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Soul Music

First broadcast from 20001126 to 20100316.

Series about emotionally intense music.

51 episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Description
01	01	Elgar's Cello Concerto	20001126	20011014	Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber talks about what it is like to play Elgar's concerto, Tim Dinsley discusses the way in which he and his daughter used the piece to support them as she was dying, and Michael Kennedy discusses the impact of the piece.
01	02	Abide With Me	20001203	20011021	This programme explores why Henry F Lyte's words and William H Monk's tunes have so much significance for the people of Malawi, a railway chaplain, a miner's daughter and a vicar in India.
01	03	Bridge Over Troubled Water	20001210	20011028	While this anthem of love and support was an instant hit both here and in the US, the Simon and Garfunkel partnership was becoming less than harmonious.
01	04	The Last Post	20001217	20011104	The final bugle call before lights out in barracks has become inextricably linked with death and the act of remembrance. Among others, a former Japanese prisoner speaks of his memories of the piece.
01	05	Stille Nacht	20001224	20011111	Rev Ian Bradley and Professor Richard Watson tell of the carol's history, Pamela Thomas describes hearing it during an execution in Texas, and Edith Stephens tells how, when growing up in Vienna, her nanny sang `Stille Nacht' with her on Christmas Eve and an angel appeared.
01	06	Ode To Joy	20001231	20011118	John Suchet describes the writing and performing of Beethoven's last symphony, choral conductor Simon Halsey talks about the difficulties the piece poses for choirs, and Susan Greenfield describes how it transformed a rainy afternoon the first time she heard it.
01	07	Summertime	20010107	20011125	George Gershwin's classic piece is explored by his biographer Rodney Greenburg and opera singers Harolyn Blackwell and Lesley Garrett.
01	08 LAST	You'll Never Walk Alone	20010114	20011202	Composer Carl Davis explains the power of Rodgers and Hammerstein's showstopper, and Gerry Marsden recalls how his recording turned it into a football anthem.
02	01	In The Mood	20010814	20011209	Paul Tanner, the last surviving member of Glenn Miller's original band, explains how Glenn took a riff recorded by Wingy Manone in 1930 as `Tar Paper Stomp' and worked his magic on it.
02	02	The Lark Ascending	20010821	20011216	Violinists Tasmin Little and Iona Brown talk about what it is like to play Vaughan Williams's famous evocation of a lark rising in an English summer sky.
02	03	Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye	20010828	20011223	Anna Blundy talks about the significance of Cole Porter's song in her life and writing, and Robert Offord describes the effect of singing it at a memorial concert for AIDS victims.
02	04	Zadok	20010904	20011118	Handel's anthem, written for the coronation of George II, has become a favourite with choral societies and church choirs around the world. With Robert King, Guy Wolfenden and Simon Halsey
02	05	Over The Rainbow	20010911	20011125	How Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen struggled to come up with the opening number in `The Wizard of Oz'.
02	06 LAST	Amazing Grace	20010918	20011209	A near-death experience at sea resulted in John Newton's conversion and, some years later, the writing of `Amazing Grace'.
03	01	Fever	20021105	20030723	When bass player Max Bennett heard an unknown sing 'Fever' in a small LA nightclub, he knew he had found a new song for the singer he worked for, Peggy Lee. Peggy's finger-snapping, bass and drums arrangement went on to immortalize the song.
03	02	Barber's Adagio	20021112	20030730, Radio Four 20030926	Samuel Barber wrote his Adagio for Strings at the age of 26, little realising that the piece would become America's `national funeral music'. Leonard Slatkin, Dana Captanino, and James and Sally Sewell describe the effect that this particular piece of music has had on their lives.
03	03	Moon River	20021119	20030725	Written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for the film Breakfast at Tiffany's, Moon River was originally going to be called something quite different.
03	04	Kol Nidrei	20021126	20030801	Cellists Steven Isserlis and Liam Abramson discuss Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, based on a prayer sung at Yom Kippur. Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact. Cellists Steven Isserlis and Liam Abramson discuss Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, based on a prayer sung at Yom Kippur.
03	04	Kol Nidrei	20030924	20030801	Cellists Steven Isserlis and Liam Abramson discuss Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, based on a prayer sung at Yom Kippur. Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact. Cellists Steven Isserlis and Liam Abramson discuss Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, based on a prayer sung at Yom Kippur.
03	05	Somewhere	20021203	20030808, Radio Four 20030925	Leonard Bernstein's Somewhere, from West Side Story, is a song which holds a special significance for many. This Utopian song, that yearns for a better world where there is no prejudice was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim for the 1957 musical West Side Story.
03	06 LAST	Pathetique	20021210	20030724	This piece delighted the composer, yet he died nine days after its premiere. Biographer Anthony Holden reveals the circumstances of his death while conductor Vassily Sinaisky explains the relevance and importance of the piece to the Russian people.
04	01	Mad About The Boy	20040629	20050228	Noel Coward wrote Mad About the Boy in 1932 for the review, Words and Music, to celebrate the powerful appeal of the silent movie star. Most recently it's been taken up as a gay anthem. Sheridan Morley, Sir John Mills, Maria Aitken and Kit Hesketh-Harvey explain why this has become the most recorded number of all Coward's work.
04	02	Swing Low Sweet Chariot	20040706	20050307	was one of the spirituals or secret songs of the slaves in the deep south of America, now sung by choirs, rugby fans and pop stars across the globe. What is the song's universal appeal, and why does its popularity just continue to grow?
04	03	Stand By Me	20040713	20050314	Written by Ben E King in his bedroom on a cheap guitar, Stand By Me went on to establish King as a solo artist, was recorded by Marc Bolan and John Lennon, and even become a title of a film. Includes interviews with Ben E King and screenwriters Raynold Gideon and Bruce Evans.
04	04	Concerto In D Minor	20040720	20050321	So little is known about the life of J S Bach yet his music opens up a world of imagination. The Concerto in D minor is often described as being like a conversation between lovers. David Gregory of the CBSO, rock guitarist Steve Hackett, and Terry Waite CBE are among those moved by the music of the two violins as they imitate, interrupt and overlap each other in one of Bach's most sublime creations.
04	05 LAST	Like A Rolling Stone	20040727	20050328	Bob Dylan's signature tune which became the anthem of a generation and scattered all preconceptions of what a pop 45rpm single could achieve. Robbie Robertson, Al Kooper, Greil Marcus and Paula Radice muse on a song that threw down a challenge and changed lives.
05	01	Debussy's Clair De Lune	20060228	20060304	Supposedly inspired by Paul Verlaine's poem of the same name, Clair de Lune, for many people, conjures up the yearning romance of moonlight. With contributions from comedian Phil Cool; Erica Duggan; harpist Sioned Williams; Debussy expert Richard Langham-Smith; astronomer Heather Couper and composer Elodie Lauten.
05	02	I Vow To Thee My Country	20060307	20060311	A hymn that has recently attracted controversy for its patriotism, I Vow To Thee My Country was born just after the First World War. Vaughn Williams had the inspirational idea to put together the stirring music from Holst's Jupiter movement and the poem written by American ambassador Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, which was found on his desk when he left office.
05	03	Old Man River	20060314	20060318	flowed out of the 1927 musical Show Boat, and remains with us as both a political anthem of oppressed people and a song of deep comfort. Sung by a hospital porter, it was the last song that market trader Dave Everett heard before he went into surgery and it calmed his fears. Tony Benn recalls hearing the great Paul Robeson singing it at the House of Lords Tea Room. The programme includes interviews with Tony Benn, Paul Robeson Jr and Cleo Laine
05	04 LAST	Widor's Toccata	20060321	20060325	Ever since Widor's Toccata was included in the marriage service of Princess Margaret in 1960, this display of fireworks at the organ has become a firm favourite for married couples to exit the church by at the end of their wedding ceremonies. Famous organist Thomas Trotter dissects the intricacies and dispels the myths about playing Widor's Toccata, and organist Daniel Roth explains what it's like to be Widor's direct successor as the present day organist at the St Sulpice in Paris.
06	01	New York, New York	20080108	20080112, Radio Four 20080209	Songwriting duo Kander and Ebb wrote the title song for the film. Unfortunately, the star Robert de Niro didn't like it, so they furiously wrote another one. John Kander presents the story behind a classic song.
06	02	Finlandia	20080115	20080119	Sibelius's glorious orchestral work was adopted by the Finnish people as a symbol of its fight for independence from Russia, and over 100 years later it is still regarded as Finland's second national anthem. Its popularity is international, both in orchestral form and also in shorter form as the Finlandia Hymn. Contributors include Sibelius's great-grandson Jaakko Ilves and conductor John Storgards.
06	03	Tainted Love	20080122	20080126	Originally a Motown song written by Ed Cobb and recorded by Gloria Jones, Tainted Love became famous on the Northern Soul scene in the late 1970s. A classic version was later recorded by Soft Cell.
06	04 LAST	Spem In Alium	20080129	20080202	Thomas Tallis's work is one of the most elaborate and spectacular pieces of choral music ever written. Scored for 40 voices, the piece is best sung and heard in the round in order to appreciate an extraordinary sonic experience. Choral conductor Simon Halsey, Michael Morpurgo and others discuss the music's spine-tingling effect on both performers and listeners.
07	01	Swan Lake	20080923	20080927	The story behind Tchaikovsky's ballet and the impact it has had on those who have heard and danced to it.
07	02	So What	20080930	20090103	Tellling the stories of people whose lives have been changed by Miles Davis' classic track Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Telling the stories of some of the people whose lives have been affected by So What, the opening track on Miles Davis' seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue.
07	03	Chopin's Ballade No 1 In G Minor	20081007	20081011	Pianist Peter Donohoe is one of many people whose lives have been shaped and changed by hearing and playing this technically demanding, emotionally turbulent piece of music.
07	04 LAST	What A Wonderful World	20081014	20081018	Louis Armstrong recorded this classic, written especially for him, in 1967, amidst civil rights demonstrations and protests against the Vietnam War. Was it naive or a powerful anthem for peace?
08	01	Allegri's Miserere	20090901	20090905	Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Allegri wrote the chord sequence for his Miserere in the 1630s for use in the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week. It then went through the hands of a 12-year-old Mozart, Mendelssohn and Liszt until it finally reached England in the early 20th century and got fixed into the version we know today. The soaring soprano line that hits the famous top C and never fails to thrill has become a firm favourite for concert audiences around the world. Textile designer Kaffe Fassett, writer Sarah Manguso and conductor Roy Goodman explain how they have all been deeply affected by this beautiful piece of music. A designer, a writer and a conductor on how they have been affected by Allegri's Miserere.
08	02	The Look Of Love	20090908	20090912	Hal David discusses writing The Look of Love, for the soundtrack of the spoof 1967 James Bond film Casino Royale, with Burt Bacharach. Dusty Springfield's former backing singer, Simon Bell, remembers being on stage at the Albert Hall when Dusty laughed her way through a performance of the song, and musician Jonathan Cohen describes how the samba rhythm underscoring Dusty's smooth vocals combine to make this an enduringly popular love song. It has been covered many times by artists including Isaac Hayes, Gladys Knight and the French singer Mirielle Mathieu. This programme hears from people whose personal memories of love and loss are forever linked with The Look of Love.
08	03	Vaughan Williams' Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis	20090915	20090919	When Vaughan Williams wrote his Tallis Fantasia in 1910, he changed the course of British music. Here at last was a piece of music which was no longer under the Teutonic influence, but which drew on old English hymn tunes and folk idioms for its themes. As the string music builds to a climax, interviewees tell how this music has brought solace and hope in times of tragedy and changed the course of their lives.
08	04	You've Got A Friend	20090922	20090926	Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Written by Carole King and made famous by James Taylor, You've Got a Friend won a Grammy Award in 1971. In this programme people tell how this song has affected their life. Written by Carole King and made famous by James Taylor, the song won a Grammy in 1971.
08	05 LAST	Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs	20090929	20091003	Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Richard Strauss was 84 when he completed his last work. It was the Four Last Songs, which, although about death, convey a sense of calm acceptance. It was written of its time in 1948, but it still touches the hearts of many listeners today. As the soprano voice delves ever deeper into the richness of the music, interviewees tell how the Four Last Songs have brought calm and beauty at key moments in their lives. People describe how Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs have brought solace at key moments.
09	01	Praise My Soul	20100223		Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Based on Psalm 103, this hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte, who also penned Abide With Me, and is most asssociated with the tune by John Goss - even though the two men never met. Their hymn has become one of the most popular for weddings, and was used at those of the Queen and Prince Philip and Charles and Camilla. Increasingly it is also used at funerals, and the widow of DC Stephen Oake, killed while on duty during an anti-terrorist raid, explains why it's so important to her and her family. It's also the perfect tune for teaching young choristers to sight read music, although these days they often misplace the comma in the line, 'Father like, he tends and spares us'. The story of Henry Francis Lyte's hymn that never fails to move a congregation.
09	02	Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
09	02	Mendelssohn Violin Concerto	20100302	20100306	class="blq-clearfix"> Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. When Mendelssohn wrote his Violin Concerto in 1844 he could hardly have imagined how famous and well loved it would become. In this programme, people tell how it has played an important part in their lives. Violinist Daniel Hope tells how he got caught practising this concerto secretly locked in the bathroom at school. Harry Atterbury remembers hearing the Mendelssohn for the first time on the night before a Second world War air raid which turned his life upside down. Composer Stephen Pratt describes discovering that his father had played this concerto to cheer fellow soldiers in the jungle in Burma, and explains how this inspired him to write his own violin concerto. People tell how Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto has played an important part in their lives.
09	03	Dido's Lament	20100309		Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Dido's Lament is a popular name for a famous aria, 'When I am laid in earth', from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, with the libretto by Nahum Tate. Mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly talks about why she finds the piece, sung by the likes of Janet Baker and Emma Kirkby, so extraordinary, and the skill it takes to perform it. Composer and cellist Philip Shepperd's musical life was transformed when he was part of the rock singer Jeff Buckley's performance of the piece at the 1995 Meltdown Festival. The power of Purcell's aria, 'When I am laid in earth' explained.
09	03	Dido's Lament
09	03	Dido's Lament	20100313		Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. Dido's Lament is a popular name for a famous aria, 'When I am laid in earth', from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, with the libretto by Nahum Tate. Mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly talks about why she finds the piece, sung by the likes of Janet Baker and Emma Kirkby, so extraordinary, and the skill it takes to perform it. Composer and cellist Philip Shepperd's musical life was transformed when he was part of the rock singer Jeff Buckley's performance of the piece at the 1995 Meltdown Festival. The power of Purcell's aria, 'When I am laid in earth' explained.
09	04	He's Got The Whole World In His Hands	20100316		Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands is a spiritual song originating in the United States, but it first caught the public's attention when Laurie London took it to the top of the charts in 1958. In this programme, people describe the place that the song has in their lives. Including the conductor of a choir for refugees and asylum seekers and the minister who led prayers on President Obama's first day in office. People describe the place that He's Got the Whole World in His Hands has in their lives.
			20041225		This much-loved hymn was first penned as a poem by Christina Rosetti. Vaughan Williams asked Gustav Holst to put it to music for his English Hymnal published in 1906. The other popular version was written by organist Harold Darke - then aged 21. The meaning of his dedication to 'MAC' has only recently come to light. Peggy Reynolds, Ian Bradley and Raymond Head discuss the history of the carol.