Summary

Words and music intertwine memorably in works by America’s greatest classical composers, as Britten Sinfonia and the mighty Brighton Festival Chorus join forces for a programme inspired by great speeches and poetry. In 1942, shortly after the USA entered WW2, Copland was commissioned to write a work to fortify and comfort people during the time of national distress.

The resulting Lincoln Portrait is a stirring setting of extracts from great speeches made by Abraham Lincoln, including the Gettysburg Address. Fanfare for the Common Man was inspired by a speech given in the same year by Vice President Henry A. Wallace.

John Adams’ Harmonium, harnessing poetry by Donne and Dickinson, is a glittering symphony that, drawing on the full power of a massed chorus, brings the Festival to a resplendent close.