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Prom 56: London Sinfonietta
- Date Wednesday 27 August 2008
- Time 10.00pm - c11.20pm
- Venue Royal Albert Hall
The natural world of this evening's earlier Prom spills over into this late-night London Sinfonietta concert. Einojuhani Rautavaara's most popular work, a concerto for taped birds and orchestra, marks the composer's 80th anniversary.
And Sir John Tavener's early cantata The Whale is heard again under the baton of David Atherton, who gave its premiere at the London Sinfonietta's inaugural concert 40 years ago. The work was famously recorded on the Beatles' own Apple label after Ringo Starr heard it.
Forty years on, Tavener offers the UK premiere of Cantus mysticus, for soprano, clarinet and strings, with sets texts by Goethe, Dante and others, concerned with the creative Feminine element in the Divine.
- Einojuhani Rautavaara Cantus arcticus (18 mins)
- Sir John Tavener Cantus mysticus (UK premiere) (7 mins)
- Sir John Tavener The Whale (35 mins)
There will be no interval
Patricia Rozario soprano
Susan Bickley mezzo-soprano
David Wilson-Johnson baritone
Mark van de Wiel clarinet
London Sinfonietta Chorus
London Sinfonietta
David Atherton conductor
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Thank you for organising this Prom. It is a rare opportunity to see Tavener's The Whale. The performance of all three works were great, with fantastic conducting from Atherton.
Rautavaara's piece was "nice" and accessible, and taped birds are very effective at the Royal Albert Hall. Tavener's Cantus mysticus is possibly one of the worst compositions ever performed at the Proms - it completely lacks any sense of coherence and direction. The performance was great from the two soloists. The Whale showed us what made Tavener famous and interesting when he was young.