Nutcracker

Out final pre-Christmas musical treat was courtesy of Nina, who invited the rest of us to come along with William to The Maltings, Snape for a Christmas Concert by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

But first we went ot the Upper Deck in Aldeburgh for some Fish&Chips and, after a lottle walk through the town....

 and along the dark sea front, we had a drink at The Cross Keys.

We arrived at the concert hall in good time.

I don't remember going there in the dark before.

No more photos as they are not allowed in the concert hall, but we successfully met up with Nina, Rory and Rachel and had a great view from row XD of the concert.

The programme included...

"...the ever-popular Overture to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel & Gretel; a gentle dash through the snow on a Sleigh Ride by Frederick Delius; Gustav Holst’s setting of words by Walt Whitman – The Mystic Trumpeter, with soprano Susan Gritton as soloist; and Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols – The Holly & The Ivy. The main event, though, is music from Act II of Tchaikovsky’s gloriously yule-packed ballet – The Nutcracker. "

Lovely playing. My favourite was the encore which was a combination of the Musics from the Nutcracker with Profofiev's Lieutenant Kije. I particularly enjoyed the ending where the celesta played  Lieutenant Kije, while the trumpets played the Dance of the Sugar-plum Fairy. Very witty.

Thanks Nina for inviting us!

The concert will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Eve, as described here.... And listen to it here.