Episodes

EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
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01The Great Chorus2020082420221017 (R3)What is it about the silence of a global crisis that makes us finally take note of the beauty of birdsong readily available upon our doorsteps?

On this episode of The Essay, it's springtime in the Vale of Whittingham and we're up early to admire the awakening of nature as the sun rises. But which birds will be present for this year's dawn chorus - will there be redstarts, blackcaps and garden warblers?

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five-part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

Redstarts and warblers are the stars in the dawn chorus of May.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

02Summer In The Vale2020082520221018 (R3)Revisiting a rare moment on a summer afternoon, the northern nightingales stand silent as a solar eclipse sweeps through the Vale of Whittingham.

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

The nightingales stand silent as a solar eclipse sweeps through the Vale of Whittingham.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Revisiting a rare moment on a summer afternoon, the northern nightingales stand silent as a solar eclipse sweeps through the Vale of Whittingham.

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

The nightingales stand silent as a solar eclipse sweeps through the Vale of Whittingham.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

03Autumn Passage2020082620221019 (R3)From the young chiffchaff taking its first words, to the cacophony of pheasants and mallards over the river, in autumn Geoff and his family begin to appreciate the annual visitors on their doorstep as the swallows come...and go once again.

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five-part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

Chiffchaff's first words, and the swallows come... and go.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

From the young chiffchaff taking its first words, to the cacophony of pheasants and mallards over the river, in autumn Geoff and his family begin to appreciate the annual visitors on their doorstep as the swallows come...and go once again.

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five-part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

Chiffchaff's first words, and the swallows come... and go.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

04The Winter Flock2020082720221020 (R3)Escape amongst the haunting sounds of the tawny and screech owls on a cold winter's night in Northumberland....to the peaceful and familiar sound of the blackbirds visiting the garden feeder after the lambing storm has passed through the Vale of Whittingham.

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five-part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

Escape amongst the haunting sounds of the owls on a cold winter's night.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

05The Spring Revival2020082820221021 (R3)From gas guns to peewits to witnessing the intimate song of the blackbird like never before - In this final part of the series, we come full circle back to springtime to hear the neighbouring dunnocks and frogs, pondering what is the role of the garden - its purpose - in all of our lives in the present day?

The lockdown through the spring of 2020 gave much space for reflection about life; and for wildlife sound recordist Geoff Sample an opportunity to review the five-year period spent in the remote and quiet Northumbrian home he sought out, to record and study the birdsong of a typical rural garden.

This five-part series, ‘A Birdsong Garden' is a mix of memoir, natural history, folklore, birdsong and spacious soundscapes. Geoff takes us through the four seasons of the year, considering how living close to and listening intently to nature can enrich our lives.

Presenter and Producer: Geoff Sample

Executive Producer: Clare Freeman

Commissioned for Culture in Quarantine, funded and supported by The Space Arts, BBC Arts and Arts Council England.

Gas guns to peewits to witnessing the intimate song of the blackbird like never before.

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.