Prom 7: Delius/Nielsen/Wood/Ravel (22.07.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

7.00 p.m.
Royal Albert Hall
Mark Simpson, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis live at the BBC Proms in music by Delius, Nielsen, Hugh Wood and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe suite No 2


Delius: In a Summer Garden
Hugh Wood: Epithalamion (BBC commission) (World premiere)
Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto, Op 57
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe - Suite No. 2

Mark Simpson, clarinet
Rebecca Bottone, soprano
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, conductor

Afternoon heat breeds musical languor in a Prom that drifts from Delius's summer garden to the classical landscapes of Ravel's lovers Daphnis and Chloe. Former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Mark Simpson is the soloist in anniversary composer Nielsen's intimate, playful Clarinet Concerto. Hugh Wood's Epithalamion is a new cantata, featuring soprano Rebecca Bottone, that delights in John Donne's sensuous and jubilant verse.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Is there a Daphnis & Chloe Suite no. 1?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Is there a Daphnis & Chloe Suite no. 1?

Yes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRb3YKs91dw

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hugh Wood "immediately" following Delius seems bad programming to me - swapping the order of the Wood and Nielsen would be less like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRb3YKs91dw

Thanks for that. I hardly recognised the music without the chorus.

[Ferretfancy]

Is there a Daphnis & Chloe Suite no. 1?

Yes, there is a Suite No. 1, comprising the wonderfully mysterious Nocturne which cuts with a bump into the pirate's Danse Guerriere. There's only about nine minutes of music, which would be rather short programming. I have a Dutton reissue of the two suites recorded for Decca in 1946 by Munch and the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. This CD is wll worth having, as it includes Suzanne Danco in Ravel's Sheherezade.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I first heard the First Suite on a TURNABOUT LP - IIRC, the Utah SO under Abravanel.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Getting back to the concert itself, we have yet another world premiere in a well-balanced concert.

[Barbirollians]

Looks like quite a short programme though - in total only 80 minutes of music.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I missed the start of this prom. (I should have checked my own OP for the starting time. When I switched on, Hugh Wood's Epithalamion was in full flow. Rather Waltonesque.

If you haven't switched on, I recommend that you consider doing so.

[bluestateprommer]

Looks like quite a short programme though - in total only 80 minutes of music.

Yes, because there is a 2nd Prom this evening, so obviously the RAH minions need to be able to clear the stage after the BBC SO's Prom to make way for the Late Night festivities.

On EA's post, this may be a case of "great minds thinking alike", as I too missed the start of this Prom, but caught most of Hugh Wood's Epithalamion. Very energetic, appealing and audience-friendly in its idiom, but not in any condescending or patronizing way. Happy to hear that HW is still going strong in his 80's, and got such a warm reception from the audience. Nice of Penny Gore to note that it's 50 years since HW's Scenes from Comus received its Proms premere, and it's interesting to think how much "mellower" HW's idiom is now compared to the denser chromaticism of the earlier work (recently listened to it on CD).

[Stanfordian]

Hugh Wood "immediately" following Delius seems bad programming to me - swapping the order of the Wood and Nielsen would be less like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth.

Hiya ferneyhoughgeliebte,

It does not surprise me all all. This kippers and custard approach seems all the rage in many concert programmes today.

[bluestateprommer]

Hiya ferneyhoughgeliebte,

It does not surprise me all all. This kippers and custard approach seems all the rage in many concert programmes today.

Actually, if one wanted to give the chorus a break after singing the HW, to let them be rested for the Ravel, it makes sense to switch the HW and Nielsen. In any case, no harm done, with Mark Simpson on cracking form in the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto. I'll admit to surprise at hearing the chorus in the Daphnis suite, as I was expecting the orchestra alone. But presumably people thought: "well, the chorus is here, so why not?". FWIW, I actually prefer listening to the complete ballet with chorus, and not the suites without.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'll admit to surprise at hearing the chorus in the Daphnis suite, as I was expecting the orchestra alone. But presumably people thought: "well, the chorus is here, so why not?". FWIW, I actually prefer listening to the complete ballet with chorus, and not the suites without.

It is sometimes done in this way. Barbirolli's Pye recording of the suite has the chorus.

[HighlandDougie]

I first heard the First Suite on a TURNABOUT LP - IIRC, the Utah SO under Abravanel.

Maybe Stanislaw Scrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra? Highly regarded at the time - and still pretty good.