BBC Proms - 2009 - Prom 66 - Nash Ensemble

From the Royal Albert Hall, London. Presented by Verity Sharp. The Nash Ensemble and Diego Masson celebrate the 80th birthday of American composer George Crumb with three hauntingly beautiful pieces. To mark the 40th anniversary of the first manned mission to the moon, mezzo-soprano Hilary Summers sings Night of the Four Moons, a work composed by Crumb during the Apollo 11 flight. Crumb often incorporates theatre into his work and Vox balaenae (Voice of the Whale) draws inspiration from the songs of humpback whales for which the three performers on stage are required to wear masks to efface their human presence. Soprano Claire Booth leads a septet of performers in Ancient Voices of Children, a highly expressive cycle set to verses by Federico Garcia Lorca. Claire Booth (soprano) Hilary Summers (mezzo-soprano) Nash Ensemble Diego Masson (conductor) George Crumb: Night of the Four Moons; Vox balaenae (Voice of the Whale); Ancient Voices of Children.