Debussy's Nocturnes

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth in Debussy's Nocturnes. Plus Berg's Der Wein and Debussy's Le Livre de Baudelaire with soprano Sophie Bevan.

Recorded at the Barbican on Friday 4th April. Presented by Martin Handley.

Alban Berg: Three Pieces from the Lyric Suite
Claude Debussy: Le Livre de Baudelaire (arr. John Adams)

Interval

Alban Berg: Der Wein
Claude Debussy: Nocturnes

Sophie Bevan (soprano)
BBC Symphony Chorus (Sopranos & Altos)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

“Let us fly without rest or pause into the land of my dreams…” For Claude Debussy, the poetry of Baudelaire conjured new and ravishing colours, just waiting to be transformed into sound. Over in 1890s Vienna, meanwhile, those same verses unlocked dark passions and wild (sometimes dangerous) imaginings – a glorious, iridescent turmoil into which Alban Berg dived headlong.

So don’t expect Ryan Wigglesworth to hold back, as he joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert of shimmering hues and pure, intoxicating sensuality. Soprano Sophie Bevan joins him on this journey into delirium – perfect music for a singer who’s been described as ”magnetic”. And to finish, the upper voices of the BBC Symphony Chorus bring a special enchantment to Debussy’s luminous Nocturnes.