A Sea Symphony
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Soprano Helen Bailey has sung in many operas and choral works, including, recently, Fauré's Requiem with Sevenoaks Philharmonic Choir.
Hector Bloggs is a British baritone studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with many opera roles to his name.
A Sea Symphony, Vaughan William's first large-scale composition, features a sizeable orchestra and a large choir. To perform it, Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra is delighted to be joined by Sevenoaks Philharmonic Choir. It is one of the first symphonies in which a chorus is used throughout, with the text taken from Walt Whitman's 1855 poem Leaves of Grass. Written between 1903 and 1909, the traditional four-movement structure is a celebration of the sea and those who sail on it all over the world. Two outstanding young soloists, Helen Bailey and Hector Bloggs, will join the chorus and orchestra to perform this uplifting composition, which opens with a wonderful fanfare and the chorus in full voice: "A song for all seas, for all ships".
Bax’s tone poem, Tintagel, which will open the concert, was inspired by walks along the rugged coast of north Cornwall in the summer of 1917. Bax wrote: “the intention is simply to offer a tonal impression of the castle-crowned cliff of Tintagel, and more especially of the long distances of the Atlantic as seen from the cliffs on a sunny but not windless day”.
Also on the programme is VW's ever-popular Romance, The Lark Ascending. Violinist Elizaveta Saul has played in concert halls all over Europe, and recently achieved a distinction in her Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music.
Do join us for this feast of English music! Tickets are available from the Stag website (opens in a new tab), by phone (01732 450175), and from the box office (1pm - 8pm).
Violinist Elizaveta Saul has given solo and chamber performances in Wigmore Hall and the Royal Festival Hall.
