And Finally... We're Here For The Sake Of The Composer!

The First Night at the Proms this year featured two unusual things.

- John Lancaster

First of all, it included a striking piece of music with an unusual name called the Glagolitic Mass, and second because it was the first time the First Night had been led by a female conductor, of which more later.

The strangely named Mass was so called because it was written in the 800s in one of the oldest Slavic languages; the music was written 1,400 years later by the Czech composer, Leoš Janáček. It was a superb example of musical excellence, combining glorious orchestral harmonies, trumpet fanfares, a quartet of brilliant soloists, soaring choral music and a majestic organ solo. It ended amid the cheers of an enthusiastic audience and me with my hands upraised in worship!