Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha

Presented by Kate Molleson and recorded at Edinburgh's Usher Hall on 19 August 2026.

A complete performance of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's monumental cantata trilogy The Song of Hiawatha (1899), performed for the first time at the Edinburgh International Festival.

The piece became a sensation in the early 20th century, regularly selling out the Royal Albert Hall. Inspired by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem about an Ojibwe warrior, the now rarely performed piece is one of Coleridge-Taylor's greatest achievements.

With colourful orchestration and imaginative choral writing, the work explores themes of celebration (Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast), mourning (The Death of Minnehaha) and transcendence (Hiawatha’s Departure).

Colridge-Taylor - The Song Of Haiwatha Op 30

I. Haiawatha's Wedding Feast
II. The Death of Minnehaha
Interval
III. Overture to the Song of Haiwatha
IV. Hiawatha's Departure

Francesca Chiejina - Soprano
Nicky Spence - Tenor
Christopher Maltman - Baritone

Edinburgh Festival Chorus
James Grossmith - Chorus Master

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
Rafael Payare - Conductor

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