Vivier: Love Songs
‘Nobody who hears Claude Vivier is quite the same afterwards.’
Written straight from the heart, Vivier’s songs give voice to his longing for love and reveal the unparalleled brilliance of his musical imagination.
The composer lived a colourful and often bizarre life before he was tragically murdered in Paris in 1983, a year after moving to the city from his native Montréal.
As a musician, Vivier knew few boundaries. He was a disciple of Stockhausen whose own works would make his avant-garde teacher’s sound dated.
They combine languages, traditions and schools, reflect his cosmopolitan travels and make strange, unusual demands of their performers.
Vivier is slowly being recognised in his native Canada and beyond as the maverick genius he was. His works were, according to his biographer Bob Gilmore, a way of ‘confronting loneliness, darkness, terror; of negotiating a relationship with God; of voicing an insatiable longing for acceptance and love.’
Forming part of a special focus on the music of Claude Vivier, the Southbank Centre is pleased to present a selection of the composer’s most sincere and blazingly original songs for voice, piano and percussion.
This is music that sings of love, religion, the universe and the central questions of life.
The performance concludes with the world premiere of Christopher Mayo’s personal homage to Vivier, an artist truly ahead of his time.
Vivier: Love Songs is kindly supported by Cockayne - Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation.
Performers
- Soundstreams
Repertoire
- Vivier: Love Songs for 4 female voices & 3 male voices; Hymnen an die Nacht for soprano & piano
- Interval
- Vivier: Shiraz for piano; 5 Chansons pour percussion
- Christopher Mayo: Oceano Nox (UK premiere)
Need to know
This show is part of a series dedicated to the music of Claude Vivier, presented by Soundstreams and the London Sinfonietta.
Follow the links below to explore the rest of the series:
Long Song of Solitude, Friday 6 May
Dates & times
Approximate run time: 110 mins.
Price
- Standard entry£12*
- Concessions25%**
* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.
** Limited availability. Read about concessions.
Tickets can only be sold through the Southbank Centre and our authorised agents, and can't be resold. You can return your tickets to the Southbank Centre for a credit voucher up to 48 hours before the event. Tickets resold on any third-party platforms will become invalid.
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Venue
Purcell Room
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More information
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Get an overview of the seating layout of the Purcell Room by downloading our seating plan.
Toilets
An accessible toilet is located in the foyer.
A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1 Royal Festival Hall next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.
The facility includes a height-adjustable bench, tracking hoist system, a centrally-placed toilet, a height-adjustable basin and a shower. The key for this room is available from the Welcome Hub on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. The facility is open daily 10am – 11pm.
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Purcell Room is located in Queen Elizabeth Hall. For step-free access please use Royal Festival Hall JCB glass lift to Level 2 and enter via Riverside Terrace.
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