Proms on Four: Orchestras of the World - Santa Cecilia Orchestra BBC Proms

Tonight, in their second concert here at the BBC Proms

the Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome,

conducted by Antonio Pappano,

bring an authentically Italian flavour to the Royal Albert Hall

in our series Orchestras of the World.

From an Italian orchestra, a Prom of music by the great 19th-century

Italian composer of dramatic opera, Giuseppe Verdi.

Yet, there's not a note of opera in tonight's concert.

You might think that's strange given the orchestra's heritage

and that Sir Antonio Pappano is music director

of the Royal Opera House here in London, where Verdi forms

a staple part of the repertoire.

But tonight Pappano celebrates the bicentenary of Verdi's birth

with a thrilling programme of his lesser-known works.

Later, the orchestra will be joined by the chorus

of the Academy to sing Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces,

and soprano Maria Agresta, a star of La Scala, Milan, performs

a rarely heard setting of the prayer Ave Maria.

But, to start, a Proms premiere, Verdi's only chamber work.

His String Quartet.

Tonight it will be played in an expanded version by the strings of the orchestra.

Verdi composed it while he was in Naples overseeing

the preparation for performances of his opera Aida.

When the soprano singing the title role became ill,

the performances were postponed

and Verdi found himself with time on his hands.

"I wrote it for mere amusement" he told friends

who gathered to hear the first performance in the hotel

where Verdi was staying.

"I don't know whether it's beautiful or ugly," he said.

"I only know it is a quartet."

APPLAUSE

Here is Antonio Pappano to conduct, then, the first Proms performance

of Carl Hermann's arrangement

of Verdi's String Quartet, with the strings

of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra.

APPLAUSE

Verdi's String Quartet, Antonio Pappano conducting

the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Rome.

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

The modern Santa Cecilia Orchestra, just over 100 years old

but it's part of a much older institution,

the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, based in Rome.

Founded by papal decree in 1585,

one of the oldest musical institutions in the world.

Well, it's no surprise that Antonio Pappano,

music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has brought

a great Italian opera singer with him - Maria Agresta.

She's sung at La Fenice in Venice, La Scala, Milan

and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples -

all opera houses closely associated with Verdi.

This evening she will sing two of his religious pieces.

Verdi's statement "I believe in nothing" would seem to make him

an unlikely composer of religious music.

His faith was not straightforward, he had a complicated relationship with the priesthood.

The Church is painted as ruthless

and scheming in his opera Don Carlos.

Yet, he had a chapel built in the grounds of his house -

perhaps "free thinker" is a good description of Verdi, who was

happy to write liturgical music.

Well, shortly, a movement he contributed to a mass in honour

of his colleague Rossini, but first,

a tender setting of the prayer to the Virgin Mary - Ave Maria.

Verdi was in his late 60s

when he wrote it for a benefit concert at La Scala - the words

are sung in Italian rather than the Latin of the Catholic Liturgy.

APPLAUSE

Maria Agresta with Antonio Pappano make their way onto the Proms stage

to sing Verdi's setting of the prayer, Ave Maria.

SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN

APPLAUSE

Ave Maria. Set by Verdi and sung by Maria Agresta.

The Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Rome, conducted by Antonio Pappano.

The year 1868 saw the death of Rossini, the popular and

successful composer of nearly 40 operas. Verdi, who was a huge admirer,

wanted to mark the passing of his illustrious predecessor

so asked fellow Italian composers each to contribute a movement

to a collective requiem mass.

Alas, a bitter falling out between those involved in the project

meant the performance was cancelled and largely forgotten.

Verdi's contribution was the Libera me -

"Deliver me, oh, Lord, from eternal death."

Later, with a later reworking, Verdi made use of the music he'd written in his own great Requiem.

APPLAUSE

SHE SINGS IN LATIN

CHORUS SINGS IN LATIN

LOUD APPLAUSE

Verdi setting the Libera me. Sung by Maria Agresta

and the Chorus of the Academy of Santa Cecilia.

The Santa Cecilia Orchestra conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.

As used by Verdi in his great Requiem,

but that performance the original version - first written for

a complete requiem in honour of Rossini.

12 composers, in total, contributing.

Never performed in those years after Rossini's death -

remained in the archives for more than a century.

Wasn't heard in its entirety until 1988...

..that Rossini tribute mass,

when it was performed at the Stuttgart Bach Festival.

Well, Verdi's female operatic roles

central to Maria Agresta's repertoire.

Identifying him as a great composer she says,

"because his women are always special and strong,

"even if fragile."

Not surprisingly, she's being kept very busy in this bicentenary year.

After tonight's Prom she heads to Verbier where she'll

perform in the Requiem Mass, with Gianandrea Noseda conducting.

Well, tonight's conductor, Antonio Pappano, is one of

THE great communicators of the music world and a truly international musician.

He was born in Epping, in Essex, to Italian parents.

Spent the first part of his childhood in London studying

with his father who was a voice coach.

He was just 13 when he went to New York to continue his studies.

Later, he began his professional life there with New York City Opera.

These days he works all over the world - he began his

working partnership with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in 2005,

since when the orchestra has enjoyed a major renaissance.

Earlier, I spoke with Antonio Pappano about Verdi

and the final work in tonight's Prom -

his Four Sacred Pieces.

The thing about the pieces we're doing tonight is that

it's quite a special type of Verdi. I mean, it's a...

Of course, they are used to doing the Requiem, you know...

over and over again with this chorus,

and, you know, it's a speciality piece for them, of course.

But the Four Sacred Pieces are not done so often and they demand

a tremendous rigour and a tremendous discipline...

intonation, dynamics, erm...

and not always the blood and guts thrust of Verdi's operatic music

but a certain elegance and a certain...

erm...tenderness.

Which is so, so important um...

They...naturally...

I'm sure for every singer in the chorus what it

feels like in their throats must be like the greatest thing in the world.

But, erm...

but, of course, they are choral pieces and therefore they have to

maybe stymie some of their individuality

which would normally be the case in singing Verdi, you know, to...

and here everything has to be just that little bit more compact.

He wasn't the most obvious composer of

so much wonderful religious music, was he?

Well, so much was made, of course, with his tremendous...

tremendously difficult relationship with the Church.

He thought the Church had too much power politically

and he would say so,

so he really was not a man of the Church, didn't support... In fact...

spoke really, really strongly and aggressively against them.

But, of course, Verdi was a man who grew up with these texts, you know,

the Stabat Mater, for instance.

This is a text that Pergolesi, Rossini had set

and so many other composers, and so it's really in the tradition

and even when we talk about something like the Requiem...

his response is very personal...

to texts that are very dramatic, very full of the fear of God,

full of, um...

..theatre, if you like.

And, you know, the number of times I've been asked,

"Well, is it an opera? Are these pieces operatic?"

They're not, they are a theatre man's response to texts that he's

probably grown up with

since he was a kid. And they are very vivid.

The texts are very vivid.

And they, and...

the call to God, the people really calling to God

and talking as if they were talking to...really something concrete.

And that fear that goes along with it

makes for an amazing response.

It's lovely, in the Four Sacred Pieces, the combination of

a cappella - two a cappella pieces, um...first and third

and in the second and fourth you have these two big tableaux - Stabat Mater

and the Te Deum,

with big orchestra, double chorus in the Te Deum.

Huge gestures.

Tonight's conductor, Antonio Pappano.

Always such a great advocate for Verdi's music.

So, to the Four Sacred Pieces -

starting with an unaccompanied setting of the prayer, Ave Maria.

Followed by the Stabat Mater,

which portrays the scene of Christ's crucifixion.

Then Laudi alla Vergine Maria, with words from

Saint Bernard's Prayer to the Virgin

and ending with a hymn of praise, a Te Deum.

APPLAUSE

Antonio Pappano walks back out onto the Royal Albert Hall stage

to continue this celebration of Verdi's bicentenary,

with Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces

performed by the Santa Cecilia Orchestra

and Chorus of the Academy of Santa Cecilia.

CHORUS SINGS IN LATIN

CHORUS SINGS IN LATIN

FEMALE MEMBERS OF CHORUS SING IN ITALIAN

CHORUS SINGS IN LATIN

APPLAUSE

The Four Sacred Pieces by Verdi.

Performed by the Chorus

and Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome,

conducted here at the Proms by Antonio Pappano.

The works composed over the decade when Verdi entered his 80s.

Could scarcely bring himself to part with the scores,

perhaps knowing that they might be his last.

Sending them to his publisher, he commented "As long as they

"were on my writing desk

"I look at them so often with pleasure and they seem to be mine.

"Now they are no longer mine it is truly sad."

Donika Mataj, the soprano, performing that solo

in the last of the four pieces.

And Ciro Visco, the chorus master.

LOUD APPLAUSE

A graduate of the Naples Conservatoire,

he's been chorus master of the Santa Cecilia Chorus since 2010.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It was the Te Deum that was Verdi's favourite of these late works.

He said he wanted the score of the Te Deum to be buried with him.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this evening.

If you'd like to know more about any of tonight's music or performers,

much more information on the BBC Proms website.

That's all for tonight, do join Suzy Klein tomorrow evening

at half past seven here on BBC Four

for an evening of Bach oratorios with John Eliot Gardiner.

And don't forget, every Prom is live on BBC Radio 3.

Next Thursday another visiting orchestra,

the Rotterdam Philharmonic performing Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Prokofiev.

But for now, from me, Petroc Trelawny,

good night from the Royal Albert Hall.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd