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Available for 10 days

To celebrate the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence 250 years ago, the Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales are joined by conductor Tomas Djupsjöbacka to perform a programme of Copland, Christopher Tin, Barber, and Bernstein. The scene is set with Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, a piece that conjures the celebration of settlers in a newly-built farmhouse in Pennsylvania, before Christopher Tin also draws on American landscapes and experiences in his piano concerto, Pursuit of Happiness. Commissioned and performed for its UK premiere by pianist Lara Downes, the audaciously optimistic concerto celebrates the ideals pursued and deserved by every American. After the interval, the Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ National Chorus of Wales sing Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei - a choral reworking of his ever-popular Adagio for Strings - before they join forces with the Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ National Orchestra of Wales and treble Morris Bates to complete the celebrations with Leonard Bernstein's dramatic Chichester Psalms. Presented by Alex Humphreys in Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ Hoddinott Hall, and recorded on the 5th July. Copland: Appalachian Spring (Suite) Christopher Tin: Pursuit of Happiness Barber: Agnus Dei, Op 11 Bernstein: Chichester Psalms Lara Downes (piano) Morris Bates (treble) Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales Tomas Djupsjöbacka (conductor) To listen on most smart speakers, just say "ask Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵ Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert."