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Angélique Kidjo – singer-songwriter, Grammy Award winner, activist – has a star-studded career spanning five decades. Tonight, she steps onto the Bridgewater Hall stage alongside conductor Robert Ames and The Hallé to perform the UK premiere of Ifè Songs. Written especially for Kidjo by Philip Glass, this orchestral cycle sets three creation poems in Yoruba. ‘Angélique', says Glass, 'together we have built a bridge that no one has walked on before.’

To open this first concert in a 3-day festival dedicated to the music of Philip Glass, The Hallé perform 'Days and Nights in Rocinha', a tribute to the lively cultural life of the densely populated neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. And the Symphony No. 11, a super-sized orchestral piece written for the composer's 80th birthday in 2017, rounds out the programme.

Recorded on 13th February 2025 at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Presented by Elizabeth Alker.

Glass: Days and Nights in Rochina
Glass: Ifè Songs (UK Premiere)
Glass: Symphony No. 11

Angélique Kidjo, vocalist
The Hallé
Robert Ames, conductor