Proms on Afternoon Concert 2 (21.07.20): (a) Ulster Orch., (b) Nash Ensemble et al.

[bluestateprommer]

"Fiona Talkington presents great Prom concerts from recent years by BBC orchestras and choirs - today the BBC Singers in Palestrina and Judith Weir and Ulster Orchestra in Tchaikovsky. Venezuelan Rafael Payare makes his 2016 Proms debut as Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra with Tchaikovsky's Fifth and a brand-new work by Professor of Composition at Queens University, Belfast, Piers Hellawell, plus Haydn with the cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, who was then a BBC New Generation Artist. Plus a 2017 Prom at Southwark Cathedral with Palestrina from BBC Singers and their then chief conductor, David Hill, who are joined by the Nash Ensemble for another world premiere by Master of the Queen's Music Judith Weir.

Piers Hellawell: Wild Flow (world premiere)
Haydn: Cello Concerto No 1 in C major
with Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 5
Ulster Orchestra
Conductor Rafael Payare"

(From 2016 Proms, Prom 47, 21 August 2016)

Past R3 Forum thread: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...-Rafael-Payare

"Proms at… Southwark Cathedral
Palestrina: Motet 'Confitebor tibi, Domine'; Missa 'Confitebor tibi'
Judith Weir: In the Land of Uz (BBC commission: world premiere)
with Adrian Thompson (tenor), Stephen Farr (organ) and Nash Ensemble
BBC Singers
Conductor David Hill"

(From 2017 Proms, Proms at ... Southwark Cathedral, 12 August 2017)

Past R3 Forum thread: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...edral-12-08-17

BBC R3 programme link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000l22v

[bluestateprommer]

Abridged re-visit to the contemporary works on each of these Proms rebroadcasts. I'll admit that the Piers Hellawell work didn't really grow on me the 2nd time around, although the Ulster Orchestra and Rafael Payare did their best for it. The Judith Weir was the more appealing of the world premieres by comparison, although again, the JW didn't knock me flat or anything like that.

Nice gestures again of R3 to bring in musicians who performed in each of those Proms, Colin Stark from the UO and Margaret Cameron from the BBC Singers, to talk with Fiona T.. The choices here of Proms do actually reflect clever and subtle interconnecting programming, like the Messiaen thread in the 1st Afternoon concert archival Prom. Here, the Afternoon Concert Proms re-broadcasts feature:

(1) Both the first, and last, Proms appearances by Rafael Payare with the UO, the latter being aired 2 weeks ago this past Tuesday
(2) The final appearance of David Hill as chief conductor of the BBC Singers here, and the 'passing of the torch' to Sofi Jeannin in the 1st part of this past Tuesday's Afternoon Concert double-bill of Proms