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The Choir

First broadcast from 20060108 to 20100314.
 

Radio 3  Radio 3

163 episodes

 
EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast		RepeatedDescription
01 20060108 Aled Jones begins his new series on choirs by celebrating one of Britain's best loved and most highly regarded choral directors, Sir David Willcocks.
Aled assesses his achievements with composer John Rutter, singer Catherine Wyn Rogers, biographer Bill Owen and Sir David himself. Including music from the Choir of King's College Cambridge, The Bach Choir, The Choir of the Royal College of Music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir of Salt Lake City.
01David Willcocks Celebration20100124 Sir David Willcocks has been at the heart of British musical life for more than half a century. To celebrate his 90th birthday, the BBC Singers have recorded a special programme of music chosen by SIr David himself. In the first of two programmes looking at his life, Aled Jones talks to him to find out more about his choices.
Aled Jones talks to conductor David Willcocks about his recording with the BBC Singers.
02 20060115 Conductor and composer Ken Burton joins Aled Jones for an exploration of Afro-American spirituals - from the time of pioneering choirs like the Fisk Jubilee Singers, through the rap-like sounds of the Golden Gate Quartet to today's interpretations.
Plus the pick of the latest choral releases, and Sir John Tavener talks about his new work for the Tallis Scholars, premiered later this week.
02David Willcocks Celebration   
02 LASTDavid Willcocks Celebration20100131 Sir David Willcocks has been at the heart of British musical life for more than half a century. To celebrate his 90th birthday, the BBC Singers have recorded a special programme of music chosen by SIr David himself. In the second of two programmes looking at his life, Aled Jones talks to him to find out more about his choices.
Aled Jones talks to David Willcocks about a special recording with the BBC Singers.
03 20060122 Aled Jones recruits choral conductor Peter Broadbent as talent scout for a look at some of the most exciting up-and-coming choirs from the UK and Europe.
They are joined in the studio by contemporary specialists Exaudi who perform music by Tippett, Finnissy and Skempton. Plus exciting sounds from the Latvian choir Balsis, a winning competition performance from Welsh group Serendipity, and a more established British choir now going from strength to strength - The Dunedin Consort.
  20060205 Aled Jones visits Westminster Abbey to meet organist James O'Donnell and historian Sir Roy Strong, who help uncover the rich tradition of choral music written for royal ceremonies. Aled also gets a chorister's perspective on the last coronation from two Abbey old-boys, and speaks to Master of the Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Musical highlights include Purcell's Funeral music for Queen Mary, Walton's Coronation Te Deum and a Royal Wedding Anthem by William Mathias. There are also works by Byrd, Tomkins, Handel, Boyce, Parry and Vaughan Williams.
  20060212 Aled Jones introduces a complete recording of Handel's Messiah, in the version written for its performance in London's Foundling Hospital in 1754.
Handel: Messiah, HWV 56
Dorothea Roeschmann (soprano)
Susan Gritton (soprano)
Bernarda Fink (contralto)
Charles Daniels (tenor)
Neal Davies (bass)
Gabrieli Consort and Players
Paul McCreesh (conductor)
Evening
Morning
Afternoon.
  20060219 Stephen Layton joins Aled Jones to champion the music of Percy Grainger - a misunderstood composer, he says, who deserves special attention in the choral world.
Aled also features some of the latest choral CD releases and ends the programme with a complete performance of Grainger's most personal project, his Jungle Book Cycle, given by Stephen Layton and his choir, Polyphony.
  20060226 Few choirs can boast a history as long and colourful as the Huddersfield Choral Society. Aled Jones joins current chorus master Joseph Cullen to trace the society's development from its earliest meetings in the town's public houses, through the pioneering years under Sir Malcolm Sargent, to its latest recordings.
Walton: Belshazzar's Feast - (excerpt)
Huddersfield Choral Society
Leeds Philharmonic Chorus
Laudibus
English Northern Philharmonia
Paul Daniel (conductor)
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius - excerpt from Part 2
Angel....Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vernon Handley (conductor)
Holst: The Hymn of Jesus, Op 37
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Malcolm Sargent (conductor)
Borodin: Polovtsian Dances (from Prince Igor)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
Purcell, adapt. Hawkins, arr. Cullen: Christ is made the Sure Foundation
Opera North Brass
Joseph Cullen (conductor)
Poulenc: Gloria
Janice Watson (soprano)
BBC Philharmonic
Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor).
  20060305 Aled Jones looks at the diverse world of Male Voice Choirs, from the valleys of South Wales to the yodelling table songs of Georgia. He discovers the roots of the modern tradition in the gentlemen's clubs of 18th and 19th-century Europe, and asks if the genre has a future in the 21st Century.
Featuring music from Die Singphoniker, The Rustavi Choir and Sweden's legendary Orphei Dränger.
 Celebrating Mozart20060319 Mozart's religious views are famously difficult to read from the surviving records of his life. Aled Jones travels to Salzburg, where the composer wrote much of his most significant sacred choral music, and hunts out the divide between Mozart's faith and duty among the city's historic churches, chapels and cathedral.
Musical highlights include movements from the Vesperae solennes de confessore, K339; Dominicus Mass in C, K66; and the Missa solemnis in C, K337.
  20060402 On the anniversary of the death of Pope Jean Paul II, Aled Jones is joined by Martin Baker, of Westminster Cathedral, to examine the state of choral singing in the Roman Catholic church.
  20060409 Few pieces demand as much from a vocal ensemble as Messiaen's Cinq Rechants. Aled Jones is joined by conductor Jeffrey Skidmore to introduce a concert performance of the work given in Birmingham Cathedral by Ex Cathedra. There's also the chance to hear the 16th-century piece which inspired Messiaen's masterpiece - plus music from Gesualdo, Monteverdi and Guillaume Bouzignac.
Bouzignac: En flamma divini amoris
Gesualdo: Sparge la morte
Bouzignac: O mors, ero mors tua
Gesualdo: O vos omnes
Monteverdi, arr Coppini: O jesu mea vita
Bouzignac: In pace
Monteverdi, arr Coppini: Plagas tuas
Bouzignac: Ecce Aurora
LeJeune: Le Printans (excerpts)
Messiaen: Cinq Rechants
ExCathedra Consort
Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor).
  20060416 Catherine Bott joins Aled Jones for a look at an extraordinary choral project. Last autumn an all-female group of singers and instrumentalists travelled to the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice where Antonio Vivaldi served, on and off, for much of his career.
Their aim was to recapture the performance of an Easter Vespers exactly as the composer would have heard it, bringing with it the challenge of finding female singers to take the parts of tenors and basses.
The music includes the psalm settings Dixit Dominus, RV 595; Laetatus Sum, RV 607; In Exitu Israel, RV 604 and the Magnificat, RV 611.
  20060423 The Choir
The Choir makes its own contribution to Radio 3's English Music Day, as Aled Jones joins forces with Jeremy Summerly to take a look at the English anthem, a musical form which emerged from the Reformation, and which subsequently has become one of the most distinctive and best loved features of Anglican worship. Aled and Jeremy piece together the story of how the English anthem evolved; then Jeremy sets off for Hereford to talk to Geraint Bowen, Artistic Director of the Three Choirs Festival, an institution which for almost three centuries has cherished this particular realm of choral endeavour. Then its your turn - Aled plays the English anthems chosen by you.
They could include: In the Bleak Midwinter, by Holst; Greater Love Hath No Man, by John Ireland; Take Him Earth for Cherishing, by Howells, Easter, from Vaughan Williams Mystical Songs; Rejoice in the Lamb, by Britten, And I Saw a New Heaven, by Bainton, or more recent ones by the likes of Rutter and Tavener.
  20060430 Last Easter Saturday, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall resounded to the strains of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.
Music ranged from Schutz to Chilcott, and also included the winning entry from NYC's recent Young Composer Competition, plus new commissions from Tarik O'Regan and Richard Allain. With ages ranging from 13 to 22, the National Youth Choir and National Youth Training Choir play a key role in developing Britain's young singers, and Aled Jones talks to Deborah Catterall, conductor of the National Youth Training Choir, about the work that the choir does, and its role in sustaining choral music in Britain.
Also today, a round-up of some of Aled's favourite recent choral releases on CD.
  20060507 Aled Jones talks to American composer Morten Lauridsen about his life, influences, and beautiful choral music. Plus a preview of Francis Pott's major new work, The Cloud of Unknowing.
  20060514 After nearly 40 years, The King's Singers remain one of the world's most celebrated vocal ensembles. Aled Jones talks to members of the group past and present about their extraordinary career, their trademark sound, and their unswerving dedication to popular as well as classical repertoire - embracing everything from Madrigals to Motown.
  20060521 Aled Jones continues Radio 3's reflections on Welsh National Opera's 60th anniversary with a trip to the Wales Millennium Centre, now home to the singers.
The music includes a specially recorded studio session of a capella works by Britten, Macmillan, Poulenc and Barber.
  20060528 'The Shout' is unlike any other choir. The members are more at home in the theatre than the concert hall, and the choir draws singers from the disparate worlds of gospel, jazz, blues and opera. Aled Jones talks to composer Orlando Gough and other members of the group about their unique style, and previews their latest project for The BBC Proms.
Plus, the BBC Singers provide specially recorded performances of music by Poulenc, Auric and Canteloube.
  20060604 Aled Jones immerses himself in the vibrant world of South African choral music - from the indigenous tribal songs and Gospel, to Handel's Messiah in Zulu.
Aled gets to the heart of the matter with Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Plus, highlights from the Soweto Gospel Choir's recent UK tour concert in Malvern, recorded specially for the programme.
  20060611 In a programme devoted to music for all-female choirs, Aled Jones discovers some of the many singers and composers who have been inspired by the collective sound of women's voices.
Including the fabled 'ladies of Ferrara' from 16th-Century Italy, Brahms' beloved Hamburg Frauenchor and the modern medieval sounds of American ensemble, Anonymous 4.
  20060618 Aled Jones takes a musical road trip from the East to the West coast of America to find out why the Anglican choral tradition has had such an impact in the US.
He starts his journey in New York, where he talks to John Scott, organist and choir-master at St Thomas' Church, Fifth Avenue, about his very English influence on choral work there. Aled also stops off in Minnesota and asks Philip Brunelle about his philosophy for getting the best out of his choir, VocalEssence.
  20060625 Aled Jones turns the spotlight on the BBC Symphony Chorus and director Stephen Jackson, featuring music specially recorded by the chorus at St Alban the Martyr in London. Including works by Jonathan Harvey, Julian Anderson, Imogen Holst, Vaughan Williams and Stanford.
Robert Hollingworth drops in to challenge Aled about The Choir's portrayal of Alessandro Striggio and his 40-part motet, Ecce beatam lucem.
  20060702 Aled Jones visits the beautiful home of the Russian Orthodoxy in London to find out about the wealth of choral music associated with this faith. His guide is Father Michael Fortounatto, formerly leader of the Choir at the Cathedral, who tells him about the traditions of this powerful and moving music.
  20060709 Aled Jones presents the programme live from the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen. Featuring highlights from the Choir of the World competition and live appearances and live appearances from groups visiting the festival. Guests include choral enthusiast Deborah Catterall from the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and Terry Waite who has been promoting the Eisteddfod's vision for bringing cultures together.
  20060910 Hosted by Aled Jones. The Latvian Radio Choir, regarded as one of the finest choirs in the world today, perform works by Arvo Pärt, Anne Boyd and Peteris Vasks; from their recent concert at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. Aled also investigates what choral directors have been getting up to at a convention described as 'a whole year's motivation in one inspirational weekend'!.
  20060917 I Fagiolini, one of the world's most adventurous vocal ensembles, celebrates its 20th birthday. Plus, the Latvian Radio Choir recorded at this year's Vale of Glamorgan Festival. With Aled Jones 
  20060924 It's 80 years since Choral Evensong was first broadcast on BBC Radio. Aled Jones and former producer of the series Barry Rose mine the archives of vintage broadcasts. Including performances by King's College, Cambridge under Boris Ord; Hampstead Parish Church from the early 1950s and a rare performance of the Magnificat by Sebastian Forbes, from Christ Church Oxford.
  20061001 Aled Jones talks to BBC National Chorus of Wales director Adrian Partington about the joys and pitfalls of bringing choruses and orchestras together - especially in works like Holst's Neptune and Debussy's Nocturnes where the choir has to become a perfectly integrated part of the orchestral sound. Featuring a complete performance by BBC NCW of Harmonium by John Adams 
  20061008 Listen Up
Aled Jones introduces an historic performance of Elgar's epic oratorio The Kingdom, given at Symphony Hall by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. It marks the centenary of the work's premiere in Birmingham's City Hall.
The Kingdom - picking up where The Apostles left off - is the third of Elgar's three great religious works written for Birmingham.
Lisa Milne (soprano)
Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano)
Anthony Dean Griffey (tenor)
James Rutherford (baritone)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Chorus
Sakari Oramo (conductor).
  20061105 Aled Jones raises the thorny issue of girl choristers with Matthew Owens of Wells Cathedral, discusses choral commissions and organic farming with composer Cecilia McDowall and looks forward to the climax of BBC Radio 3's Choir of the Year competition by catching up with last year's winners, the Oriel Singers.
 Wilfred Owen Season - Britten's War Requiem20061112 Aled Jones marks Remembrance Sunday and begins Radio 3's commemoration of one of the nation's most honoured poets with a complete performance of Britten's War Requiem.
  20061119 Aled Jones presents highlights from the Category Finals of BBC Radio 3's biennial choral competition.
Earlier this month, 24 choirs travelled from all over the UK to the Millennium Centre in Wales, where they competed in the finals of the Youth, Adult, Children's and Open categories. In today's programme Aled has the results of the Youth and Adult Choir Category Finals, along with details of which Choirs will go through to the Grand Final held in December.
 2006 Bbc Radio 3 Choir Of The Year20061126 Aled Jones presents highlights from the Category Finals of BBC Radio 3's biennial choral competition.
Earlier this month twenty-four choirs from all over the UK converged on Cardiff's Millennium Centre, where they competed in the finals of the Youth, Adult, Children's and Open categories.
This programme features the results of the Children's and Open competitions, along with details of the choirs who will go through to the Grand Final held in December.
  20061203 Mozart died leaving his Requiem unfinished but many musicians have tried their hand at completing it.
Aled Jones samples some of the many different attempts made over the last 200 years and talks to Philip Wilby about his involvement with the newest version, which combines historical reconstruction with contemporary music.
  20070114 Aled Jones reviews the best choral CDs of 2006, joined by the editors of BBC Music Magazine and The Gramophone.
A world away from the commercial success of serene and spiritual choral music, Aled looks at more upbeat styles of singing.
Plus a chance to hear Mid-Winter Songs by American composer Morten Lauridsen on a new CD from Stephen Layton's Polyphony.
  20070121 Composer Jonathan Harvey talks to Aled Jones about his lifelong passion for choral music, and Aled launches an exciting new campaign for 2007.
  20070128 Former King's Singer and choral director Nigel Short joins Aled Jones to talk about how a chance encounter with a Formula 1 star led to the birth of his vocal group Tenebrae.
Plus a trip to Huddersfield to explore the unique choral world of The 17, singers who 'use no libretto, lyrics or words; no time signatures, rhythm or beats; and have no knowledge of melody, counterpoint or harmony.' Hearing them in action proves harder than envisaged.
  20070204 Aled Jones talks to choir director Celso Antunes about the choral tradition in Brazil and introduces a specially recorded concert of Brazilian music by the BBC Singers.
  20070218 Aled Jones visits the London Bulgarian Choir and talks to conductor Dessislava Stefanova about the music of her homeland. Plus more amateur choirs who want to 'Sing to the Nation'.
  20070225 Aled Jones looks at the history of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir under its inspirational founder Sir Hugh Roberton. He explores a traditional form of congregational psalm singing and introduces two settings of the same text written by two of Scotland's finest composers, one from the 16th century and one from the 21st.
  20070304 Aled Jones talks to composer, conductor and former King's Singer Bob Chilcott about his wide-ranging career, which combines work with top professional ensembles alongside a lifelong commitment to amateur and children's music-making.
  20070311 Aled Jones is at York Minster for a programme celebrating a century of music-making in one of the country's great choral acoustics. He is joined by organists Philip Moore and John Scott Whiteley, and cathedral legend Francis Jackson, who celebrates his ninetieth birthday this year.
Plus a rare recording of the choir under the direction of the celebrated composer and organist Edward Bairstow.
  20070318 More from the world of choirs and choral music, with Aled Jones. Including another selection of amateur groups from around the UK who want to 'Sing to the Nation'.
  20070325 Aled Jones looks at the development of Gospel music in the UK with the help of Bazil Meade, the inspirational founder and director of the London Community Gospel Choir.
They are also joined in the studio by Karen Gibson, the founder and director of Kingdom Choir and a music workshop facilitator.
Plus, Nikki Tapper will be talking to Aled about gospel trends in her own neck of the woods, Birmingham, where she has her own gospel show on BBC local radio.
  20070401 Aled Jones looks at how faith informs music, with sacred choral works by agnostic composers. The programme also features a complete performance of Stabat Mater by Karol Szymanowski.
  20070408 More music from the choral world with Aled Jones. Including the Comedian Harmonists, whose sensational career in Germany in the early 20th Century inspired a wealth of vocal groups - from the King's Singers to Die Singphoniker.
  20070415 Aled Jones investigates the government's recently announced singing in schools initiative and talks to newly appointed singing ambassador Howard Goodall.
  20070422 More from the world of choirs and choral music, with Aled Jones.
Deborah Roberts discusses a unique group of virtuoso female singers from the Court of Ferrara whose formidable talents made them famous across Renaissance Italy and the rest of Europe.
  20070429 Aled Jones is joined in Paris by the director of Le Concert Spirituel, Herve Niquet, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of one of France's great choral composers, Michel-Richard de Lalande.
Featuring a complete performance of Lalande's Te Deum, and music from his contemporaries Lully, Charpentier and Desmarest.
  20070506 Award-winning conductor Paul Hillier joins Aled Jones to talk about his prolific career on the international choral scene.
From Perotin to Part, his wide-ranging passion for music is explored through recordings by the Hilliard Ensemble, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Theatre of Voices and Ars Nova.
  20070513 Aled Jones investigates shape-note music, a teaching method invented in 19th century New England designed to encourage the uneducated masses to worship through song.
Aled also begins a three-part exploration of the Chapel Royal, a unique institution at the heart of St James's Palace, London, which has played a key role in the heritage of English choral music for centuries.
  20070520 Aled Jones talks to Dr Martin Ashley of the University of the West of England, Bristol, about his research into why fewer boys join choirs than girls.
Plus part two of Aled's visit to the Chapel Royal.
  20070610 Aled Jones talks to composer Judith Bingham about her latest project and discovers riches of a choral variety in London's financial district.
Plus, the third and final part of Aled's visit to the Chapel Royal.
  20070624 Aled Jones plunges into the world of Barbershop to find out what makes it one of the most popular and vibrant sectors in choral music.
  20070701 Aled Jones presents an occasional series in which he takes a choral tour of the British Isles.
His first stop is Wales with composer and writer Geraint Lewis, who explores how a new generation of choirs are reinventing the choral heritage of the 'Land of Song'.
  20070708 In the last programme before coverage of the Proms begins, Aled Jones looks forward to a summer of choral highlights, including a complete performance of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with Bryn Terfel and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
  20070909 As founder Ward Swingle marks his 80th birthday, Aled Jones talks to the Swingle Singers about Bach, Berio and beatboxing, and more than four decades at the top of their profession.
  20070916 Aled Jones introduces music for choir, solo piano, piano duet and orchestra, all from the 32 voices of French chamber choir Accentus. The choir's founder and conductor Laurence Equilbey talks about how she has steered Accentus well beyond the limits of the standard repertoire for unaccompanied chamber choir.
With music by Debussy, Mahler, Poulenc, Ravel and Schoenberg, and new works written for Accentus by Philippe Manoury and Bruno Mantovani.
  20070923 Aled Jones's guests are Deborah Roberts and Laurie Stras, the musical directors of Musica Secreta, an early music group that specialises in performing music for female vocal ensemble.
They talk about an emerging repertoire written in the 16th and 17th centuries by little-known but talented female composers, courtiers, courtesans and nuns. Plus a chance to hear an excerpt from the Vasari Singers' new recording of The Cloud of Unknowing by Francis Pott.
  20070930 In an all-Italian programme, Aled Jones takes a choral perspective on Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, and discovers the singing village of Premana, a tiny alpine community with a vibrant tradition of folk-song and feasting.
  20071007 Aled Jones meets David Hill, one of the UK's leading choral conductors, at the beginning of his first season as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers.
Ian Kennedy and Olivia Robinson share their experiences of singing with the group and there's music recorded for The Choir by the BBC Singers with David Hill, plus a chance to hear Herbert Howells's rediscovered cantata Sir Patrick Spens.
  20071014 Aled Jones salutes Radio 3's 40th birthday by exploring the contribution the BBC's two amateur choruses have made to the network over the years. He is joined by two long-serving members of the BBC Symphony Chorus and National Chorus of Wales.
Tenor Ian Partridge celebrates the choral career of multi-talented musician George Malcolm. And as a prelude to Bantock as Radio 3 Composer of the Week, some exclusive performances of Bantock choral songs by the BBC Singers.
  20071021 Aled Jones presents performances by an international selection of children's choirs, all performing in Let the Peoples Sing, an international competition for amateur choirs.
Plus, could that mesmerising choral performance you have just heard actually have been produced on a computer? Aled casts his eyes and ears over a new piece of software which brings words and music together.
  20071028 Aled Jones presents highlights from the Tallis Festival hosted by the Exmoor Singers of London, where choral enthusiasts come together for an intensive weekend of singing and performing. Including the world premiere of a work by Peter McGarr, Love You Big as the Sky, inspired by Tallis's example of writing in 40 parts.
Aled also brings us up to date with part two of the Let the People Sing international choir competition.
  20071104 In the year of the 150th anniversary of Edward Elgar's birth, Aled Jones explores Elgar's choral legacy. Plus the final instalment of performances from Let the Peoples Sing, a competition for amateur choirs from all over Europe.
  20071111 Live from London's Royal Albert Hall, Aled Jones presents A World Requiem by John Foulds. An epic and moving memorial to the 'war dead of all nations' that was once a regular feature of the British Legion Armistice Day celebrations, it has not been performed since 1926.
Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet (soprano)
Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano)
Stuart Skelton (tenor)
Gerald Finley (baritone)
BBC Symphony Chorus
Crouch End Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Chorus
Trinity Boys Choir
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Leon Botstein (conductor).
  20071118 Could this be the end of the road for professional choristers? Music technologist Jono Buchanan reports back on his mission to write and record a piece using a computerised choir.
Aled Jones journeys through the vibrant world of German part songs with gypsy music, sacred motets and drinking tunes by Brahms, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Wolf recorded specially for the programme by the BBC Singers.
  20071125 Aled Jones celebrates the anniversaries of two 20th Century composers.
Since his death in 1957, Sibelius' international reputation has rested largely on his symphonies and orchestral music. However, his musical legacy also includes a substantial body of choral music and we hear a selection of some of these lesser known, but equally appealing, pieces.
Plus to mark the centenary of French composer and organist Jean Langlais' birth, there's a chance to hear his colourful Missa Salve Regina, written for the unusual forces of male voice chorus, unison voices, two organs and an octet of brass instruments.
  20071202 As part of The Choir's choral tour of the British Isles, Aled Jones explores the scene in Ireland.
He is joined by conductors Donal Doherty, Head of Music Services for the Western Education and Library Board, and arts consultant Liz Powell, for a taste of the foremost choirs, composers and competitions in Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
  20071209 Aled Jones is joined by Renaissance specialist Peter Phillips, who explains why polyphony upset the Church authorities and how, after the Council of Trent was convened, composers such as Palestrina and Jacopus de Kerle got round their subsequent demand for simplicity in music. With specially recorded examples provided by the BBC Singers.
Plus there's news from Philip Ledger, fresh from the British premiere of his Requiem and with several other choral commissions in the pipeline.
  20071223 Aled Jones has some seasonal music to celebrate the culmination of The Choir's year-long Sing to the Nation feature and is joined in the studio by John Rutter, whose choral music has become synonymous with Christmas.
  20071230 Aled Jones presents another programme of music from the world of choirs.
  20080106 Aled Jones enlists the help of two American authors who have written self-help guides on how to be an effective member of a choir.
Plus a look back and forward at the wide-ranging use of choral music in computer games, films, television and advertising. Aled meets some of those soundtrack composers who have made effective use of choral music.
  20080113 Aled Jones explores the choral world of French composer Lili Boulanger, who died tragically young at the age of only 24. After her death, her music was promoted tirelessly by her elder sister Nadia. An acclaimed conductor and teacher, Nadia was the founder of a vocal ensemble which reintroduced the works of Monteverdi and Schutz to the salons of Paris.
Plus there's a complete performance of Faure's Requiem, conducted by Thierry Fischer with the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales.
  20080120 Mozart in Salzburg
Aled Jones visits the city where Mozart wrote most of his significant choral music, and seeks out the divide between the composer's faith and duty among the city's historic churches, chapels and cathedral.
 The Singing Revolution20080127 Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins tells Aled Jones how music played a vital role during the overthrow of Communism in the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, with specially recorded music from the BBC Singers.
  20080203 Aled Jones talks to Robert Hollingworth about the short-lived, 16th century genre of madrigal comedy, and presents a complete performance of a modern madrigal fable - Menotti's The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore, marking the first anniversary of the composer's death.
  20080210 Aled Jones finds out about Polyphony, one of the UK's most admired professional choirs, as he talks to Stephen Layton, who founded the group 22 years ago and still leads it today.
  20080217 David Fanshawe has spent over 10 years recording singers across the Pacific Islands. He talks to Aled Jones about his travels and Tahitian and French Polynesian choral traditions.
  20080224 Aled Jones presents choral settings of words by the quintessential American poet, Walt Whitman, and discovers that Whitman's fame began when he was taken up by English composers. With music by Vaughan Williams, Holst, Delius, Hindemith and Charles Ives.
 Minimalism20080302 Aled Jones explores the world of minimalist music and talks to Gavin Bryars about his career and his recent collaborations with the Latvian Radio Choir.
  20080309 Aled Jones presents a selection of psalms, with settings by Vaughan Williams, Tavener, Ives, Bernstein and Bobby McFerrin. And choral directors Jeremy Summerly and Sarah Baldock test whether a cathedral choir can be judged by its psalm chanting.
  20080316 Aled Jones explores Iceland's strong choral tradition with the help of Icelandic composer Haflioi Hallgrimsson and self-confessed lover of all things Nordic music critic Hilary Finch.
Plus a pick of new choral releases including contemporary music for Passiontide from the group Commotio.
  20080323 Aled Jones is joined by Terry Edwards, who went from playing Olympic basketball to becoming one of Britain's most prolific choral directors. As well as working on scores for the newer Star Wars films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he has worked with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Royal Opera Chorus, London Sinfonietta Voices and the avant-garde ensemble Electric Phoenix.
Plus an Easter farewell to Alan Thurlow, who is retiring after 28 years as organist at Chichester Cathedral.
  20080330 Aled Jones is joined from Beijing by a choir director hoping to perform large-scale Western choral music in China. Plus a visit stateside to look at the gay choral scene with Charlie Beale, newly-appointed director of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.
  20080406 Aled Jones introduces modern examples of the mass, recorded by the BBC Singers and members of the Bach Choir.
He discusses the difference in settings for the cathedral and for the parish church with David Hill, conductor of the BBC Singers, and Tim Ruffer, head of publishing at the Royal School of Church Music.
Pianist Stephen Hough describes his own Missa Mirabilis, part of which was written in hospital following a terrifying car crash.
  20080413 Aled Jones presents choral music from Australia and New Zealand, including music reflecting the Maori tradition and the landscape of New Zealand, performed by two of its national choirs.
Aled also talks to Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, who introduces a complete performance of his Requiem.
  20080420 As part of Radio 3's programmes marking the 50th anniversary of Vaughan Williams' death in 1958, Aled Jones explores the composer's contribution to choral music and visits the Leith Hill Festival, 103 years since it was founded by him in 1905.
  20080427 Aled Jones explores the competitive world of American university a cappella singing - where traditional choral music is being ousted by the sounds of Oasis and Ozzy Osbourne.
  20080504 To mark the traditional May honouring of Mary, mother of Jesus, by Christians around the world, Aled Jones presents a selection of music dedicated to her. With works including a Regina coeli by Mozart, a Stabat mater by Knut Nystedt and Magnificats by Monteverdi and Jacques Loussier 
  20080511 In an all-Italian programme, Aled Jones takes a choral perspective on Rossini, Verdi and Puccini, and discovers the singing village of Premana, a tiny alpine community with a vibrant tradition of folk-song and feasting.
  20080525 From Enigma to James MacMillan, Aled Jones plays a selection of contemporary works inspired by plainsong, including a 20th century classic - Durufle's Requiem.
Plus Universal Artists and Repertoire executive Tom Lewis, and members of the Mediaeval Baebes explaining how their current projects fit in to the current resurgence of interest in this traditional form.
  20080601 Aled Jones is joined in Paris by the director of Le Concert Spirituel, Herve Niquet, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of one of France's great choral composers, Michel-Richard de Lalande.
Featuring a complete performance of Lalande's Te Deum, and music from his contemporaries Lully, Charpentier and Desmarest.
  20080608 Aled Jones is joined by the Monteverdi Choir's founder John Eliot Gardiner, and three members Gareth Keene, Julia Doyle and Lawrence Wallington to talk about the ensemble's work - past and present. The Monteverdi is one of the UK's leading choirs and since their creation in 1964 by Gardiner for a performance of Monteverdi's Vespers, their name has been regarded as synonymous with ambitious and innovative programming.
 An Ode To Music20080615 Aled Jones looks at choral responses to the ancient poetic idea of the ode. Featuring Purcell's Birthday Ode for Queen Mary of 1691, plus music by Holst, Britten, Kodaly and Ned Rorem.
  20080622 Aled Jones introduces a concert given in Bath Abbey for the Bath International Festival of Music, featuring the Great Voices of Bulgaria under Ilya Mihaylov performing traditional folksongs and music from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
  20080629 Aled Jones talks to American composer Eric Whitacre, rapidly becoming the talk of the choral world thanks to the universal appeal of his work. There are also new releases from Stile Antico and Wells Cathedral, plus a look at how choirs are suddenly becoming the raw material for prime-time television entertainment.
  20080706 Aled Jones quizzes Mary King about her VoiceLab project at London's Southbank Centre and catches up with the latest news from Radio 3's Choir of the Year competition. And he investigates a surprising candidate for the accolade of 'world's greatest choral composer'.
  20080713 Aled Jones reviews the musical discoveries from this season's programmes, including choral groups from Tahiti, Iceland, the US and New Zealand. Plus a trip to an unusual choral gathering - the 2008 Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival.
  20080914 Aswatuna Choral Festival
1/2. Writing for an Acoustic
Aled Jones visits the pioneering Aswatuna Festival in Petra, Jordan, an event which brings together choirs from across the Middle East, including Palestinian and Iraqi groups.
And composer Judith Bingham is in the studio to look at how choral compositions reflect the spaces for which they are written.
  20080921 Aswatuna Choral Festival
2/2. Hungarian Choirs
Aled Jones visits the pioneering Aswatuna Festival in Petra, Jordan, an event which brings together choirs from across the Middle East and beyond.
Featuring Middle Eastern choirs and Swedish vocal group Voces Nordicae in a unique collaboration, plus a tour of the Hungarian choral scene with music from Bartok, Kodaly and contemporary composer Janos Vajda.
  20081005 Aled Jones talks to Finnish choral conductor, writer and journalist Kari Turunen about Einojuhani Rautavaara and the post-war choral scene in Finland.
Now in his eightieth year, Rautavaara has consistently contributed to choral repertoire and since he began composing in the 1950s, his career has grown in tandem with a growing interest in choirs. An increase in chamber choirs was followed by the development of youth and children's choirs. The rise in numbers and enthusiasm and high standards of these choirs has ensured that Finnish composers find a healthy marketplace for new choral repertoire.
  20081012 Is the UK neglecting its older singers? Aled Jones investigates with Grenville Jones, project director of the Golden-Oldies charity. Plus music to reflect the constant choral interchange between Britain and America.
  20081019 Aled Jones introduces a selection of choral music recorded this summer at the RheinVokal Festival, located in the Middle Rhine Valley in Germany. Featuring highlights from a concert of English music dedicated to St Cecilia, performed by the SWR Vocal Ensemble, madrigals by Gesualdo sung by the Calmus Ensemble from Leipzig and a performance by the Rastatt Vocal Ensemble of Scarlatti's Stabat Mater.
  20081026 Aled Jones is joined by two of the country's leading human beatboxers, Shlomo and Jestar, aka Shlomo Kahn and Jeremy Sadler. They are both members of the Vocal Orchestra - the world's first and only human beatbox choir - which Shlomo set up in 2007. The programme features recordings from their popular series at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and their gig at Glastonbury this summer and the pair in conversation about their outreach projects in which they teach beatbox to people from all backgrounds, including Aled Jones.
Plus music for Halloween, All Saints and All Souls' Day recorded specially for the programme by the BBC Singers, including Ghost Stories by Andrew Simpson and Philip Ledger's Requiem: A Thanksgiving for Life.
  20081102 As the final rounds of BBC Radio 3's Choir of the Year 2008 competition approach, Aled Jones talks to the current champions Chantage and their conductor James Davey.
  20081105 Paul English is in a choir, but it's not any choir. In just two years, they've made their mark on the Scottish music scene and played to festival audiences round the country.
Named after Gram Parsons, the fifty-strong Parsonage Choir have sung with Rod Stewart and the Flaming Lips, and have just brought out their first single. With 50 distinct personalities and a range of singing abilities, life is never dull. Paul gives his view from the pews.
  20081109 War Requiem
To mark Remembrance Sunday and the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, Aled Jones presents a complete performance of Britten's War Requiem.
Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano)
Peter Pears (tenor)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
The Bach Choir
Highgate School Choir
Melos Ensemble
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Benjamin Britten (conductor)
  20081116 Choir of the Year - Category Final 1
Aled Jones presents the first selection of highlights from last weekend's Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition, with choral conductor Deborah Catterall. They look at the youth and adult choirs hoping to win a place in the grand final.
 Choir Of The Year - Category Final 220081123 Aled Jones with highlights from the remaining category finals in the Choir of the Year 08.
Choir of the Year - Category Final 2
Aled Jones presents the second selection of highlights from the Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition, with choral conductor Deborah Catterall. They focus on the remaining choirs in the Open and Children's categories, and reveal the six choirs from across the competition who have won a place in next month's Grand Final.
   20081130Aled Jones explores the rich musical heritage of the English Oratories, which were established by Cardinal John Henry Newman in 1848 following a visit to the oratory of St Philip Neri in Rome, where Tomas Luis de Victoria once resided. His music still resounds in the oratories at Birmingham and London, but just how did an oratory school choir find themselves on the Lord of the Rings film soundtrack?
 Messiaen Programme 20081207Aled Jones considers the choral legacy of Olivier Messiaen.
As part of the 2008 Olivier Messiaen centenary celebrations, Aled Jones considers the choral legacy of the French composer, together with his successor at Paris's church of La Sainte Trinite, Naji Hakim. The BBC Singers perform Messiaen's Cinq Rechants and its companion, Jolivet's Epithalame, widely regarded as one of the most difficult choral pieces ever written.
 Christmas Music For Choirs20081214 It's one of the great challenges for a choral composer - how to write new and distinctive Christmas music. Aled Jones talks to Sasha Johnson Manning whose Manchester Carols aim to retell the story of the Nativity for the 21st century. Plus the antidote to famous carol overload, a selection of Christmas choral rarities.
Playlist
  • lutosławski: hey! we rejoice now (extract)
  • polish radio chorus and polish national radio symphony orchestra conducted by antoni wit
    sasha johnson manning: mirabile dictu
  • the manchester carollers, northern chamber orchestra conducted by richard tanner
  • tmc cd1, track 2
    sasha johnson manning: new boy born
    •    20081225Documentary about the fifty-strong Parsonage Choir.
    The fifty-strong Parsonage Choir have sung with Rod Stewart and the Flaming Lips, and have just brought out their first single. Paul English gives his view from the pews.
     Musicals20081228 Aled Jones explores choral singing in the world of musicals.
    Antonín Dvořák: ‘Blossoms with which Spring allures us’ from part 1 of Saint Ludmila
  • 2001 london cast recording with nick davies, musical director
  • Michael Ball & ensemble (original london cast) with robert scott, musical director
  • arnold soboloff, harold pierson, eddie gaspar and ensemble with fred werner, musical director
  • bbc philharmonic conducted by gennady rozhdestvensky and leeds festival chorus with
  • chandos chan9633, track 3
    sailing at dawn, and the song of the sou’wester, from songs of the fleet (1910)
  • chandos chsa5043, tracks 1-2
  • chorus master simon wright
  • colm wilkinson (role of che), plus chorus, rock musicians, and the london philharmonic orchestra conducted by anthony bowles
  • columbia ck2900, track 11
    andrew lloyd weber & Tim Rice: requiem for evita from evita
  • columbia ck32604, track 7
    george enescu: symphony no. 3 opus 21
  • czech philharmonic chorus, prague symphony orchestra conducted by václav smetáček
  • first night castcd83, track 10
    lerner & loewe: with a little bit of luck from my fair lady
  • first night castcd83, track 4
    cy coleman (music) dorothy fields (lyrics): the rhythm of life from sweet charity
  • gerald finley (baritone) with the bbc national orchestra of wales and the bbc national chorus of wales conducted by Richard Hickox
  • mca dmcx503, track 2
    stephen sondheim: the ballad of sweeney todd, from sweeney todd
  • michael cerveris (role of sweeney todd) & manoel felciano (role of tobias), plus company
  • mrbb001, track 9
    lerner & loewe: ascot gavotte from my fair lady
  • nonesuch 7559-79946-2, track 1
    rodgers and hammerstein: there is nothin’ like a dame from south pacific
  • original broadway cast with salvatore dell’isola, musical director
  • supraphon 112141-2 212, disk 1 track 2
    sherman & sherman: me ol’ bamboo from chitty chitty bang bang
    •  Bodleian Libarary Exhibition20090104 With a report from Oxford's Bodleian library on its British choir manuscript exhibition.
    Presented by Aled Jones. Conductor Harry Christophers reports from Oxford's Bodleian library on its exhibition of almost 800 years of priceless British choir manuscripts and also gets a chance to hear what is universally regarded as the worst oratorio of all time, George Tolhurst's Ruth. Plus a look ahead to the big choral anniversaries of 2009.
     Juice Ensemble Profile20090111 Aled Jones meets the vocal trio Juice, who discuss their interest in contemporary music.
    Aled Jones meets the vocal trio Juice, who discuss their interest in contemporary music and perform in the studio. Plus music inspired by the themes of evening and night.
     A Tribute To Richard Hickox20090118 With the sudden death of conductor Richard Hickox at the end of 2008, choral music in the UK lost one of its greatest champions. Aled Jones is joined by some of this irrepressible musician's closest collaborators to explore his prolific career, including samples of his work with the London Symphony Chorus, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Collegium Musicum 90 and the many opera companies with which he was associated.
    Aled Jones presents a tribute programme to the late conductor Richard Hickox 
     West Gallery Music20090125 Aled Jones explores the revival in West Gallery music, a term first used by Thomas Hardy to describe the galleries at the west end of churches on which bands of musicians would perform. People from the end of the 17th century knew this as Psalmody, a practice which initially enabled parishioners to join in the singing of psalms. But it flourished to the point where the music was too complex for congregations to sing!
    The programme's mix of music from British choirs and beyond proves that the tradition is now once again thriving.
    Playlist:
  • an hymn for easter day (edited by dave townsend)
  • att. anthony greatorex
  • christminster singers, dave townsend (director)
  • durweston tune (extract)
  • hyperion cda 67020, track 1
    anon:
  • let the echo fly xms002, track 3
    william knapp:
  • psalmody, the parley of instruments, peter holman (director)
  • this is the day the lord hath made
    •  Hoddinott Hall Concert20090208 Aled Jones presents the programme from Hoddinott Hall, the new home of the BBC National Chorus and Orchestra of Wales in Cardiff Bay, and introduces the first choral concert of their opening season. With music by Mendelssohn and Stanford, plus Welsh composers William Mathias and Mansel Thomas.
    Aled Jones presents a concert from the BBCNOW's home in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay.
     Bbc Singers/vocalessence Stephen Cleobury Concert20090215 Aled Jones presents a special concert by the BBC Singers marking the 60th birthday of their Conductor Laureate, Stephen Cleobury. Including specially-commissioned pieces by Judith Weir, Judith Bingham, Gabriel Jackson and Bob Chilcott, and a guest appearance by American choir VocalEssence.
    Concert recorded on 24 January 2009, at the BBC Maida Vale studio 1
    Playlist:
  • Judith Weir
  • alleluia! i bring you news of great joy
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
    bob chilcott
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
    edward cowie
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
    francis grier
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
    gabriel jackson
  • bbc singers conducted by stephen cleobury
    giles swayne
  • four passiontide motets
  • into god’s call
  • lyre bird motet
  • madrigal
  • to music
    •  American Gospel Music20090222 Aled Jones looks at the gospel music scene in America and marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Bohuslav Martinu, a 20th-Century composer who made a significant contribution to choral repertoire.
    Plus news about a Mendelssohn event being organised by Radio 3 for choirs across the nation.
    Playlist:
  • chicago mass choir
  • holy ghost power
  • percy gray jr
    •  Live Performance Of Mendelssohn's Elijah20090301 Aled Jones celebrates St David's Day 2009 and the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn's birth, introducing a performance of the oratorio Elijah from St David's Hall in Cardiff.
    Soloists: Anna Leese, Elin Manahan Thomas, Wendy Dawn Thompson, Andrew Kennedy and Neal Davies
  • Thierry Fischer (conductor).
    Aled Jones introduces the bbcnow and chorus performing mendelssohn's oratorio elijah
  • bbc national orchestra and chorus of wales
  • cardiff ardwyn singers
    •  Music Related To War20090308 Aled Jones explores music written in response to warfare, and invites Jonathan Willcocks to introduce his cantata A Great and Glorious Victory, written to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar.
    Playlist
  • Kurt Weill
  • a great and glorious victory
  • agnus dei & dona nobis pacem
  • allan clayton (tenor), portsmouth choral union, english cathedral singers, southern pro musica, conducted by jonathan willcocks
  • bbc symphony chorus, conducted by stephen jackson
  • chandos, chan9984, track 11-16
    joseph haydn
  • choir of new college, oxford, the king’s consort, conducted by robert king
  • civitas sancti tui
  • curse upon iron
  • ecm 4652232, track 3
    Aled Jones explores music written in response to warfare
  • estonian philharmonic chamber choir, conducted by tõnu kaljuste
  • hyperion, cda666412, cd1, track 26, cd2 tracks 19-20
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • judas maccabaeus
  • largo 5130 cd2, track 5
    george frideric handel
  • london symphony orchestra & chorus, conducted by Richard Hickox
  • missa in tempore belli
  • monterverdi choir, english baroque soloists, conducted by john eliot gardiner
  • opening of act ii: “fall’n is the foe” + “see, the conqu’ring hero come” + part of march
  • philips 4708192, track 21 & 22
    jonathan willcocks
  • priory prcd 877, tracks 1-4
    William Byrd
  • signum sigcd061, track 6
    veljo tormis
  • six choral songs – to be sung in time of war
  • the king’s singers
  • zu potsdam unter den eichen
    •  New Choirs Revisited20090315 Presented by Aled Jones.
    The programme's resident talent scout, choral director Peter Broadbent, returns with his pick of the most promising choral talent from a recent 'choir marketplace' event held in the French town of Saint-Lo.
    Aled explores the choral legacy of American innovator and choral maverick Charles Ives, to coincide with the publication of a new volume of the composer's correspondence.
    Peter Broadbent discusses his pick of promising choral talent with Aled Jones 
     Purcell Weekend20090322 As part of BBC Radio 3's Purcell celebrations, Aled Jones is joined on the streets of Westminster by music historian Bruce Wood to recreate a choral 'day in the life' of the composer, with music for voices from the Chapel Royal, Westminster Abbey, the theatre and the ale house.
    We hear how three modern composers have responded to Purcell's incomplete masterwork Hear My Prayer, now thought to have been intended as a funeral anthem for King Charles II.
    Aled Jones is joined by music historian Bruce Wood to recreate a day in Purcell's life.
     Soviet Choral Music 20090405 Aled Jones explores how Soviet composers turned to choral music to meet the demands of their leaders for patriotic pieces. Including a complete performance of Prokofiev's Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution.
     Handel Week - Chandos Anthems20090412 Aled Jones investigates Handel's time as composer-in-residence at Cannons, the Edgware home of the Earl of Carnarvon, where he produced his 11 Chandos Anthems.
    Aled Jones investigates Handel's 11 Chandos Anthems.
     London Festival Of Contemporary Music 200920090426 Aled Jones previews the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music 2009 and talks to experimental vocalist Phil Minton about his Feral Choir.
    A preview of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music 09, and vocalist Phil Minton
     Scottish Choral Music20090503 Aled Jones finds out about choral singing in Scotland with Susan Hamilton, co-founder and artistic director of one of only two professional choirs based north of the border, the Dunedin Consort, and musician and broadcaster Mary Ann Kennedy, who is a leading figure in the Scottish traditional music scene.
    Plus news from the successful National Youth Choir of Scotland as well as music from William Sweeney and Peter Maxwell Davies - contemporary composers who have found inspiration in the traditions and landscape of the country.
    Playlist:
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    12 Scottish songs
    No. 2 Duncan Gray
    Playlist:
  • 12 scottish songs
  • ludwig van beethoven
  • no. 2 duncan gray
    •  Mendelssohn Weekend20090510 In a programme from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Aled Jones and his guests explore how Mendelssohn's creative personality was laid bare in his choral music.
    Manchester Chamber Choir, conducted by Richard Tanner, perform sacred and secular works from across Mendelssohn's choral career. Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, conducted by Sue Hollingworth are joined by the boys of Oldham Youth Choir, directed by Eileen Bentley, to give a special performance of Hear my Prayer in the culmination of Radio 3's Wings project - a nationwide event in which choirs all over Britain have signed up to perform O for the Wings of a Dove.
    Denn Er hat seinen Engeln befohlen
    Manchester Chamber Choir, conducted by Richard Tanner with Greg Morris on organ
    Laudate Pueri Dominum Op. 39 No. 2
    Verleih’ uns Frieden
    Mitten wir im Leben sind Op. 23
    Manchester Chamber Choir, conducted by Richard Tanner
    Hear my Prayer
    Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, Oldham Youth Choir boys, with Greg Morris on organ
    Traditional
    Summer is a Cumin in
    Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir, conducted by Susan Hollingworth
    Beati mortui Op.115
    CD
    Sechs Lieder im Freien zu singen, Op. 59
    Frühzeitiege Frühling Op. 59, no. 2
     Interviews With Terry Edwards And Eric Whitacre20090517 Aled Jones revists two major interviews recorded in 2008 - featuring Terry Edwards, one of Britain's most prolific music directors, and composer Eric Whitacre, who has taken the choral world by storm with his universally popular works for choirs.
    Playlist
    Eric Whitacre
    Sleep for chorus
    Polyphony conducted by Stephen Layton
    HYPERION CDA6754 3, track 3
    Go, lovely Rose
    HYPERION CDA6754 3, track 5
    Water night
    Brigham Young University Singers conducted by Ronald Staheli
    ARSIS CD147, track 1
    3 Flower songs for chorus
    no.2; With a lily in your hand
    HYPERION CDA6754 3, track 9
    Godzilla Eats Las Vegas
    Rutgers Wind Ensemble conducted by William Berz
    MARK 2525MCD, track 4
    Extract Only
    Equus
    Sleep my Child
    Hila Plitmann - soprano with Eric Whitacre - synthesisers
    Private tapes
    Howard Leslie Shore
    The Lord of the rings: the two towers - music for the film
    - Helm's Deep
    London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices directed by Terry Edwards
    REPRISE 93624842122, track 12
    John Adams
    (El) Nino
    - Part 1; I sing of a maiden
    London Voices directed by Terry Edwards, with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano
    NONESUCH 7559796342, track 1
    Luciano Berio
    Sinfonia for 8 solo voices and orchestra
    - 2nd movement - O King
    London Voices directed by Terry Edwards, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Eotvos
    DG RECORDS 002894775380, track 2
    Claude Debussy
    3 Chansons de Charles d'Orleans for chorus
    - no.1; Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder!
    Swingle II, directed by Ward Swingle
    RCA RL25112 side 3, track 1
    Benjamin Britten
    Peter Grimes - opera in 3 acts (Op.33)
    - Act 3 scene 1;
    Simon Keenlyside - baritone (Ned), Patricia Payne - contralto (Auntie), Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Bernard Haitink
    EMI CDS7548322, CD 2, track 17
    Hymn to St Cecilia for chorus (Op.27)
    - Opening;
    London Sinfonietta Voices, including bass Terry Edwards
    VIRGIN VC 790728-2 1/8
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Otello - dramma lirico in 4 acts
    - Act 1;
    Luciano Pavarotti - tenor, Chicago Symphony Chorus directed by Terry Edwards, Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti
    DECCA 433 6702, tracks 1-2
    George Gershwin
    Porgy and Bess - opera in 3 acts
    - Act 1 sc.1; Summertime
    Renee Fleming - soprano, with New York Voices and New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conducted by James Levine
    DECCA 460 567, track 2
    Gyorgy Ligeti
    Hortobagy - trad. arr. for 8 voices
    London Sinfonietta Voices conducted by Terry Edwards
    SONY SK62305, tracks 32-34
    Aled Jones revisits two major interviews from 2008 with Terry Edwards and Eric Whitacre.
     The Challenges Of Recording Choirs20090524 Music producer AdrIan Peacock talks to Aled Jones about the challenges of recording choirs, and introduces Aled to some of his favourite choral recordings.
    The programme also catches up with some of the groups who took part in Radio 3's Wings project.
    Playlist:
    Feature of the Lochranza Choir from the Isle of Arran, Scotland. They took part in the BBC Radio 3’s ‘Wings’ project – where choirs from all over the country performed Mendelssohn’s ‘Wings of a Dove’ on the same weekend earlier this month.
    Richard Strauss
    Traumlicht
    The King’s Singers
    Signum SIGCD147 (from their new ‘Romance du Soir’ album), track 13
    Jonathan Dove
    Seek him that maketh the Seven Stars
    Tenebrae, directed by Nigel Short, Jeremy Filsell (organ)
    Signum SIGCD501, track 1
    John Tavener
    Song for Athene
    King’s College Cambridge, dir. Stephen Cleobury
    New release from EMI
    A selection of choirs own recordings of their performances for the Radio 3 ‘Wings’ project:
    The Carol Andrew Singers from Darlington, County Durham, Spalding Parish Church Choir, Worthing Voices and Hambledon Valley Group Choir
    Radio 3’s ‘Wings’ project feature: the Choir of West Derby Parish Church, Liverpool
    Scott Joplin
    Heliotrope Bouquet
    Swingle 2
    CBS 80947 (from the album ‘Rags and all the Jazz’), track 7
    Johann Pachelbel arr. Alexander L’Estrange
    Canon
    Tenebrae, directed by Nigel Short
    Signum SIGCD050, track 5
    Veljo Tormis
    Autumn landscapes No.1, 2 & 5
    Holst Singers, conducted by Stephen Layton
    Hyperion, CDA67601, tracks 15, 16 & 19
    Pawel Łukascewski
    Beatus Vir Sanctus Paulus
    Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
    Hyperion
    Radio 3’s ‘Wings’ project feature: Colmore Junior School choir, Birmingham
    Gabriel Jackson
    Cecilia Virgo
    Salve Regina 2
    Polyphony, directed by Stephen Layton
    Hyperion CDA67708, tracks 3 & 11
    Music producer AdrIan Peacock talks to Aled Jones about the challenges of recording choirs
     Haydn Part Songs20090607 Aled Jones explores the part songs inspired by Haydn's visit to one of England's burgeoning singing societies - the so-called glee clubs. On the way he discovered a masculine world of convoluted etiquette, heavy drinking and pseudo-parliamentary democracy. While Haydn's life was one of never-ending deadlines, at the mercy of more commissions than he could manage, this was one occasion when he wrote genuinely for pleasure.
    Aled Jones explores the part songs inspired by Haydn's visit to the 'glee clubs' of London
     Tampere Vocal Festival20090621 Aled Jones picks the best from the 2009 Tampere Vocal Festival in Finland and talks to one choral director about how a visit to the city transformed his musical life.
    Plus news about a new project uniting European choir music and ancient chant of the Syriac church.
    Playlist:
    Syrian Chant (excerpt)
     Robert Lucas Pearsall20090628 Aled Jones is joined by Anthony Rooley to uncover the eccentric Victorian musician Robert Lucas Pearsall, considered to be one of Britain's greatest unsung choral heroes. Plus more highlights from the 2009 Tampere Vocal Festival in Finland.
    Playlist:
    John Wilbye
    Sweet honey-sucking bees
    The Deller Consort, directed by Alfred Deller
    Vangaurd, 08201972, track 15
    Robert Pearsall
    There is a paradise on earth
    The Pre-Raphaelite Singers, directed by Anthony Rooley
    Musiques Suisses, MGB 6206, track 8
    John Ward
    Die not fond man
    The Consort of Musicke, directed by Anthony Rooley
    Hyperion CDA66256, track 6
    Vautor
    Sweet Suffolk Owl
    The Hilliard Ensemble
    Virgin Classics, 5616712, CD 2 track 20
    Laugh not, Youth, at Age
    List! Lady, be not coy
    Musiques Suisses, MGB 6206, track 16
    Take, O take those lips away
    Adieu! My native shore
    Musiques Suisses, MGB 6206, track 5 & 24
    Edward Elgar
    There is sweet music
    Cambridge University Chamber Choir, directed by Christopher Robinson
    Naxos 8570541, track 1
    Lay a Garland
    Oxford Camerata, conducted by Jeremy Summerly
    Naxos 8553088, track 13
    Jésus Palacios
    Copitas de mexcel
    Voz en Punto
    EBU Recording
    Luigi Dallapiccola
    Il coro dei malommogliati (The Chorus of the Hen Pecked Husbands)
    Kamarikuoro Kaamos, directed by Dani Juris
    Cole Porter
    Let’s Misbehave
    Vocaldente
    Susanna Lindmark
    Aurora Borealis
    Arctic Light, conducted by Susanna Lindmark
    Jukka Linkola
    Primitive Muisic
    Tapiola Choir, conducted by Pasi Hyokki
    Aled Jones and Anthony Rooley uncover the Victorian choral hero Robert Lucas Pearsall.
     Dance20090705 Aled Jones explores the idea of dance in choral music and presents complete performances of two major choral ballets -Stravinsky's Les Noces and Holst's The Golden Goose.
    Playlist:
    Traditional
    Lord of the Dance (arr. Carter/Willcocks)
    The Bach Choir, conducted by Sir David Willcocks
    Chandos, CHAN8973, track 14
    Vaclovas Augustinas
    Treputé Martela (The Stomping Bride)
    Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, directed by Paul Hillier
    HMU 907391, track 1
    Gabriel Faure
    Pavane
    City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier
    Chandos CHAN 10113, track 3
    Igor Stravinsky
    Les Noces
    Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Susan Parry (alto), Vsevolod Grivnov (tenor), Maxim Mikhailov (bass), MusikFabrik, RIAS Chamber Choir, directed by Daniel Reuss
    Harmonia Mundi, HMC801913, tracks 1-4
    Ariel Ramirez
    Misa Criolla (Gloria & Sanctus)
    Manuel Melendez (tenor), José Sacin (tenor), Pablo Talamante (Tenor), Choral Arts Society of Washington, conducted by Joseph Holt
    Naxos 8557542, track 13 & 15
    Gyorgy Ligeti
    Nonsense Madrigals (V. Lobster Quadrille)
    The Kings Singers
    Sony Classical SK62311, track 5
    Thierry Escaich
    Motet No.3
    Ensemble Vocal Sequenza 9.3, Thierry Escaich (organ), directed by Catherine Simonpietri
    Accord 4769074, track 3
    Einojuhani Rautavaara
    Sommarnatten
    Accentus, directed by Eric Ericson
    Naïve: 5037, CD1, Track 6
    Gustav Holst
    The Golden Goose – A Choral Ballet
    Guildford Choral Society and The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton
    Hyperion CDA66784, tracks 1-12
    Joseph & Johan Strauss
    Pizzicato Polka
    Vienna Boys Choir (recorded in 1910)
    Flapper PASTCD 7082, track 14
    Aled Jones explores the idea of dance in choral music. With music by Stravinsky and Holst.
     The Kodaly Method20090712 Aled Jones presents a celebration of the life and work of Kodaly.
    Composer, philosopher, teacher and Hungarian national icon, Zoltan Kodaly was one of the most important figures in the history of 20th-century choral music.
    Including a special feature on the composer's groundbreaking Kodaly Method of music education.
    Aled Jones celebrates the life and work of Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly 
     Missa Cellensis20090920 Aled Jones introduces a complete performance of Joseph Haydn's giant Missa Cellensis (St Cecilia Mass) and also presents a report from the composer's professional home of Eisenstadt, where his complete masses are being performed during his anniversary year. Plus a round-up of recent choral news and releases.
    arr Aaron Dale: Didn’t my Lord Deliver Daniel?
    The Westminster Chorus USA
    Recording courtesy of Llangollen International Eisteddfod
    Britten: Noye’s Fludde
    Finchley Children’s Music Group, Nicholas Wilks (conductor)
    SOMM SOMMCD212 t7
    Verdi: Requiem – Sanctus
     Sing Hallelujah/choir Of The Year 2010/exile And Loss20090927 Aled Jones is joined by Garth McArthur and Rebecca Lodge from the BBC Singers look forward to two major events in the choral world - Sing Hallelujah and Choir of the Year 2010. Aled also explores the musical themes of exile and loss.
    Playlist:
    Giuseppe Verdi
    Nabucco
    Part 3; Va, pensiero, sull'ali (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves)
    Berlin State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli
    DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 413321 2 1/9
    USA Traditional: Walk together children arranged by Eurydice Osterman
    London Adventist Chorale conducted by Ken Burton
    UNKNOWN PDSM track, 8
    George Frideric Handel
    Messiah
    Pt.2, no.42; Hallelujah [chorus]
    City Of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, National Youth Choir of Wales, Royal School of Church Music Millennium Youth Choir, Scunthorpe Co-Op Junior Choir, and Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Nicholas McGegan
    Recording from the BBC Proms 6 September 2009
    Israel in Egypt
    Pt.2; The People shall hear [chorus]
    Bach Choir & the The English Concert, conducted by David Hill
    BIS SADC 1736, track 1
    Arvo Part
    The Beatitudes
    King's College Cambridge Choir conducted by Stephen Cleobury with treble Guy Johnston
    VIRGIN CLASSICS 545338 2, track 3
    Franz Schubert
    Der Entfernten (D.350)
    Schubert Chorale of London conducted by Stephen Layton
    HYPERION CDJ 33032, track 20
    Gordon, Lang, Wolfe
    I Lost a Sock
    Rias Chamber Choir and Bang on a Can All-Stars conducted by Roger Epple with soprano Claudia Barainsky
    Music: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe Words: Deborah Artman
    8573841072, track 1
    Package of clips of choirs from the final of the 2008 Choir of the Year competition, featuring the following choirs:
    Grosvenor Chorale
    The Cottontown Chorus
    The Voice Squad Seniors
    Dieci
    Taplow Youth Chorus
    Masquerade
    ANONYMOUS
    Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus [Piae Cantiones, 1582, & Jistebnice Cantional, 1420]
    Scunthorpe Co-Op Junior Choir conducted by Susan Hollingworth
    BBC Recording from the Choir of the Year 2008 competition
    TRAD: Siul, A Ruin
    Anuna
    UCJ 0647722, track 14
    segue to
    TRAD: During the Evening Air (Under lige aftenlufte) arr. Carl Nielsen
    Musica Ficta conducted by Bo Holten
    NAXOS 855496 5, track 12
    Frederick Delius
    Sea drift
    Waynflete Singers, Southern Voices, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Richard Hickox with baritone Bryn Terfel
    CHANDOS 921 4, track 1
    Harold Arlen
    Get Happy
    King's Singers with George Shearing on piano
    EMI CDC 7541902, track 14
    Aled Jones previews Sing Hallelujah and Choir of the Year 2010.
     Matthew Whittall/haydn Grosse Orgelmesse20091004 Finland is famed for its distinctive choral sound, yet one of its brightest composing stars is a Canadian who moved there only in 2001. Aled Jones talks to Matthew Whittall about this unique choral culture swap.
    Plus more from Eisenstadt, Joseph Haydn's professional home, and the second in a series of complete mass performances, his Missa in Honorem BVM (Grosse Orgelsolomesse).
    Tracklist:
    Jarmo Parviainen
    Ilta (Evening)
     Iberian And Latin American Choral Music20091011 Aled Jones talks to conductor Carlos Fernandez Aransay about Iberian and Latin American choral music from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Together with the choir he founded, Coro Cervantes, he has introduced many Baroque and contemporary Iberian and Latin American composers to British audiences, along with treasures from the Spanish Golden Age.
    Also, ahead of the Sing Hallelujah events, conductor David Hill gives some tips on learning the Hallelujah Chorus.
    Playlist:
    Juan Garcia de Zépedes
    Guaracha: Ay Que Me Abraso
     Haydn Mariazeller Messe/groove For Thought Artist Profile20091018 Aled Jones links up with Seattle to meet members of the close-harmony group Groove for Thought, bringing together the worlds of R&B, gospel and jazz. Plus another in the series of complete masses by Joseph Haydn, his Mariazeller Messe, introduced from the church in the Austrian town of Eisenstadt with which it is closely associated.
    Playlist:
    Kevin Kunz
    Gotta Lotta Lemons
     The Bach Choir Profile20091025 Aled Jones talks to members of The Bach Choir, an ensemble founded in Victorian London and subsequently imitated by many others around the world. Aled chats to current members Ellie Bacon and Shane Connolly about life in today's choir, and explores the past with former member Dr Basil Keen, author of a recent book about the choir's first 100 years.
    Aled Jones talks to members of the long-established London-based ensemble The Bach Choir.
     Great Handel Choirs/haydn's Heiligmesse20091101 Ahead of English National Opera's Sing Hallelujah celebrations Aled Jones talks to choral director Simon Lole, who picks great Handel choirs on disc, from the very first complete recording of Messiah to a stunning performance of Saul. Plus the last in the series of postcards from Eisenstadt introducing Haydn's Heiligmesse performed by the Monteverdi Choir.
    Tracklist:
    Blas Galindo
    Dos Corazones
     Ladysmith Black Mambazo20091108 Aled Jones presents music from a concert given at the Hall for Cornwall, Truro, by multi-Grammy Award-winning a cappella vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, on one of their longest-ever UK tours. They have been hailed by former South African president Nelson Mandela as the country's 'cultural ambassadors'.
    Tracklist:
    J.S Bach
    Mass in B Minor
     Let The Peoples Sing20091115 Aled Jones presents coverage of the final of the biennial Let The Peoples Sing amateur choir contest, which in 2009 is held in Oslo.
    Including performances from the nine finalists: choirs spanning thousands of miles - from Latvia to Canada, Germany to Finland - competing in three categories: adult, youth and children. This is the one of the highest accolades for any non-professional choir in the world, and the music in the final encompasses everything from traditional favourites to folk music and choral showpieces.
    Aled is joined in the studio by Michael Emery, BBC Singers producer and a member of the jury panel. They showcase some of the highlights of the contest, discuss what went right and wrong for the competing choirs, before revealing the winner.
    Playlist
    Recorded at the Let the People Sing competition in Oslo on 19 October 2009:
    Gyorgy Ligeti
    Reggel
    Vienna Chamber Choir, conducted by Michael Grohotolsky
    Gustav Mahler
    Die zwei blauen Augen
    Robert Sund
    I wandered lonely as a cloud
    Camerata Musica Limburg, conducted by Jan Schumacher
    Jurijus Kalcas
    Exultate Deo
    Knut Nystedt
    O Crux
    Sõla, conducted by Kaspars Adamsons
    Traditional Latvian folk song
    Kalējs kala debesīs (Blacksmith hammered in the sky)
    Mia Makaroff
    Kylyn kyselijä (The sauna seeker)
    Philomela, conducted by Marjukka Riihimäki
    Morten Lauridsen
    Ov’é lass’, il bel viso?
    Nova, conducted by Anne Karin Sundal-Ask
    Odd Johan Overøye
    Laudes
    Giles Swayne
    Magnificat I
    Matthew King
    On London Fields (excerpt)
    private recording
    Javier Busto
    Zai ixtoiten
    Hamilton Children’s Choir, conducted by Zimfira Poloz
    Veljo Tormis
    Bridge of song, Wind over the wilderness, Heather
     Gaelic Choral Music, Handel's Messiah20091129 Aled Jones talks to Handel expert Laurence Cummings about English National Opera's new staged production of Messiah. Plus a report from Andrew Robertson on the choral events at the 2009 Royal National Mod, Scotland's biggest Gaelic festival, and an update on Sing Hallelujah.
    Playlist:
    Crippled Lad in the Glen / Mary Anne is an Elegant Lass
    Glasgow Gaelic Musical Association, conducted by Kenneth Thomson
    Skye 48, track 12
    Imants Ramiņš arr. Latvian folk song
    Blow, Wind!
    Aled Jones discusses Handel's Messiah at ENO and Gaelic choral music.
     Sing Hallelujah20091206 Aled Jones introduces a special programme celebrating the Sing Hallelujah project. This nationwide initiative encourages people to find their voice and discover the joy of singing through Handel's great Hallelujah Chorus. Featuring highlights from two major singing events held in Glasgow and London, including a chance to hear some unique versions of the Hallelujah Chorus, recorded by massed choirs of largely amateur singers. Aled shares in the fun with participants in Manchester and makes a sweep across the UK to see some of the hundreds of groups who've registered their performances online. The BBC Singers provide music and presenter Sara Mohr-pietsch joins Aled with news from the London event.
     Mormon Tabernacle Choir20091213 The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been broadcasting live to Americans every week since 1929, making its show the longest running network radio programme in the country. Aled Jones talks to current members of 'America's Choir' and introduces recordings from its historic archive. Plus a choral Christmas garland from the composer Anthony Bolton, who has combined investment management with a lifelong love of choirs and their music.
    Aled Jones talks to members of the long-established Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
      20091227 Aled Jones presents the Voice Project, performing Gwilym Simcock's I Prefer the Gorgeous Freedom at this year's London Jazz Festival, alongside the composer. He also introduces a recording of three works commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for Chantage, winners of BBC Choir of the Year 2006.
     English Madrigals20100103 Emma Kirkby joins Aled Jones among a crowd of cavorting nymphs, shepherds and love-sick youths as they sample the overheated world of English madrigals.
    Emma Kirkby joins Aled Jones to discuss English madrigals.
     Russian Choral Repertoire20100110 Aled Jones is joined by choral conductor David Trendell for a discussion about the sound of British choirs and the challenges of singing Russian repertoire. Plus news of a forthcoming a cappella festival and a performance of Rachmaninov's The Bells.
    Aled Jones and David Trendell discuss singing Russian repertoire.
     The Prince Consort20100117 This week the Choir takes a look at choral repertoire composed for solo voices. Aled Jones is joined by vocal ensemble The Prince Consort to discuss the issues surrounding leading soloists coming together to perform varying repertoire from Brahms and Rorem.
    Aled Jones is joined by ensemble The Prince Consort to discuss solo vocal repertoire.
      20100207 Aled Jones brightens up the dark winter's evening with a selection of choral music inspired by the idea of light, and he talks to composer James Whitbourn about his recent large-scale work for choir and dancers, Luminosity.
    Aled Jones presents a selection of choral music inspired by the idea of light.
      20100214 As Lindsay Gray approaches his first anniversary as director of the Royal School of Church Music, he talks to Aled Jones about leadership, tradition and modernisation.
    Aled Jones discusses the Royal School of Church Music and talks to director Lindsay Gray.
      20100221 WH Auden's rich contribution to classical music is justly famous. Yet - Britten's "Hymn to St Cecilia" aside - the rich array of choral music inspired by his work is relatively little-known. Tonight, Aled Jones introduces settings of Auden, including Britten's famous tribute to music's patron saint, and recent American works by Carson Cooman and Richard Wilson. Plus, we'll hear a brilliant, irreverent lumberjack song - written some thirty years before Python.
    Later this week, BBC Radio 3's Choral Evensong marks the 100th birthday of the great British choirmaster Stanley Vann. In advance of this special service, Aled introduces part of one of Vann's most famous recordings, Stainer's "The Crucifixion", and an exclusive extract from a new disc of Vann's own compositions.
    Finally, Aled reveals the results of the BBC's "Choral Ambition" scheme - an initiative helping amateur choirs nationwide to fund new projects and commission new works.
    Aled Jones presents choral settings of WH Auden and a tribute to choirmaster Stanley Vann.
     Ronald Corp/josette Simon20100228 Aled Jones explores music for children's choirs and talks to actress Josette Simon.
     Multi-part Music20100307 Aled Jones explores our recurring fascination with multi-part choral music, guided by composer, Gabriel Jackson, whose own 40-part Sanctum est verum lumen is one of the latest additions to the tradition.
    Aled Jones and composer Gabriel Jackson on our fascination with multi-part choral music.
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     John Armitage Memorial Trust/choral Competition/sport Relief20100314  Aled Jones marks ten years of the John Armitage Memorial Trust and explores its growing legacy of new music for the exciting combination of voices, brass and organ, plus Britain's newest choral competition, and singing for Sport Relief.
    Aled Jones marks ten years of the John Armitage Memorial Trust.