Tiffin Boys’ Choir, under Ed Gardner

Three choirs, eight starry singers and one of the largest orchestras ever put on stage: there’s a reason why Mahler’s Eighth is often called the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’.

The form of the piece, setting the candescent medieval poem Veni Creator Spiritusalongside the lyrical last scene of Goethe’s Faust is in itself radical and mysterious.

At the core of the piece is a vast choir who seem to represent the whole human race in a passionate prayer for change but Mahler imagined they stood for something even greater: ‘Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound,’ he challenged. ‘There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving.’

Exaggeration? Judge for yourself. Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is quite simply one of the most overwhelming experiences that music has to offer, and here it’s made even more staggering by a creative team headed up by director Tom Morris, with video design by Tal Rosner and lighting by Ben Ormerod.

This concert has been specially developed with the Southbank Centre. It is commissioned and produced by the Southbank Centre and London Philharmonic Orchestra, and generously supported by a group of individual donors.