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Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s monumental cantata The Song of Hiawatha from the Edinburgh International Festival, with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and conductor Rafael Payare.

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).

Coleridge-Taylor: The Song of Hiawatha, Op 30

I. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
II. The Death of Minnehaha
Interval
III. Overture to the Song of Hiawatha
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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2 hours, 45 minutes

Last on

Tue 15 Sep 202619:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Samuel Coleridge‐Taylor

    Hiawatha's Wedding Feast

    Singer: Francesca Chiejina. Singer: Nicky Spence. Singer: Christopher Maltman. Choir: Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Conductor: Rafael Payare.

  • Samuel Coleridge‐Taylor

    The Death of Minnehaha

    Singer: Francesca Chiejina. Singer: Nicky Spence. Singer: Christopher Maltman. Choir: Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Conductor: Rafael Payare.

  • Samuel Coleridge‐Taylor

    Overture to The Song of Hiawatha

    Orchestra: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Conductor: Rafael Payare.

  • Samuel Coleridge‐Taylor

    Hiawatha's Departure

    Singer: Francesca Chiejina. Singer: Nicky Spence. Singer: Christopher Maltman. Choir: Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Orchestra: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Conductor: Rafael Payare.

  • Claude Debussy

    Images oubliées, CD 94: I. Lent. Mélancolique et doux

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Debussy: Early and Late Piano Pieces.
    • Hyperion.
    • 14.

  • Claude Debussy

    Debussy: Images oubliées, CD 94: II. Sarabande. Souvenirs du Louvre

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Debussy: Early and Late Piano Pieces.
    • Hyperion.
    • 15.

  • Claude Debussy

    Images oubliées, CD 94: III. Très vite. Quelques aspects de 'Nous n'irons plus au bois' parce qu'il fait un temps insupportable

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Debussy: Early and Late Piano Pieces.
    • Hyperion.
    • 16.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata in G major, Op 79 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Beethoven Piano Sonatas: 'Moonlight' 'Pathetique' 'Waldstein' Steven Osborne pia.
    • Hyperion.
    • 8.

Broadcast

  • Tue 15 Sep 202619:00
    BBC Radio 3