“There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.” (Charles Dickens).
The line-up for LIVE From London has been announced. Celebrating the group’s 100th anniversary this year, the BBC Singers perform a ‘Dicken’s Christmas’ featuring narrator Adrian Scarborough. From a stage in Vilnius, and also making its festival debut, Swedish male voice choir Zero8 brings you its supersized barbershop energy with ‘Welcome Christmas’.
The VOCES8 Foundation ensembles offer three new and contrasting programmes: VOCES8 performs ‘O Magnum Mysterium’, featuring carols from the Renaissance to a world-premiere from Francis Pott – extraordinary treble Malakai Bayoh joins the group for a very special performance; APOLLO5 sings ‘The Snow it Melts the Soonest’ capturing the stillness of a Winter’s night alongside glimmers from the ensemble’s new album, ‘ANAM’; VOCES8 is joined by its VOCES8 Scholars and Rev. Tessa Bosworth for a Christmas ‘Festival Evensong’ filmed a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral at the church of St Anne and St Agnes, otherwise known as the VOCES8 Centre. It includes The Lord’s Prayer by Roderick Williams.
Returning artists include pianist Ralf Schnell performing American composer Morten Feldman’s late, great, work ‘For Bunita Marcus’. ‘Winter House’, the interactive family concert created and directed by Paul Smith, features narrator Stephen Fry and music by Mozart and Paul Smith. Back by popular demand, I Fagiolini, Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque ask you to ‘hold on to your halos’ as they bring an animated cast of Christmas characters to life in ‘Angels and Demons’ – foot-tapping music from Italy, Germany and Spain.
“O, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing” – English folk song c.1821