Summary: On 12 December, the London Philharmonic Orchestra performs French composer Gérard Grisey’s 'Four chants for crossing the threshold'. The work is a ‘musical meditation on death’ for soprano and 15 players, written between 1996 and 1998. The four sections – The Death of the Angel; The Death of Civilisation; The Death of the Voice and The Death of Humanity take texts from four different civilisations – Christian, Egyptian, Greek and Mesopotamian. Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski talks about the eclectic and unusual choice of texts chosen by the composer, and why he chose to pair it with Mahler’s Symphony No.5 for this concert. We've put together a range of unusual gifts for Christmas, including CD subscriptions, LPO Friends membership and virtual gifts - perfect for stocking fillers. Find out more at www.lpo.org.uk/gifts Our recent release of Tchaikovsky Symphonies 4 and 5 conducted by Jurowski has been selected as Album of the Month in December's Gramophone Magazine. You can listen to excerpts and buy the CD from lpo.org.uk/recordings
