Proms 2026 Rossini’s ‘Stabat mater’

Fragments of Gregorian chant are reassembled in the jewel-toned mosaic that is Respighi’s 1927 Church Windows – given its Proms debut by Nil Venditti and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Four richly scored orchestral movements each depict a different scene in sound: a shimmering nocturne for ‘The Flight into Egypt’, a luminous portrait of St Clare and explosive martial conflict for ‘The Archangel Saint Michael’. Ancient musical models also inspired Rossini’s operatic Stabat mater – a powerful spiritual statement from the master of secular drama.