Gaia x BBC Concert Orchestra: Sounds of the Earth

**Under the glow of Luke Jerram’s replica of our planet, hear a concert of heavenly works for strings, from Vaughan Williams to Hildur Guðnadóttir.**

The scene is set for tonight’s concert by Vaughan Williams’ timeless *Fantasia on a Theme* by Thomas Tallis, which opens with solemn chords before expanding into soaring strings. This contemplative work was inspired by a Tudor tune by 16th-century composer Thomas Tallis, and first performed in Gloucester Cathedral in 1910.

We skip forward in time for two short works by Oscar-winning composer and cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir. The melancholy cello melody of ‘Bær’ drifts into silence, before driving rhythms announce ‘Opaque’.

*Gaia* bathes in musical light as we hear contemporary composer Dobrinka Tabakova’s *Sun Triptych*, composed in 2007. The shimmering ‘Dawn’ builds to a glorious ‘Day’, alive with movement and warmth, and then ‘Dusk’ settles in, meditative and mellifluous.

The concert takes place underneath *Gaia*, a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram. Measuring seven metres in diameter and created from 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, the artwork provides the opportunity to see our planet, floating in three dimensions.

*The ticket price includes a £2 venue restoration levy.*

Presented by Southbank Centre.

For ages 7+. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.