Prom 62: Eric Whitacre and Imogen Heap present a choral concert to make you stagedive

By Verity Quaite, 31 August 2012

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 29 August 2012

Bernstein, Warm-Up

Whitacre, Alleluia

Whitacre, Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine

Bach, Other (Bach Again, arr. E London)

Whitacre, Higher; Faster; Stronger (BBC commission, world première)

Heap, The Listening Chair (arr. E Whitacre, world première)

Traditional, 3 Spirituals (arr. M Hogan)

Whitacre, Cloudburst

Whitacre, Sleep

Imogen Heap, Vocals

Hila Plitmann, Soprano

Ensemble Bash, Percussion

BBC Singers

The Eric Whitacre Singers

Eric Whitacre, Conductor

The BBC Singers at full throttle at Milton Court

Nick Boston, 26th February

Powerful Herbert Howells, together with affecting Shaw and engaging MacMillan from the BBC Singers, with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Sofi Jeannin.

****1

UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Susannah Moody, 23rd January

Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.

**111

Ermonela Jaho gives a tragic twist to Puccini's La rondine

Peter Quantrill, 5th December

A new edition of Puccini's score springs to life in a meticulously prepared Opera Rara concert performance at the Barbican.

****1

ENO, BBC join forces in stunning Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Mark Valencia, 1st September

David Pountney's vernacular translation and Ruth Knight's vivid staging lent a thrilling immediacy to Shostakovich's chilling opera.

*****

BBC Symphony and Josep Pons at the Proms: a dextrous dance

Dominic Lowe, 8th August

A programme heavily skewed to the balletic saw the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Josep Pons dispatch difficult passages with ease.

****1

Yunchan Lim plays a starring role in the CBSO’s Prom

Leighton Jones, 1st August

Adams, Rachmaninov and Berio are not three easy bedfellows, however Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra pull these strands together remarkably.

****1

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Verity Quaite

Having graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Music from Cardiff University, Verity is currently studying for an MA in Music, Culture and Politics. With wide and eclectic music tastes, but a particular passion for live performance, Verity reviews mainly in the Cardiff area.