70. Les Chansons de Bilitis: Helen Abbott, Gabriella Dall'Olio & Musicians from Faculty of Music

The erotic poems of Pierre Louÿs’s Les Chansons de Bilitis, which the author falsely claimed were translated from Ancient Greek, inspired several works by Claude Debussy. This is a rare chance to hear his Musique de scene pour les chansons de Bilitis, for two flutes, two harps and celeste, introduced and narrated by Helen Abbott.

Musicians from Oxford University's Faculty of Music are led by renowned harpist Gabriella dall'Olio.

This evening’s concerts at 5.30pm and 8pm include Debussy’s 1897 songs that were the basis for this work, and his later arrangement for piano duet, the Épigraphes Antiques.