Chester Philharmonic Orchestra November Concert

Chester Philharmonic Orchestra is pleased to welcome back conductor David Chatwin and mezzo soprano soloist Joyce Tindsley for our next concert on Saturday 18th November 2023. This concert will take place at Chester Cathedral from 7:30pm. The orchestra will be playing an exciting programme of music with a sea theme including music composed by Britten, Elgar, Bridge and Wood.

Britten's piece, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, was written in 1945. These orchestral pieces are from Benjamin Britten's first successful opera, Peter Grimes. They explore the turmoil in the characters' minds as coastal villagers hound the misanthropic loner fisherman Grimes to self-destruction after the mysterious, but accidental, deaths of two of his apprentices.

Elgar's song, Sea Pictures, was composed in 1894 in Herefordshire. This song cycle consists of 5 songs written by various poets including Elgar's wife. The piece premiered on October 5th 1899 at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival with Elgar himself conducting and Clara Butt singing dressed as a mermaid.

Frank Bridge's work, The Sea, was completed in 1911 while staying in Eastbourne. The Sea is an orchestral suite but is also described as a symphonic tone poem consisting of four movements; Seascape, Sea Foam, Moonlight, and Storm Wind.

Sir Henry Wood's composition Fantasia on British Sea Songs or Fantasy on British Sea Songs is a medley of British sea songs arranged in 1905 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. For many years it has been an indispensable item at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms concert. It comprises nine parts which follow the course of the Battle of Trafalgar from the point of view of a British sailor.