London Sinfonietta, Atherton, BBC Singers, Royal Albert Hall

Stravinsky runs rings around Bach

by Igor ToronyilalicThursday, 05 August 2010

Michaelangelo's Jeremiah: 'In Threni one should feel as if one is choking on Jeremiah's relentless suffering'

The Tenebrae service of Maundy Thursday sees Satan's removal men take over holy duties. Crosses are veiled, lights are extinguished, songs of wailing erupt. Stravinsky's Threni (receiving its Proms debut last night) is a setting of these wails - the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah - and is carved out of a dark, unforgiving orchestra and a suffocating choral weave. For the atheist, if not for those of a religious bent who might prefer the succour of François Couperin or Thomas Tallis's settings, there can be no better depiction of the asphyxiation of despair.

Lawson, London Sinfonietta, Kings Place Review – diverse explorations of time

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