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Beowulf and Job

The ѿý SO and Chorus conducted by Martyn Brabbins premiere Iain Bell's Beowulf with narrator Ruth Wilson and tenor Charles Styles, plus Vaughan Williams's take on stoical Job.

The ѿý SO and Chorus conducted by Martyn Brabbins premiere Iain Bell's Beowulf with narrator Ruth Wilson and tenor Charles Styles, plus Vaughan Williams's take on stoical Job.

“Now with Grendel, that monstrous beast / With my grip I shall grapple, foe against foe!” In the mists of the dark ages, the warrior Beowulf prepares to battle a bloodthirsty monster. And in a tale from the Old Testament, Job faces the torments of hell, armed only with an unshakable faith. Humanity can defy all odds, and these two ancient tales have inspired music of elemental power.

Indeed, Vaughan Williams’s ballet Job is one of the most original masterpieces of 20th century British music – bold, strange and charged with the elemental power of the William Blake drawings that inspired it. But first, experience the epic drama of Beowulf, in a thrilling new choral retelling from one of the 21st century’s most compelling musical dramatists, narrated by award-winning actor Ruth Wilson and with soloist Charles Styles.

Recorded at the Barbican London on 17 March
Presented by Martin Handley

Iain Bell: Beowulf (World Premiere & ѿý Commission)

20:10 Interval Music off CD

Doreen Carwithen String Quartet No.1, 1st Movt.
Sorrel Quartet

Plus music chosen by Iain Bell:
Kaija Saariaho: Prelude for Piano
Ieva Jokubaviciute (piano)

20:30
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Job: A Masque for Dancing

Ruth Wilson (narrator)
Charles Styles (tenor)
ѿý Symphony Chorus
ѿý Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (conductor)

2 hours, 28 minutes

Music Played

  • Iain Bell

    Beowulf

    Singer: Charles Styles. Narrator: Ruth Wilson. Choir: ѿý Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.
  • Doreen Carwithen

    String Quartet No.1 - First Movt: Allegro moderato

    Ensemble: Sorrel Quartet.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Kaija Saariaho

    Prelude for Piano

    Performer: Ieva Jokubaviciutė.
    • Dorian Sono Luminus.
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Job, A Masque for Dancing

    Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.
  • Francis Poulenc

    Violin Sonata, FP 119

    Performer: Benjamin Baker. Performer: Daniel Lebhardt.
    • Delphian.
  • Francis Poulenc

    Toccata (Aubade)

    Performer: Louis Lortie. Performer: ѿý Philharmonic Orchestra. Orchestra: ѿý Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • Poulenc : Concertos for Piano, etc.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 4.

Broadcast

  • Tue 18 Apr 2023 19:30