Wed, 04 Dec
|Cadogan Hall
The First Nowell
A gorgeous and unusual anthology of music for choir and orchestra. Works by Finzi, Britten, Vaughan Williams and Florence Price tell the story of the Nativity, from Annunciation to Epiphany.
Time & Location
04 Dec 2024, 19:30 – 21:30
Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ, UK
About the event
GERALD FINZI Magnificat
FLORENCE PRICE Adoration
GERALD FINZI In Terra Pax
BENJAMIN BRITTEN Ceremony of Carols (SATB version)
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The First Nowell
Claire Filer, soprano
Gareth Brynmor John, baritone
Britten Sinfonia
Daniel Hyde, conductor
A gorgeous and unusual anthology of music heralding the festive season, including Britten’s much-loved Ceremony of Carols in an arrangement for mixed voices. Interspersed with Adoration, a beautiful miniature for strings by Florence Price, two enchanting works by Gerald Finzi set scenes of wonder. Magnificat is Mary’s joyful song on discovering she is to have a baby; In Terra Pax imagines shepherds receiving astonishing news of the Nativity from exultant angels above a frosty Gloucestershire hillside. From Annunciation to Epiphany, the whole Christmas story is encapsulated in Vaughan Williams’ The First Nowell, a sequence of Christmas music for choir and orchestra. Rarely performed, it is laced with well-known carols, and speaks directly to the heart with warmth and freshness.
The Britten Sinfonia joins the City of London Choir for it first Christmas concert under the baton of Daniel Hyde.
Generously supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation.
For tickets, please click here to be directed to Cadogan Hall's box office.