Classical music to inspire you

“Survival, rebirth, salvation and liberty are at the heart of tonight’s mixtape. We begin with the phoenix, symbol of re-birth, an association for Ola Gjeilo that connects with the text of the Latin Mass’s Agnus Dei: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world and has mercy on us. The mystical nature of the phoenix’s transformative power echoes in the sounds of the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata, before the Watersons share the tale of a young maid feeling at odds with the world that surrounds her and looks for salvation from a lad from the north country. Shostakovich understood how to survive in a world that’s against you, where the state is at odds with your artistic creed, as his naïve waltz for the soviet film The Return of Maxim shows. Suddenly, irony is transformed into joy on the beautiful south pacific Isle of Pentecost, with the local Singera band. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s provide a more theatrical take on life in the South Pacific with a view on how to free yourself of life’s troubles. Bernstein looking to French philosophy for the answer to human suffering and Sousa’s nod to liberty, with its ironic overtones for anyone who remembers a certain TV show, conclude tonight’s journey. Produced by Richard Denison”