Monday 4 February, BBC Radio 3 broadcasted a maritime inspired programme, ‘BBC Singers’ at St. Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge. Securing free tickets through their website, I arrived at the venue (short walk from either Knightsbridge or Hyde Park Corner underground) in awe of ‘one of the beautiful churches in London’, tucked away in the midst of contemporary retail outlets, the contrast couldn’t be any further distinctive.
Although bringing cushions had been advised, the wooden pews were satisfactory for the two-hour schedule. Having chosen seats to the far right, I would recommend something a bit central due to the pillars blocking the view. The seating capacity was almost full, to which the presenter Petroc Trelawny confirmed a record.
Highlights of the evening:
‘The Sailor and Young Nancy’, Ernest John Moeran’s composition that concludes with departing lovers, additionally it continued to Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s ‘Sea Change’, which grants Nancy with a voice.
In 1994 a cruise ferry sank in the Baltic Sea. Inspired by this event Finnish composer Jaako Mantyjarvi produced ‘Canticum calamitatis martimae’. The disaster saw 910 people lose their lives and a fortunate 139 surviving. This was by far the most emotional piece of the night. The whispering at the beginning replicating the sound of the ocean also brought to mind ghostly images of what may lay at the bottom of the ocean. The translation in the programme enabled an immersed connection.
The evening ended with the premiere of Steve Martland’s ‘Sea Songs’. The first piece returned my childhood memories of the North East; Dance your to Daddy, otherwise known as ‘When the Boat Comes In’. Steve’s final piece, rounded up the theme of the night and concluded the evening with ‘The Sea Martyrs’ reminding the audience of our ‘comrades fighting like men but dying like dogs’.
Apart from BBC Singers it is Handel’s Messiah I saw last Easter at the Royal Festival Hall, although both are different musical events, this reminded me of that night. Yet the audiences couldn’t have been any different, in the Church the majority of audience members were predominately white and elderly in casual clothing whereas the diverse audience in RFC were certainly dressed the part. Overall an emotional amazing performance provided by the BBC.
The Audience Experience 
Hi madhia,
this is very interesting. It’s odd there was such a different audience just because of venue. I wonder what it means…
C.
HI Cassie, I suppose it’s more to do with Radio’s 3’s audience, and RFH has the sort of glamour that churches don’t however our intrigue is questioning the divide.