Solitary figure standing under the northern lights.

BBC Concert Orchestra: Northern Lights

Midnight sun, verdant landscapes, and folksong at its freshest: the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Iceland Philharmonic Choir celebrate midsummer Nordic-style.

In the Nordic lands, midsummer has an atmosphere that’s all its own. Seas are as blue as the skies, and elemental landscapes come alive with greenery and colourful flowers. And of course, the sun never quite sets; it shines at midnight, and casts an enchanted glow over the dreams and festivities of a culture as ancient as Europe itself.

Tonight the BBC Concert Orchestra, under its Finnish chief conductor Anna-Maria Helsing, comes together with the Iceland Philharmonic Choir (which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year) to bring some of that midsummer magic to the Aldeburgh Festival.

Classics by Mendelssohn, Grieg and Nielsen as well as Hugo Alfvén’s gloriously catchy Swedish Rhapsody sit alongside some wonderful discoveries, as our Icelandic guests spin a garland of song from Iceland, Denmark and Finland. Expect to be charmed, surprised and thoroughly entertained.

This very special edition of Friday Night Is Music Night will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Friday 20 June.

Iceland Philharmonic Choir
BBC Concert Orchestra
Anna-Maria Helsing conductor

Alfvén:
Midsummer Vigil: Swedish Rhapsody No.1, Op.19
Nielsen:
Like a patch of green grass (Springtime on Funen, Op.42)
Ísólfsson:
Let the lighthouse shine
Jón Ásgeirsson:
The Star of May
Mendelssohn:
Wedding March (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op.61)
Aaltoila:
The Wedding Waltz of Akseli and Elina (from the film Here Beneath a North Star)
Alfvén:
And the maiden, she goes in a ring
Mia Makaroff:
Butterfly
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi:
El Hambo
Alfvén:
Dance of the Herdsmaiden (The Mountain King Suite), Op.37 No.4
Peterson-Berger:
Summer Song; At Frösö Church (Flower of Frösö)
Jón Nordal:
Icelandic Spring Poem
Lindberg:
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day
Karin Rehnqvist:
Hymn
Max Richter:
On the Nature of Daylight
Grieg:
Give to all Gods a Grace-Cup of Gratitude (Olav Trygvason, Op.50)

General booking opens Saturday 1 February at 10am.

Advance booking for members begins on Friday 10 January. Find out how becoming a member both supports our work and enables you to enjoy priority booking.

76th Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts

13 – 29 June 2025

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