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BBC Total Immersion: Songs in Time of Distress

,Milton Court Concert Hall
A candle burns in the centre of the image, with the star of David above it. Barbed wire runs across the photo, and a bird flies out of the right hand side of the image. The BBC Singers' image is in the background. The image has BBC SO branding around it.

The BBC Singers offer haunting choral music from the Theresienstadt ghetto, with reflective interludes provided by students of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Singing gives comfort in dark times. Before the Nazis sanctioned Theresienstadt’s 'leisure activities', covert music persisted – composers drew their own manuscript paper and choirs met in secret. Hear works that would have been forbidden elsewhere in Nazi territory, including Hebrew and Yiddish songs by Viktor Ullmann. Baritone Simon Wallfisch – co-curator of the concert and grandson of an Auschwitz survivor – also sings Ullmann’s Songs of Comfort and reads first-hand accounts from the camp.

With most instruments needing to be smuggled in, Theresienstadt led composers to write for small groups, such as in the pieces for strings by Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas and František Domažlický which are presented here by Guildhall School Musicians. Post-war reflections from Silvie Bodorova and Dieter Gogg complete the programme.

Tagged with: Classical music BBC Total Immersion: Music for the End of Time BBC Singers

The performance will finish at approximately 4.30pm, without an interval.

Produced by the BBC Singers

Please note that the texts included in this concert deal with subjects of a distressing nature

Programme

  • Viktor Ullmann   Two Hebrew Pieces for choir
  • Viktor Ullmann   Songs of Comfort for low voice and string trio
  • Gideon Klein   String Trio
  • Gideon Klein   Folk Songs for male chorus
  • Silvie Bodorova   'Lacrimosa' from Terezín Ghetto Requiem for baritone and string quartet
  • Pavel Haas   'Wild Night' from String Quartet No 2
  • Dieter Gogg/Leo Strauss   Als Ob (As If) (arr Iain Farrington)
  • Dieter Gogg/Otto Beer   Theresienstadt, der schönste Stadt der Welt (Theresienstadt, the most beautiful city in the world) (arr Iain Farrington)
  • František Domažlický   Song Without Words for string quartet
  • Viktor Ullmann   Yiddish Songs for choir
  • Viktor Ullmann   ‘Komm Tod, du unser werter Gast‘ from Der Kaiser von Atlantis (arr Iain Farrington)

Performers

  • BBC Singers  
  • Nicholas Chalmers   conductor
  • Simon Wallfisch   baritone
  • Guildhall School Musicians  

Total Immersion Day

Milton Court Concert Hall

Location
Milton Court Concert Hall is located within the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is approximately a 5 minute walk from the Barbican entrance on Silk Street.  

Address
Milton Court
Silk St, London
EC2Y 9BH

Nearby public transport
We are within walking distance from a number of London Underground stations, the closest being Barbican, Old Street, St Paul’s and Moorgate. The nearest train stations are Liverpool Street and Farringdon. Bus Route 153 runs directly past the Barbican along Chiswell Street

Car and bicycle parking
We have free bicycle spaces and paid car parking spaces available