Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Youth Chorus are joined by the esteemed Salomon Orchestra to perform Richard Blackford’s new work, The Black Lake at Lighthouse Poole on Saturday 28 March.
Conducted by BSC’s inspirational director Gavin Carr, the concert programme also includes Elgar’s Serenade for Strings and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs featuring soloist Felix Kemp (baritone), a Britten-Pears Young Artist and Momentum Emerging Artist who played the lead role of Dick Dewy in Paul Carr’s acclaimed setting of Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree at Dorset Opera in 2024.
“Bournemouth Symphony Chorus plays a significant role in the cultural life of our region,” says Lighthouse Chief Executive Elspeth McBain. “Not only do they bring the great choral masterpieces to life in the Concert Hall, they also champion the creation of new works that speak powerfully to contemporary audiences and ideas.
“Lighthouse is very fortunate to have them as our resident choir, and we are proud to support them.”
The Black Lake is the latest choral composition from Novello Award-winning composer Richard Blackford. Inspired by Caradog Prichard’s great Welsh language novel Un Nos Ola Lead (One Moonlit Night), it pays homage to the strength of Welsh village communities between the two world wars. The Black Lake has been co-commissioned by Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Lighthouse and the Three Choirs Festival where it premiered last year.
The soaring yet poignant work tells the story of a boy’s passage to adulthood whilst growing up in a remote village in North Wales. Blackford’s music captures the beauty, sorrows, elements, and mysteries that surround this community which comes together through music and song in times of sadness and joy.
The Black Lake is performed mostly in English although a number of sung episodes are in Welsh with a soprano solo sung by Siân Dicker, winner of the inaugural Hurn Court Opera singing competition.
(NC)