George Jackson         conductor
Rachel Parkes             choral director
Matthew Hopkins      choral director

Fflur Wyn                    soprano
Levy Sekgapane         tenor
Morgan Pearse           baritone
Choirs of the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University
Choristers of Southwell Minster

Eric Whitacre              Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine
Jenni Brandon            Tonight, A Stolen Moment
Orff                             Carmina Burana 

Orff’s spectacular twentieth-century choral masterpiece, Carmina Burana, remains irresistible to audiences with its boundless rhythmic energy and catchy tunes, powered by massive orchestra and choir.

A collection of lusty writings from the thirteenth century proved an alluring subject for German composer Carl Orff, who turned their satirical commentary on all manner of fleshly pleasures, as well as the inevitably cruel turns of fortune, into a spectacular twentieth-century masterpiece. Powered by an elemental musical language, Carmina Burana gives voice to impatient young lovers, ribald merrymakers, a drunken abbot and even a roasting swan. Tonight, it’s all done with a knowing wink at good taste and a riot of primary colours from the BBC Concert Orchestra and Universities of Nottingham choirs. Even Pieter Brueghel’s peasants couldn’t revel with more zest.

Two works by leading contemporary American composers open tonight’s concert. Eric Whitacre ventures into Leonardo da Vinci’s dreamworld, in an exotic fusion of ancient words with modern musical timbres, whilst Jenni Brandon tells the moving story of an immigrant family on the move, guided by the stars and sustained by their memories.

This concert is part of a programme of activities supported by the Universities for Nottingham partnership with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the orchestra’s residency at the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall. The partnership aims to inspire the next generation, reach new audiences and improve quality of life, health and wellbeing across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.