Sea Symphony', R Vaughan Williams,
'Enigma Variations', E Elgar,
'I Was Glad', H Parry |
| Performance Notes | Barts Choir is proud to present a celebratory programme of English Classical and Choral music to honour the 900th anniversary of Barts Hospital in 2023 and to fundriase for Barts Charity.
Behold, the sea itself! With a brass fanfare and this dramatic choral declamation, Vaughan Williams launches A Sea Symphony, his first and longest symphony, on a wave of sound. He set words by the American poet Walt Whitman depicting the sea in all its aspects, reflecting, in doing so, on the larger questions of humankinds place in nature and the cosmos, art, and exploration (spiritual as well as physical).
'A Sea Symphony' is complemented by two other British classics:
Elgars 'Enigma Variations', in which he presents musical depictions of my friends pictured within (actually starting with his wife and ending with himself); and
Parrys 'I Was Glad', written for Edward VIIs coronation in 1902, heard at all coronations since and doubtless to be heard again during this Coronation year.
The evening promises to be a joyous event in appreciation of Barts Hospital through whom our choir was founded 58 years ago. |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/2023/30) |