When words run out, we turn to music to tell the story. We sing of love and heartbreak, we dance in joy and celebration.
Luciano Berio Folk Songs
Béla Bartók Romanian Folk Dances
Maurice Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
Tess Jackson conductor
Lotte Betts-Dean soprano
With the luminous and expressive voice of Lotte Betts-Dean and youthful energy of our players, Eastern European folk melodies and French Baroque dances are reborn in three richly coloured 20th-century masterpieces that are moving, raw, spirited and beautiful.
Luciano Berio Folk Songs
Berio’s Folk Songs offer a spellbinding journey through traditional music from around the world. Melodies from Armenia, Sicily, and the American South are reimagined with modern harmonies, blending classical instrumentation with raw, earthy vocals that channel the expressive power of the human voice into a vivid and emotionally resonant chamber work. Lotte Betts-Dean’s striking voice and expressive depth reveal both the raw beauty and contemporary edge of these songs.
Béla Bartók Romanian Folk Dances
Drawn from authentic field recordings, Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances burst with rhythmic vitality and rustic charm, capturing the spirit of Transyvanian village life with irresistible flair. Each dance pulses with life, inviting listeners into a world of fiddles, footwork, and fiery celebration.
Maurice Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin balances lightness and gravity in a graceful homage to French Baroque style that echoes the elegance of 18th-century dance forms. Ravel’s crystalline textures and delicate ornamentation evoke the spirit of Couperin and his contemporaries. Composed during World War I, each movement is dedicated to a fallen friend, blending grace and restraint with quiet emotional resonance.
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A richly expressive and lyrically radiant programmes of English music that will soothe, stir and surprise, shifting in mood from pastoral calm to magically mysterious. Featuring renowned clarinettist Julian Bliss as the soloist in Finizi's Clarinet Concerto.
From the hushed streets and quiet corners to the glitz, glamour and neon-lit skylines, this evocative programme captures the pulse of the city after dark. We're joined by the phenomenal young pianist and BBC Young Musician of the Year winner Ryan Wang for a nocturnal wander through the urban jungle, featuring George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Steve Reich’s City Life.