Hallé - Brahms's Symphony No.3

Sir Mark Elder conductor | Hallé Choir | Matthew Hamilton choral director

Haydn Symphony No.64, ‘Tempora mutantur’ 21′
Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms 21′
Brahms Symphony No.3 33′

To celebrate their first concert appearance since February 2020, the Hallé Choir takes pride of place in Stravinsky’s striking Symphony of Psalms. Begun, the composer wrote, ‘in a state of religious and musical ebullience’, it culminates with both ‘a vision of Elijah’s chariot’, and the serene alleluias of the heavenly host. Sir Mark opens the concert with a Haydn symphony whose ‘beautiful character’ and intriguing title Tempora mutantur (‘Times change’), seem, he feels, ‘appropriate for this moment in time’. The Brahms symphonies continue to fascinate him for their distinctive, individual characteristics. Join Sir Mark and the Hallé for their exploration of the Third with the ‘intimate tenderness’ of the first three movements contrasted with ‘the rugged quality of the finale’, its drama finally quelled in calm resolution.