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City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Debussy, Messiaen, Bach

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra give a concert of Debussy, Messiaen and Bach.

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and assistant conductor Jonathan Bloxham, the CBSO Chorus conducted by Simon Halsey, and the organist Thomas Trotter give a concert of music by Debussy, Messiaen and Bach from Symphony Hall, as part of the Birmingham Debussy Festival. Tom Redmond presents.

"Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien is a masterpiece that has not yet been understood. Debussy wrote his Parsifal that day." So wrote Emile Vuillermoz in 1920, 9 years after Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien received its heavy censuring. But the scandal it caused wasn't really surprising, given its quasi-religious ecstasy and complex sexual implications - not least the cross-dressing of dancer and choreographer Ida Rubinstein. Debussy retorted "I have made mysterious Nature my religion". And what an influence this mysticism had upon disciple Messiaen, as we can hear in Messiaen's choral piece O Sacrum Convivium. This concert, given as part of the Birmingham Debussy Festival, explore the composer's links with the sacred.

Part 1
Debussy: (orch. Matthews) La cathédrale engloutie
CBSO
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (conductor)

Bach: Toccata and Fugue in d BWV 538 ("Dorian")
Thomas Trotter (organ)

Messiaen O Sacrum Convivium
CBSO Chorus
Simon Halsey (conductor)
Messiaen: La Nativité du Seigneur IX. "Dieu parmi nous"
Thomas Trotter (organ)

Debussy Danse sacrée et danse profane
Suzy Willison-Kawalec (harp)
CBSO
Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)

INTERVAL (from CD)
Respighi: Quattro Liriche dal poema paradisiaco Di Gabrielle d'Annunzio
Marta Moretto (mezzo soprano)
Aldo Orvieto (piano)

Part 2
Debussy Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien
Katja Stuber (soprano)
Ilse Eerens (soprano)
CBSO Chorus
CBSO
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (conductor).

2 hours, 30 minutes

Music Played

  • Claude Debussy

    La cathedrale engloutie (orch. Matthews)

    Music Arranger: Colin Matthews. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Mirga Gražinytė‐Tyla.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Toccata and Fugue in D minor, "Dorian", BWV 538

    Performer: Thomas Trotter.
  • Olivier Messiaen

    O Sacrum Convivium

    Choir: CBSO Chorus. Director: Simon Halsey.
  • Olivier Messiaen

    La Nativite du Seigneur (9th mvt, "Dieu parmi nous")

    Performer: Thomas Trotter.
  • Claude Debussy

    Danse sacree et danse profane

    Performer: Suzy Willison-Kawalec. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Jonathan Bloxham.
  • Ottorino Respighi

    4 Liriche

    Performer: Aldo Orvieto. Singer: Marta Moretto.
  • Claude Debussy

    Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien

    Singer: Katja Stuber. Singer: Ilse Eerens. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Conductor: Mirga Gražinytė‐Tyla.
  • Francis Poulenc

    Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence

    Choir: Nederlands Kamerkoor. Conductor: Eric Ericson.
    • GLOBE.
  • François Couperin

    Pièces de violes (Suite No 2)

    Ensemble: Musica ad Rhenum.
    • Brilliant Classics.

Broadcast

  • Mon 26 Mar 2018 19:30