Sappho Sings

A suite of passionate and atmospheric songs for choir and orchestra with poetry by the archaic female Greek poet Sappho in a new translation by Alasdair Middleton. Sappho lived over 2,500 years ago. Of the thousands of lines of lyric poetry she is believed to have written, only a few hundred survive, and with the exception of one complete poem, all that remain are fragments. Jonathan Dove uses six fragments of text in the work. Four of the fragments are songs of love, in different forms, framed by an evocation of the goddess of love, and a vision of the moon. Rhythmic vibrancy, memorable melodies, and vivid orchestral colours all combine in a seductive work that dazzles andinspires.