Before the evening’s BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Ben Palmer and the BBC Singers present an hour in the presence of incomparable Irish composer Gerald Barry, including the UK premiere of his delicate psalm setting O Lord How Vain and his absurd, dramatic and take on Beethoven’s letters to the publisher who now represents Barry, Schott & Sons, Mainz. The piece for bass solo and choir homes in on Beethoven at his most cantankerous and sympathetic and unleashes the sharp-edged, predictably unpredictable world of Barry in full flow. Join us for six short works from composer who displaces everything you thought you knew about words and music.
