Performance on 3 - Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Dvorak - Thu 19th March 2009 - Part 2

Presented by Martin Handley. The BBC Singers's concert from St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, concludes with Dvorak's setting of the Stabat mater - the Virgin Mary's sorrowful hymn to the body of her dead son. This was Dvorak's first religious work, begun in 1876 at a moment of intense personal tragedy after the death of his eldest daughter. Sadly, both of Dvorak's other two children also died while he was composing the Stabat mater, and it became a lament to his loss. Later re-cast with orchestral accompaniment, the performance is the UK premiere of Dvorak's original 1876 version for choir and piano. Olivia Robinson (soprano) Margaret Cameron (mezzo-soprano) Edward Goater (tenor) Charles Gibbs (bass) Stephen Betteridge (piano) BBC Singers David Hill (conductor) Dvorak: Stabat mater, Op 58 (UK premiere of 1876 version) Followed by music from the generation of composers who influenced Henry Purcell.