BBC Radio 3's Composer Of The Week is a guide to composers and their music. The podcast is compiled from the week's programmes and published on Friday, it is on...
Donald Macleod explores Henry Purcell’s LondonHenry Purcell was the most important English composer of the era, described as the "Orpheus Britannicus" for his ability to combine Baroque counterpoint with dramatic settings of English words. He composed music for the church, the royal court, the theatre and for England’s newly emerging concert scene, with an intelligence and creativity that marked him out as one of the most original composers in all of Europe. More than anything, though, he composed music for London – the city where he lived all of his short life. This week, Donald Macleod explores the city during Purcell’s lifetime and London’s effect on a man who lays claim to being England’s greatest composer. During Purcell’s childhood, it was a city reeling from civil war, the disastrous spread of disease, and the destruction wreaked by the Great Fire. We’ll explore London’s churches, and music Purcell wrote for them, especially Westminster Abbey, where Purcell was organist, the state of London’s theatre scene in Purcell’s day, and the changing demands for music from the various monarchs of the composer’s lifetime. Music featured: Fairest Isle from King Arthur
Hail Bright Cecilia (Symphony & Closing Chorus “Hail! Bright Cecilia”)
Welcome Song from Swifter, Isis, Swifter Flow, Z 336
What hope for us remains now he is gone?, Z 472
Suite from Abdelazer
An Evening Hymn ‘Now that the sun hath veiled his light', Z 193
Voluntary in D minor, Z 719
O God, thou art my God, Z 35
Beati Omnes qui timent Dominum, Z 131
My Beloved Spake
Te Deum & Jubilate
Cold Song ‘What Power art Thou’ (from King Arthur)
They that go down to the sea in ships
Sighs for our late sovereign Charles the Second, Z 380 ‘If pray’rs and tears’
My heart is inditing
Sefauchi's Farewell, Z 656
Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind, Z 331 (VI May Her Blessed Example Chase)
Come ye sons of art (excerpt)
Timon of Athens, . 632 (Curtain Tune on a Ground)
Dido and Aeneas, Act II (excerpt)
Theodosius, or the Force of Love (Overture; Prepare the Rites Begin)
King Arthur (excerpt)
The Fairy Queen (excerpt)
Indian Queen, Act 4 ‘They tell us that you mighty powers above’
When I am laid in earth from Dido and Aeneas
Trumpet Sonata in D Major, Z 850
Burial Service, Z 58c
‘From Rosy Bow’rs’ from Don Quixote
Oedipus: incidental music, Z 583 (No 2, Music for a While (Arr B. Britten)Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Sam Phillips for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Henry Purcell (1659-1695) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024x77And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
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1:08:58
Bud Powell (1924-1966)
Kate Molleson explores the life and work of the amazing Bud PowellThis week Kate Molleson explores the life and work of a jazz giant in his centenary year: the amazing Bud Powell, in the company of Powell’s biographer Peter Pullman. Focusing on Bud Powell as a performer, prioritising his own compositions but also appreciating the art of improvisation as spontaneous composition.Bud Powell was born in 1924 and grew up in Harlem, against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance. He was a gifted pianist from a young age and became a pioneer of bebop. But he was a troubled soul and the great paradox of Bud Powell is how there could be such joy and expression in his music while his life was so painful.Music Featured: Bouncing with Bud (from The Amazing Bud Powell)
Oblivion (from The Genius of Bud Powell)
Strictly Confidential (from Jazz Giant)
Floogie Boo (from Cootie Williams and his Orchestra 1941-1944)
Do Some War Work, Baby (from Cootie Williams and his Orchestra 1941-1944)
Off Minor (from Bud Powell Trio)
Dexter Rides Again (from Dexter Rides Again)
Mad Bebop (from JJ Johnson’s Jazz Quintet)
Buzzy (from Charlie Parker, the Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes)
Bud’s Bubble (from Bud Powell Trio)
I Should Care (from Bud Powell Trio)
Tempus Fugit (from Jazz Giant)
Celia (from Jazz Giant)
Un Poco Loco (from the Amazing Bud Powell)
Over the Rainbow (from the Amazing Bud Powell)
A Night in Tunisia (from the Amazing Bud Powell)
Dance of the Infidels (from the Amazing Bud Powell)
So Sorry Please (from Jazz Giant)
Glass Enclosure (from the Amazing Bud Powell, vol 2)
Lullaby of Birdland (from Inner Fires)
Sure Thing (from Inner Fires)
Parisian Thoroughfare (from the Genius of Bud Powell)
Polka Dots and Moonbeams (from the Amazing Bud Powell, vol 2)
Hallelujah (from Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings)
Hot House (from Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings)
Willow Grove (from Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell)
Nice Work If You Can Get It (from Bud Powell Trio)
Elegy (from Blues in the Closet)
Blues for Bessie (from Strictly Powell)
Ornithology (from the Amazing Bud Powell)
Bud on Bach (from the Amazing Bud Powell, vol 3)
Buster Rides Again (from the Amazing Bud Powell, vol 4)
John’s Abbey (from the Amazing Bud Powell, vol 4)
Cleopatra’s Dream (from The Scene Changes)
Getting There (from The Scene Changes)
Buttercup (from Bud Powell’s Moods)
Round Midnight (from Bud Powell: Live at the Blue Note Café Paris 1961)
How High the Moon / Ornithology (from Live in Lausanne 1962)
Broadway (from Our Man in Paris)
I’ll Remember April (from Mingus at Antibes)
I Can’t Get Started (from Bud Powell in Paris)
Blues for Bouffemont (from Blues for Bouffemont)
All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm (from Jazz Giant)
Hallucinations (from The Return of Bud Powell)
If I Loved You (from The Return of Bud Powell)
Thelonius (from A Portrait of Thelonius)
Like Someone in Love (from Ups and Downs)
Bouncing with Bud (Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette, from After the Fall)
Dusk in Sandi (Chick Corea, from Remembering Bud Powell)
Wail (from the Amazing Bud Powell)Presented by Kate Molleson
Produced by Martin Williams for BBC Audio Wales & West For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Bud Powell (1924-1966) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024m2z And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
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1:30:14
Ballroom Blockbusters
Donald Macleod takes a whirl around the world through the music of ballroom dancing. With the help of Hilary French, author of Ballroom: A People’s History of Dancing, Donald waltzes across Viennese ballrooms, foxtrots through New York clubs, tries the tango in the arrabales of Buenos Aires, sambas on the streets of Salvador and finally cha-cha-cha’s his way to Havana.Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Ballroom Blockbusters https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024dndAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
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1:05:23
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Donald Macleod uncovers key aspects of Liszt’s soul and identity Franz Liszt was the original musical heartthrob - the most photographed man of the 19th century, who left a legacy of more than 700 compositions and in the course of his career made well over 1000 concert appearances. With his electrifying talent at the keyboard, he transformed the status of musician from servant to demigod. But he was also a man of complex character, who wore many masks and repeatedly reinvented himself. This week, Donald Macleod uncovers key slices of Liszt’s soul and identity.Music Featured: Prelude (No 1 from 12 Transcendental studies)
Grand galop chromatique
“Un sospiro” (from 3 Etudes de concert, S144 No 3)
“La Campanella” (from Grandes Etudes de Paganini, S141 No 3)
Mephisto Waltz No 1
Piano Concerto No 1 in E flat major, S124
Gnomenreigen
En rêve
Romance oubliée, S132
Premiere année de pèlerinage, S160: Suisse (excerpt)
Die Lorelei
Les Preludes
Liebestraum No 3 in A flat major
Salve Regina
Dante Symphony S109 (iii. Magnificat)
Les morts: Oraison
Legendes, S175: St Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds
10 Harmonies poetiques et religieuses: Benediction de dieu dans la solitude (excerpt)
Christus, Part 3: Resurrexit
Mephisto Waltz No 4
Der Doppelgänger (after Schubert’s Schwanengesang)
Grandes études de Paganini, No 5 “La Chasse”, S141
La lugubre gondola II
Funeral Odes, No 3 “Le triomphe funebre du Tasse”
Consolation No 1 in E major, S172
Kennst du das Land
Rakoczy March (from Hungarian Rhapsody No 15)
Enfant, si j’etais roi
Im Rhein, im schoenen Strome
Isten Veled!
Troisieme année de pèlerinage: Les jeux d’eau sur la villa d’Este
Wiegenlied
Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 (orch. Doppler)Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Franz Liszt (1811-1886) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002454z And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
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1:14:59
Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Donald Macleod explores the life and music of African American composer Margaret BondsThis week, Donald Macleod is joined by musicologist and pianist Dr Samantha Ege to delve into the life and music of African American pioneer composer, Margaret Bonds (1913-1972).
Bonds was one of the most important composers and pianists of her time. She wrote several dozens of art songs, arranged many traditional spirituals, and composed large-scale cantatas. From her native Chicago where she was the first black performer to play with the Symphony Orchestra to the buzzing stages of New York where she set poetic gems to music, and at a time of racial discrimination and fight for civil rights, her story is one of determination, friendship, and absolute dedication to music-making. As such the programme does include some language of the period.Music Featured:Joy
Trad, arr Bonds: Little David Play on Your Harp
The Pasture
Spiritual Suite; No 1, The Valley of the Bones
To a Brown Dead Girl
Trad, arr Bonds: Lord, I Just Can’t Keep from Cryin’
Florence Price: Fantasie Nègre No 1 in E minor
Flamenco
Tangamerican
Simon Bore the Cross
Trad, arr Bonds: Didn’t It Rain
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Three Dream Portraits
Trad, arr Bonds: Ezek’el Saw the Wheel
Four Songs
Trad, arr Bonds: Peter, Go Ring dem Bells
Spiritual Suite; No 2, The Bells
The Ballad of the Brown King
Trad, arr Bonds: Joshua Fit da Battle of Jericho (arr for voice and chamber ensemble by P. Spray)
Trad, arr Bonds: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free
Trad, arr Bonds: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
Trad: Wade in the Water
Spiritual Suite; No 3, Troubled Water
Montgomery Variations
Fugal Dance
When the Dove Enters In
Songs of the Seasons
Credo
Trad, arr Bonds: Hold On (arr for voice and chamber ensemble by P. Spray)
Simon Bore the Cross (mvt VIII)Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa for BBC Audio Wales & WestFor full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Franz Liszt (1811-1886) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023y4nAnd you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z
BBC Radio 3's Composer Of The Week is a guide to composers and their music. The podcast is compiled from the week's programmes and published on Friday, it is only available in the UK.
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