It’s not easy to associate Jarvis Cocker with the delights of classical music at the BBC Proms, but apparently he loves a bit of it and will be leading the proceedings for an unda da sea themed Wireless Nights as part of the 2015 schedule. The special event will see the former Pulp front man performing alongside the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra live at the Royal Albert Hall, proving that classical music is as much for the common people as it is for the core demographic of Classic FM.
The night of music will be taking place on Thursday the 10th September, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 at 10:15pm. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as a part of its next series of Wireless Nights shows. However, if you want to go the extra mile and see it all in person, tickets are available to buy for the event at the Royal Albert Hall. Seated tickets can be bought from the BBC Proms website in advance ranging from £10 to £30, and then there will be 1,350 standing tickets made available to buy on the day of the event.
The line-up for the life aquatic event consists of Jarvis Cocker as the presenter for the show as well as providing vocals throughout the performance. He’ll be joined on stage by the massive BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which will be conducted by Maxime Tortelier, along with Richard Hills on the enormous Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. They’ll all be accompanied by the ladies of the Manchester Chamber Choir.
The music has been given an oceanic theme that has been developed to immerse the audience and radio listeners at home into the profundity of the human consciousness. It’s enough to make your head swell just thinking about the prospect of the show, but with Jarvis Cocker at the helm of the submersible concept of the night of music you’ve got to expect it to get pretty deep before it comes to a close.
The focus of the evening isn’t solely on the musical side of the deep sea trench as it will also feature a series of stories and talks relating to the incredible power and stunning might of our oceans. The stories of fishermen, sailors, divers and submarine crew will swirl up the reality of life at sea in and amongst the epic orchestral manoeuvres, recounting deep oceanic adventures, scrapes with monsters from below and feats of impressive endurance.
The music itself is shaping up to be as equally varied as the storytelling aspect of the event with Jarvis performing songs by The Beatles, Echo And The Bunnymen and Tim Buckley. This will be scattered in and amongst more classical sections featuring Bach, Wagner and Debussy, amongst others to look forward to, all with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra roiling along on the back of the big, cresting waves of the greats.
The show will also be broadcast as part of Cocker’s award winning Wireless Nights series, which will be making its way back to BBC Radio 4 in November to help us all make it through the long cold nights with some semblance of sanity. It forms just a small part of the wide ranging 2015 BBC Proms, which runs throughout the summer. It will come to a close on the 12th September with the Proms in the Park events in Swansea, Belfast, Glasgow and London.
