Join BBC Radio 3 for a FREE lunchtime invitation concert with the Ulster Orchestra, shining a spotlight on 20th century English composers on 22 May 2025 at Belfast's Ulster Hall!
The programme opens with a short overture by John Foulds, who was born in Manchester in 1880 – the son of a bassoonist in the Hallé Orchestra. A skilled and adventurous composer, his music largely fell out of favour after his death in 1939. However, it enjoyed a revival in the 1980s, leading to a performance of his Three Mantras at the BBC Proms in 1998. His Overture to Le Carbaret was composed in 1921 for a play about the 19th century French mime artiste, Jean-Gaspard Deburau. Foulds reworked it in 1934 and it’s light-hearted style, full of verve and swagger, is a hit with audiences.
The better-known Tallis Fantasia by Vaughan Williams was written in 1910. It marked a first for British music, turning to old English hymn tunes and folk idioms for its thematic content. When composers Herbert Howells and Ivor Gurney heard the premiere in Gloucester Cathedral later that year, they’re said to have walked the streets of Gloucester all night, because of the sheer excitement of possibility that the new piece had awakened in them. Written for strings, it’s use of the Tallis theme – discovered by Vaughan Williams when he was editing the English Hymnal in 1906 – is inventive, enriching and moving.
Malcolm Arnold had played trumpet with the London Philharmonic Orchestra when Vaughan Williams conducted the premiere of his Fifth Symphony in 1943. Completed some 24 years later, Arnold’s Sixth Symphony concludes this concert. It’s a serious work in 3 movements, with some stormy content, reflecting the challenging time he was experiencing. His son had just been diagnosed with autism, his relationship with his wife was challenging and he was struggling with his mental health. This is music which leaves an impression.
John Foulds: Le Cabaret Overture, Op. 72a – 4’
Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia – 15’
Arnold: Symphony No.6, Op. 95 – 27’
