Performance on 3 - Halle/Mark Elder

Presented by Martin Handley. Mark Elder conducts the Halle Orchestra in symphonies by Haydn and Mendelssohn - composers whose birth and death overlapped by just a few months in 1809 - and a cantata by Berlioz. Berlioz's account of Cleopatra's final hours was one of his infamous public failures - written as a competition entry for the Prix de Rome, his third of four attempts to gain recognition from the musical establishment. Haydn's Symphony No 48, with its pomp and splendour, was a fitting piece to be performed in Esterhazy on the occasion of a visit from the Empress Maria Theresia, while Mendelssohn's Third Symphony, evoking the spirit of Scottish folk melodies, was inspired by the composer's visit to Scotland. Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Halle Orchestra Mark Elder (conductor) Haydn: Symphony No 48 in C (Maria Theresia) Berlioz: La mort de Cleopatre Mendelssohn: Symphony No 3 in A minor (Scottish) Followed by a look at the composers who prefigured Henry Purcell, one of BBC Radio 3's Composers of the Year. Byrd: John come kiss me now for keyboard Sophie Yates (Virginals) Recorded: 12th November 1992 by the BBC Lawes: Consort suite 'for the violls' a 6 no. 1 in G minor Fretwork Recorded: 23rd April 1992 by the BBC Byrd: Callino Casturame for keyboard Sophie Yates (Virginals) Recorded: 12th November 1992 Jenkins: Fantasia for 6 viols and organ in A minor Fretwork Recorded: 23rd April 1992 by the BBC Jenkins: Fantasia for 6 viols and organ in G minor Fretwork Recorded: 23rd April 1992 by the BBC