Britten Sinfonia & Brighton Festival Chorus
Diego Masson conductor
Maryann Plunkett narrator
CoplandFanfare for the Common Man
Lincoln Portrait
John AdamsHarmonium
Words and music intertwine memorably in works by America’s greatest classical composers, as Britten Sinfonia and the mighty Brighton Festival Chorus join forces for a programme inspired by great speeches and poetry. In 1942, shortly after the USA entered WW2, Copland was commissioned to write a work to fortify and comfort people during the time of national distress.
The resulting Lincoln Portrait is a stirring setting of extracts from great speeches made by Abraham Lincoln, including the Gettysburg Address. Fanfare for the Common Man was inspired by a speech given in the same year by Vice President Henry A. Wallace.
John Adam's Harmonium, harnessing poetry by Donne and Dickinson, is a glittering symphony that, drawing on the full power of a massed chorus, brings the Festival to a resplendent close.
We're delighted to announce that our narrator will be actor Maryann Plunkett. You may have seen Maryann playing Mary Gabriel in Richard Nelson's trilogy, The Gabriels, which has garnered a clutch of five-star reviews since its Brighton Festival UK premiere last weekend. Maryann also played Barbara in The Apple Family Plays, while her Broadway credits include Agnes of God, Sunday in the Park with George and Me and My Girl (for which she received a Tony Award). We're thrilled to welcome Maryann on stage at Brighton Dome for an evening of truly stirring words and music.
