Folk Songs

MDR-Kinderchor
MDR-Sinfonieorchester
Michael Francis - conductor

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Folk Songs of the Four Seasons
Joachim Raff (1822-1882)
Symphony No. 3 in F major "Im Walde"

Vivaldi's Four Seasons needs no introduction, but Vaughan Williams' cantata Folk Songs of the Four Seasons - built on traditional English folk melodies - is performed far less often. A lifelong collector and champion of English folk music, Vaughan Williams wove those melodies into his characteristic harmonic language with transparent, luminous orchestration. At the world premiere in the Royal Albert Hall in 1950, 3,000 singers filled the stage. The MDR-Kinderchor will be somewhat smaller, but the sheer sonic power of the work will hold the audience's attention throughout. Joachim Raff's Third Symphony, nicknamed "Im Walde", brings this vocal-symphonic programme to a dramatic close.