BBC Singers in Paris

The BBC Singers travel to France to join forces with the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris for a concert in the glorious setting of Notre-Dame Cathedral, under the batons of their Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin and the Principal Conductor at the Maîtrise, Henri Chalet.

The concert opens with a song without words written in 1933 by Jehan Alain, a French composer and organist who died tragically young at the age of just 29, killed in action during the Second World War. This short piece, Chanson à bouche fermée (Song for closed mouth), is one of Alain‘s rare secular choral works and unfolds like a lullaby thanks to the gentle rhythmic sway of its simple melodic motifs.

Johann Sebastian Bach's motets represent the pinnacle of the composer's contrapuntal artistry, towering monuments that dominate all Western religious music. They frequently feature a double choir structure and captivate with their variety of colours, which richly illustrate the meaning of the text. Tonight, the choirs perform Komm, Jesu, komm (Come, Jesus come) which describes Jesus as the path to salvation and Singet dem Herrn ein neue Lied (Sing unto the Lord a new song).

Between these motets the BBC Singers perform a piece written by their Composer in Association Roderick Williams. His Ave Verum Corpus Re-imagined takes William Byrd’s famous motet and re-imagines it for three unaccompanied SATB choirs. The conductor’s baton then passes to Henri Chalet and the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris re-join the BBC Singers to perform Swiss composer Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir, written in 1922 with its stunning Agnus Dei being added in 1926. It is one of the pinnacles of vocal art, with its use of a double a cappella choir, both highly demanding and extremely liberated in its fervour. It is truly wonderful work, combining intensely personal moments of religious contemplation with outbursts of overwhelming glory.

Recorded on 2 June 2026 at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris and presented by Ian Skelly.

Alain: Chanson à bouche fermée
Bach: Komm, Jesu komm, BWV 229
Roderick Williams: Ave Verum Corpus Re-Imagined
Bach: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Martin: Mass for Double Choir

BBC Singers
Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris
Yves Castagnet, organ
Sofi Jeannin & Henri Chalet, conductors

To listen on most smart speakers, just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".