Beethoven 6

Join the Bristol Ensemble as they perform Beethoven’s uplifting Symphony No.6 – the Pastoral, one of classical music’s most vivid celebrations of the natural world.

James Duddle Conductor
Chiara Braggion Soprano
The Bristol Ensemble

Programme
Vivaldi Spring, The Four Seasons
Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture
Mozart Exultate Jubilate
Beethoven Symphony No 6

Composed between 1802 and 1808, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the “Pastoral,” is one of his most vivid and personal works. Lasting approximately 40 minutes, it is one of only two symphonies he named himself, titled Pastoral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life.

Through five connected movements, Beethoven depicts scenes from rural life: peaceful landscapes, birdsong by a brook, a lively country dance, a dramatic thunderstorm, and a final song of gratitude.

Scene 1: Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside
Scene 2: Scene by the brook
Scene 3: Merry gathering of country folk
Scene 4: Thunder, Storm
Scene 5: Shepherd’s song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm

Beethoven wrote about his Pastoral Symphony:
“Here, … lying by the brook with nut-trees, listening to the birds singing, I wrote the ‘Scene by the Brook’ and the goldhammers there up above me, the quails and cuckoos round about me, helped compose.”

In the second movement, the flute, oboe, and clarinet imitate the nightingale, quail, and cuckoo, while in the third movement Beethoven famously instructs the orchestra to play one passage “as fast as you can.” The final three movements follow one another without pause, forming a continuous dramatic arc from celebration, through storm, to gratitude.

Rich in atmosphere and storytelling, the “Pastoral” Symphony remains one of Beethoven’s most beloved works, capturing both the beauty and power of nature in sound.

The programme also features Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons, Mendelssohn’s evocative Hebrides Overture, and Mozart’s radiant Exultate Jubilate, brought to life by Soprano Chiara Braggion.