Seeking solace after the tragic mayhem in Manchester, last Monday,
I sublimated by looking forward as I transferred several earlier PROMS off-air recordings to DVD for improved picture and sound.
PROMS 2012, (7 Sept), Haydn Sym 104 ('London'); Strauss An Alpine Symphony,
VPO/Bernard Haitink - doyen of European conductors at his most sprightly and elegant on the podium and during his interview feature with Petroc Trelawny. The London Symphony, such an intoxicating and substantial opener, setting the mood for the Strauss, a part-elegy for Mahler, part-celebration for the composer himself. Mingling childhood memories of a schoolboy mountaineering expedition with a deeper vision of man's place on earth. Deeply stirring.
Time: 2 hrs 20 mins.
PROMS 2008, (27 July), Olivier Messiaen's, La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ,
a powerhouse work with massed choirs, seven instrumental soloists, a choir of 200, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC National Chorus of Wales, BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer. A work inspired by Christ's transfiguration as reported in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; the moment when He is suffused with light, speaks with Moses and Elijah, and is named the Son of God. Timely, too, as I have also recently acquired a paperback of Personal Mark, 1985, a memoir written by the late Alec McCowen of his memorable one- man performance at the Mermaid Theatre in the late 70s. The DVD captures the sense of space at the RAH so well and yet reflects the intimacy of the occasion. I have an enormous affection for the Hall and its possibilities. Time: 2 hours
I sublimated by looking forward as I transferred several earlier PROMS off-air recordings to DVD for improved picture and sound.
PROMS 2012, (7 Sept), Haydn Sym 104 ('London'); Strauss An Alpine Symphony,
VPO/Bernard Haitink - doyen of European conductors at his most sprightly and elegant on the podium and during his interview feature with Petroc Trelawny. The London Symphony, such an intoxicating and substantial opener, setting the mood for the Strauss, a part-elegy for Mahler, part-celebration for the composer himself. Mingling childhood memories of a schoolboy mountaineering expedition with a deeper vision of man's place on earth. Deeply stirring.
Time: 2 hrs 20 mins.
PROMS 2008, (27 July), Olivier Messiaen's, La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ,
a powerhouse work with massed choirs, seven instrumental soloists, a choir of 200, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC National Chorus of Wales, BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer. A work inspired by Christ's transfiguration as reported in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; the moment when He is suffused with light, speaks with Moses and Elijah, and is named the Son of God. Timely, too, as I have also recently acquired a paperback of Personal Mark, 1985, a memoir written by the late Alec McCowen of his memorable one- man performance at the Mermaid Theatre in the late 70s. The DVD captures the sense of space at the RAH so well and yet reflects the intimacy of the occasion. I have an enormous affection for the Hall and its possibilities. Time: 2 hours