Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi
19:30 Thu 26 Feb 2026 Milton Court Concert Hall
Programme
- Who are these angels?(5 mins)
- To the Hands(18 mins)
- My Guardian Angel(2 mins)
- Die erste Elegie(10 mins)
- interval
- Hymnus Paradisi(45 mins)orch. Iain Farrington
Performers
- Emma Tringsoprano
- Benjamin Durranttenor
- Iain Farringtonorgan
- Members of the BBC Concert Orchestra
- Sofi Jeanninconductor
About This Event
The BBC Singers join the strings from the BBC Concert Orchestra, organist Iain Farrington and Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin for an emotive programme of music to touch the very heavens.
Enjoy the delicate flight of angels in works by Sir James MacMillan and Dame Judith Weir, and Caroline Shaw’s haunting To the Hands, which brings the sacred sounds of Grigorian chant to a piece about Jesus’ crucified hands.
At the heart of the concert is Herbert Howells’ powerful and intimate letter to grief. His soul-stirring Hymnus Paradisi, originally written as a response to the death of his 9-year-old son, Michael, premiered 12 years after its completion at the Three Choirs Festival in 1950, following encouragement from Vaughan Williams.
Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds. Presented by Martin Handley.