Celebration and contemplation as the BBC Symphony Chorus performs music inspired by frozen landscapes and Christmas heroes.
Before the red-cloaked, bushy-bearded St Nicholas squeezes himself down your chimney, discover the legends behind the 3rd-century bishop who would go on to inspire the Santa Claus myth. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus reunite for Benjamin Britten’s captivating cantata, recounting Nicholas’s life from birth to death.
As a child one Christmas Eve, Gerald Finzi climbed a local hill and heard the church bells ring out over his beloved Gloucestershire. This inspired his Christmas Scene, imagining Christ’s nativity in an idyllically frozen, picture-postcard English countryside setting. It is performed here in its 1956 chamber orchestra arrangement. From frozen Finland, Jean Sibelius’s Rakastava (The Lover) opens this wintry concert, based on folk stories from Karelia – borderlands between modern Russia and Finland.
This performance will end at approximately 9.30pm, including a 20 minute interval.
Produced by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Programme*
* Please note this programme has changed from as originally advertised, to allow more space between musicians and ensure everyone can perform safely and comfortably. All bookers have been contacted. (Mon 1 Nov 2021)
Performers
Ticket prices
Save up to 20% with the BBC Symphony Orchestra multibuy
£10
Aged 14–25? Join Young Barbican for free.
Subject to availability
Groups
20% off for groups of 10 or more. Please email [email protected] to book group tickets.
Wheelchair spaces and free companion seats may now be booked online.
Please select the relevant preferences on the access registration page during your booking so we can provide you with the correct information and discounts.
Booking a wheelchair space: Select a seat displaying the wheelchair user icon and then select wheelchair user ticket type. The ticket will be priced at the lowest price for that event. If you need an essential companion, please select the click the E icon next to the wheelchair space you have selected.
Booking essential companion tickets: Please select at least two tickets and one of them will be automatically discounted to zero in the basket.
Booking British Sign Language or Captioned Seats: Select seats in the area appropriate to your needs.
Booking fees
£3 booking fee per online transaction, £4 by phone.
No fee when tickets are booked in person.
Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. Booking fees do not currently apply to bookings for exhibitions in the Art Gallery. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events.
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Barbican Hall
Location
The Barbican Hall is located within the main Barbican building. Head to Level G and follow the signs to find your seating level.
Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS
Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.
We’ve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus
Mobility
Spaces for wheelchair users in row U at the rear of the stalls (up to sixteen, depth of row 180cm) and the back row of the circle (four), both with fold-down companion seats. Some seats in row S of the stalls for people with very limited mobility.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs may be taken into the concert hall where there are a limited number of suitable seats in row G of the stalls. If you prefer, you may leave your dog with a member of the cloakroom staff during the performance.
Hearing facility
There is an induction loop in the concert hall. You can use this by adjusting your hearing aid to the ‘T’ setting.
Free large-print programmes
These are available for most of our concerts. Please contact [email protected] at least a week beforehand, to prebook a large-print programmme.
For more access information, please visit our Accessibility section.
