Ethel Smyth wasn’t especially religious: the text and images of the Catholic Mass simply thrilled her. ‘What words! What words!’ she exclaimed, and her monumental Mass in D major is one of the crowning glories of the British choral tradition. Following their widely admired 2019 recording (‘fiercely committed, highly persuasive’ – BBC Music Magazine) Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra give the first Proms performance since the composer’s own lifetime, with rising operatic star Nardus Williams heading an impressive quartet of soloists. Debussy’s Nocturnes begin the evening in a very different, but no less beautiful world – blurring the edges of sound itself to create music that seems to glow in the dark.
Image: Nardus Williams © Bertie Watson
19:30 Sat 20 Aug 2022 Royal Albert Hall
Tickets for this Event
Seats £8.50 to £42.00 (plus booking fee)
Programme
Claude Debussy
Nocturnes(24 mins)
INTERVAL
Ethel Smyth
Mass in D major(60 mins)
Performers
Nardus Williams
soprano
Bethan Langford
mezzo-soprano
Robert Murray
tenor
Božidar Smiljanić
bass-baritone
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo
conductor
Composers
Claude Debussy
Ethel Smyth
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