Prom 17 (part 1): Halle - Debussy, Vaughan Williams and Elgar

Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé orchestra, live at the BBC Proms, with a programme of Debussy, Vaughan Williams and Elgar.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Martin Handley

Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Vaughan Williams: Sancta civitas

8.20 pm INTERVAL

8.40 pm
Elgar: Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, Op 63

Robin Tritschler (tenor)
Iain Paterson (baritone)
Hallé Youth Choir
Trinity Boys Choir
Hallé Choir
London Philharmonic Choir
Hallé
Mark Elder (conductor)

Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé champion Vaughan Williams's neglected oratorio Sancta civitas - an ecstatic vision of post-apocalyptic salvation. It's a piece made for the huge space of the Royal Albert Hall, where its heavenly trumpets and choirs can swell to full force. Described by Elgar's wife as 'vast in design and supremely beautiful', his Second Symphony took a while to win public affection, but is now almost as cherished as Debussy's evocative tone-poem depicting the lascivious thoughts of a sleepy faun - a work the composer Pierre Boulez has hailed as signalling the beginning of modern music.

[This Prom will be repeated on Monday 3rd August at 2pm].