Florence + The Machine & Jules Buckley and his Orchestra Symphony of Lungs [BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall]

Florence + The Machine joins Jules Buckley and his Orchestra for a celebration of Lungs, her BRIT Award-winning debut album, released to huge acclaim 15 years ago.

On the 11th September 2024, Symphony of Lungs came to life at the BBC Proms with an outstanding performance from Florence + The Machine and Jules Buckley, reimagining the album Lungs in its entirety. This included best-selling and fan favourite singles, ‘Dog Days Are Over’, ‘You’ve Got The Love’ and ‘Cosmic Love’ in addition to rarities Florence admitted she hadn’t performed in at least 15 years, including ‘Bird Song’ and ‘Falling’. Jules Buckley with his team of arrangers transformed the already beautifully produced album into an orchestral and choral masterpiece. Jules commented in an interview with Timmy Fisher for the concert programme, “So much of what we hear on the original is already orchestral: you hear these epic harp lines from Tom (Moth) and the multitude of percussion writing that just slams when it needs to slam and coaxes us when the anticipation builds.” He emphasises these elements are what inspired him to arrange such an album and helped him to connect to each song’s message and use the orchestral palette to help enhance it.

The Jules Buckley Orchestra was created in 2022 to conceive and develop exciting new projects with an array of artist collaborations. Consisting of players hand-picked by Jules, all following their own individual paths as pivotal musicians in the UK’s recording scene. Symphony of Lungs was the ensemble’s third collaborative artist project with BBC Proms. Medieval folk instruments (including lutes and a Theorbo solo), added a unique touch to this project, while resident organist of the Royal Albert Hall and TikTok organ sensation Anna Lapwood also joined the magical collaboration. Also joining the orchestra in this spectacular production were The London Contemporary Voices founded by multifaceted artist, producer and creative director, Ilā Kamalagharan.

In addition to the performance being live streamed on BBC Radio 3, Universal Music Recordings in conjunction with the BBC will be officially releasing the live recording of this performance, initially on digital streaming platforms in October 2024, followed by 2LP black and CD formats in March 2025. The physical products include breathtaking imagery from the performance as well as a heartfelt personal note from Florence herself.