13 今週のお気に入り 18
ウィークエンドサンシャイン
ブロードキャスター、ピーター・バラカンのナビゲートで送るウィークエンド・ミュージックマガジン。独特の嗅覚とこだわりの哲学でセレクトしたグッド・サウンドと、ワールドワイドな音楽情報を伝える。
http://www4.nhk.or.jp/sunshine/
放送日: 2013年 5月 4日(土)
放送時間: 午前7:20〜午前9:00(100分)
ピーター・バラカン
「超有名アーティストの超有名アルバムの中の隠れ名曲特集」第2週
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
01. 「 Save The Children 」( Marvin Gaye )
Album:What's Going On
02. 「 God Is Love 」( Marvin Gaye )
Album:What's Going On
03. 「 Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing 」( Stevie Wonder )
Album:Songs In The Key Of Life
04. 「 Jungleland 」( Bruce Springsteen )
Album:Born To Run
05. 「 Vienna 」( Billy Joel )
Album:The Stranger
06. 「 Here Today 」( Beach Boys )
Album:Pet Sounds
07. 「 Sleep's Dark And Silent Gate 」( Jackson Browne )
Album:The Pretender
08. 「 Words (Between The Lines Of Age) 」( Neil Young )
Album:Harvest
09. 「 The Only Living Boy In New York 」( Simon & Garfunkel )
Album:Bridge Over Troubled Water
10. 「 Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad 」( Derek & The Dominos )
Album:Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs
11. 「 Fool Yourself 」( Little Feat )
Album:Dixie Chicken
12. 「 Lonesome Suzie 」( The Band )
Album:Music From Big Pink
13. 「 Brand New Day 」( Van Morrison )
Album:Moondance
14. 「 Running To Stand Still 」( U2 )
Album:The Joshua Tree
15. 「 I Got The News 」( Steely Dan )
Album:Aja
16. 「 Walk Between Raindrops 」( Donald Fagen )
Album:The Nightfly
17. 「 Freddie Freeloader 」( Miles Davis )
Album:Kind Of Blue
世界の快適音楽セレクション
"快適音楽"を求めるギターデュオのゴンチチによる、ノンジャンル・ミュージック番組。
http://www4.nhk.or.jp/kaiteki/
放送日: 2013年 5月 4日(土)
放送時間: 午前9:00〜午前11:00(120分)
ゴンチチ
渡辺亨
− みどりの音楽 −
「グリーン・メイルボックス」 (ゴンチチ)
(3分37秒)
<EPIC/SONY ESCB1050>
「サンデイ・イン・ニューヨーク」 (メル・トーメ)
(2分32秒)
<ATLANTIC P6131>
「(株)サンダル観光社」 (グリーン・パレード)
(5分05秒)
<みどりくまSHOP GRPD−1110>
「ザ・グラス・イズ・グリーナー」 (ブレンダ・リー)
(2分41秒)
<ace CDCHD1097>
「キャンプタウン・カーニヴァル」 (オリー・オークレイ)
(3分00秒)
<Saydisc Rec. CD−SDL433>
「スノウ・イン・サン」 (スクリッティ・ポリッティ)
(3分00秒)
<ROUGH TRADE RTRADCD270>
「テーハ・ダス・パルメイラス」 (タイグアラ)
(4分21秒)
<東芝EMI TOCP66070>
「サウダージ・ド・ブラジル」
(パウロ・ジョビン、マリオ・アヂネー、サンパウロ交響楽団)
(8分21秒)
<ADVENTURE MUSIC AM10162>
「ビーイン・グリーン」 (カーミット・ザ・フロッグ)
(1分56秒)
<RHINO R2 78119>
「フォー・クリストス」
(ライアン・フランチェスコーニ&ミラバイ・パート)
(7分30秒)
<BELA UNION BELLACD367>
「オールウェイズ・オン・ザ・ラン」 (ロマン・アンドレン)
(5分19秒)
<P−VINE PCD−93317>
「グリーン・アフリカ」 (ムラトゥ・アスタトゥケ)
(5分10秒)
<STRUT STRUT056CD>
「ラスト・スプリング」
(ブッゲ・ヴェッセルトフト、ヘニング・クラッゲルード)
(5分48秒)
<ACT MUSIC ACT9526−2>
「ジャングル・フラワー」 (ゴンチチ)
(3分19秒)
<ポニーキャニオン PCCA−01792>
「フォーン」 (シュギー・オーティス)
(6分00秒)
<SONY MUSIC JAPAN EICP−30005,30006>
「ミュージコ」 (ルーカス・サンターナ)
(3分28秒)
<MAIS UM MAIS014>
「ナイチンゲールズ」 (ミルダー・PS)
(5分09秒)
<APART REC. APCD011>
ザ・ソウルミュージック
毎月第1週の『ザ・ソウルミュージック』は、番組厳選のその月生まれのアーティスト3人の中から、リスナーの皆さんの投票で一番人気を獲得したアーティストを取り上げ、その足跡をリクエスト曲とともに振り返る生誕祝賀祭“Star Of The Month”をお送りします。
今回番組が選んだ5月生まれのアーティストは、ロナルド・アイズリー(1941年5月21日生)、グラディス・ナイト(1944年5月28日生)、ロン・バンクス(1951年5月10日生)の3人。
さて、5月生まれのソウルスターNo.1は誰か?どうぞお楽しみに!
http://www.nhk.or.jp/soul/index.html
放送日: 2013年 5月 2日(木)
放送時間: 午後11:00〜午前0:00(60分)
【DJ】オダイジュンコ
− Star Of The Month −
Star of MAY:Gladys Knight
01. If You Really Wanna / Bluey
02. Midnight Train To Georgia(夜汽車よ!ジョージアへ)/ Gladys Knight & The Pips
03. I Heard It Through The Grapevine(悲しいうわさ)/ Gladys Knight & The Pips
04. Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)(さよならは悲しい言葉)/ Gladys Knight & The Pips
05. Feel Like Makin' Love(愛のためいき)/ Gladys Knight & The Pips
06. That's What Friends Are For(愛のハーモニー)/ Dionne Warwick with Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder
07. I Said You Lied / Gladys Knight
08. Between Her Goodbye And My Hello / Gladys Knight & The Pips
The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe explores the wide range of traditional and contemporary folk and acoustic music from around the UK and the world, with regular interviews and live sessions from folk's finest performers
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phglj
May Day Special
Wed 1 May 2013
19:00
BBC Radio 2
A varied selection of folk music and song to mark May Day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s44v9
Mark Radcliffe presents Radio 2's weekly folk & acoustic programme.
This week's programme falls on May Day, and Mark's selection will focus on music and song relating to the weird and wonderful folk customs observed around Britain on 1st May.
From morris dancing at dawn to washing one's face in the May morning dew, from carrying branches of may to crowning a May Queen - the UK's colourful May Day customs are reflected in countless songs and tunes.
Mark will also play tracks connected to the day's significance as a workers' holiday around the world - something explored and championed by folk singers for generations.
Music Played
01. May Song
Waterson:Carthy
Holy Heathens And The Old Green Man, Topic TSCD 562
02. Sumer Is Icumen In
The Futureheads
Rant, Nul Records NUL009CDP
03. Hal-An-Tow
Oysterband
Step Outside, Cooking Vinyl VR 034
04. Workers' Song
Dick Gaughan
Handful Of Earth, Topic TSCD 419
05. Old Molly Oxford
Magpie Lane
The Oxford Ramble, Beautiful Jo BEJOCD 3
06. Kent To Kintail
Tim Edey
The Best Of Tim Edey, Gnatbite Records PROMO CD
07. Padstow
Steeleye Span
Tempted & Tried, Music Direct 68075
08. Tears For Lots Wife
Karine Polwart
Traces, Proper Music Distribution Ltd. HEGRICD8
09. The Queen Of May
Shirley Collins
Classic Celtic Music, Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40560
10. Hunt The Hare Part 2
Lisa Knapp & Alasdair Roberts
Hunt The Hair, Ear To The Ground Music PROMO CD
11. The First Of May
John Kirkpatrick
God Speed The Plough, Fledg'ling Records FLED 3084
12. Union Maid
The Almanac Singers
Talking Union, Xtra 26575
13. The Crow On The Cradle
Lady Maisery
May Day, Root Beat Records Digital Promo
14. As I Roved Out
Quercus
Quercus, ECM ECM 2276
Travelling Folk
Bruce MacGregor presents Radio Scotland's flagship folk programme and brings you the very best of today's music and song.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tlyrt
Adam Holmes
Thu 2 May 2013
20:05
BBC Radio Scotland
Bruce MacGregor is joined by singer and songwriter Adam Holmes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s4pg8
Music Played
01. The Eight Men of Moidart
Battlefield Band
02. Bonecrusher
Kirsty McGee
03. Cantabrian Jig / Billy Forsyth’s Dancing Shoes
Ceolbeg
04. Going Down This River
The Whisky River Boat Band
05. Sadorn Noz
Gilles Le Bigot
06. Sir Aly B
Jerry Douglas
07. Starjump / The Reunion Reel / The Fyrish Reel
Phil Cunningham & Simon Thoumire
08. Angels Without Wings
Heidi Talbot
09. Dinky’s Medley
Skyedance
10. Rose Song
Steve Byrne
11. Pabay Mor
Julie Fowlis & Dougie MacLean
12. Lights
Mike Vass
13. Le Winnebago
Le Vent du Nord
14. Resolute
Jenny Ritter
15. Monday Morning
Adam Holmes
16. Mary
Rura
17. Oh My God
Adam Holmes
18. Little Bird
Tim Edey
19. Martin Wynne’s Nos 1,2,3, and 4
Brian Conway, Pata Mangan, Felix Dolan
20. Lassie Lie Near Me
Quercus
21. Anada pa Gael
Duncan Chisholm and Xose Manuel Tejedor
22. The Bigger Picture
Stornoway
23. Pressed For Time/ Hull’s Reel/ St Kilda’s Wedding
Unusual Suspects
Another Country with Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross enters the landscape of Americana and alternative country. Expect to hear both classic and future classics, with Ricky taking a close look at the stories behind the songs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hh26l
Celebrating Willie Nelson's 80th Birthday.
Fri 3 May 2013
20:05
BBC Radio Scotland
A special programme celebrating Willie Nelson's 80th birthday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s4pnb
A celebration of Willie Nelson's song-writing and music on his 80th birthday. The artist reveals to Ricky Ross the reason why he continues to make albums and the artists that have influenced him.
This special programme features interviews with Kris Kristofferson, Shelby Lynne, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Willy Vautin, Caitlin Rose and Phosphorescent. All of these artists have all been inspired by Willie Nelson's song-writing and share their experiences.
Music Played
01. I Gotta Get Drunk
George Jones with Willie Nelson
02. Hello Walls
Faron Young
03. Sad Songs & Waltzes
Teddy Thompson
04. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Willie Nelson
05. I’m A Memory
Sara Watkins
06. Time Of The Preacher
Willie Nelson
07. Highwayman
The Highwaymen
08. Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Willie Nelson
09. I Saw The Light
Willie Nelson
10. Nothing I Can Do About It Now
Willie Nelson
11. Permanently Lonely
The Little Willies
12. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground
Raul Malo
13. Sister’s Coming Home
Emmylou Harris & Tanya Tucker
14. Stormy Weather
Willie Nelson & Friends featuring Shelby Lynne
15. Georgia On My Mind
Willie Nelson
16. Stardust
Willie Nelson
17. A Backstage Pass
Johnny Cash
18. In The Garden
Willie Nelson
19. Too Sick To Pray
Phosphorescent
20. She’s Gone, Gone, Gone
Willie Nelson
21. Crazy
Patsy Cline
22. Slow Down Old World
Willie Nelson
23. No Place For Me
Willie Nelson
24. The Scientist
Willie Nelson
Jazz Record Requests
Make a request...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnn9
Sat 4 May 2013
19:50
BBC Radio 3
Alyn Shipton plays a selection of listeners' jazz requests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s5m2z
Alyn Shipton's selection of listeners' jazz requests includes tracks by Art Pepper, Keith Ingham, and Marty Grosz. Plus guitarist Cedric West plays music by Kenny Wheeler, whose work is celebrated at a new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Music Played
01. I Like To Do Things For you
Keith Ingham / Marty Grosz
Composer: Yellen / Ager Performers: Peter Ecklund, c; Dan Block cl; Scott Robinson, sarrusophone; Andy Stein, vn; Keith Ingham , p; Marty Grosz, g; Arnie Kinsella, d. 1997.
Going Hollywood, Stomp Off, 1323 Track 8 (3.40)
02. Work Song
Baby Face Willette
Composer: Adderley Performers: Baby Face Willette, org; Grant Green, g; Ben Dixon, d. May 1961.
Stop and Listen, Blue Note, 28998 Track 7 (4.53)
03. Las Cuevas de Mario
Art Pepper
Composer: Pepper Performers: Art Pepper, as; George Cables, p; George Mraz, b; Elvin Jones, p. 30 Jul 1977.
Complete Village Vanguard Sessions, Contemporary / Ace, 9CCD44172 / 2 Vol 4 Disc 1 Track
04. Don't You Know I Care (Or Don't You Care To Know)
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Composer: Ellington, David Performers: Ray Nance, t; Lawrence Brown, tb; Johnny Hodges, as; Paul Gonsalves, ts; Harry Carney, bs; Duke Ellington, p; Aaron Bell, b; Sam Woodyard, d. 1 July 1960
Unknown Session, Columbia, 20842, Track 7
05. Limbo Jazz
Duke Ellington
Composer: Ellington Performers: Ray Nance, t; Lawrence Browb, tb; Johnny Hodges, as; Coleman Hawkins, ts; Harry Carney, bs; Duke Ellington, p; Aaron Bell, b; Sam Woodyard, d. 18 Aug 1962.
Meets Coleman Hawkins, Impulse, 06007 5334729 Track 1 (5.16)
06. Topsy
Ike Quebec
Composer: Battle, Durham Performers: Buck Clayton, t; Keg Johnson, tb; Ike Quebec, ts; Ram Ramirez, p; Tiny Grimes, g; Grachan Moncur, b; J C Heard, d. 17 July 1945.
Proper Introduction, Proper, 2004 Track 15 (3.10)
07. Invention for Four Guitars
Cedric West
Composer: Wheeler Performers: Cedric West, Laurie Wise, Dick Abel, Len Argent, g; Eric Dawson, b; Ronnie Lord, d. 1965.
Bach Goes West, World Records, ST641 Side 2, track 3 (3.00)
08. Solfeggietto/Metamorphosis
Eddie Daniels
Composer: CPE Bach Performers: Eddie Daniels, cl; Philharmonia Orchestra, Ettore Stratta, cond.
Breakthrough, GRP, 91024, S1, Tr.1 (6.30)
09. Breakfast Feud
Benny Goodman
Composer: Goodman Performers: Georgie Auld, ts; Cootie Williams, t; Johnny Guarnieri , p; Benny Goodman, cl; Charlie Christian, g; Artie Bernstien b; Gene Krupa, d. 14 April 1941.
Solo Flight, Definitive, 11386 Track 15 (2.58)
10. Hors-d’oeuvres
Sid Phillips
Composer: Phillips Performers: (Include) Jiver Hutchinson, t; Sid Phillips, cl; Woolf Phillips, tb; Yorke De Souza, p; Max Abrams, d. 1950
That’s Plenty, Prestige Elite, Track 21 (3.12)
11. Then There Were Four
Alex Hutton
Composer: Hutton Performers: Alex Hutton: p; Yuri Goloubov: b; Asaf Sirkis: d.2012
Legentis, F-IRE, CD 53 Track 3
Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Geoffrey Smith's Jazz does exactly what it says on the tin: a weekly programme in which Geoffrey Smith shares his passion for jazz, through an exploration of its great writers, singers and players, as told from his own individual perspective. Having spent more than twenty years as host to Jazz Record Requests, reading listeners' letters and observing their passion for all types of jazz, Geoffrey Smith goes solo in this new series, exploring and illuminating the story of great jazz across its entire range, through personally-selected sequences of tracks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h5z0s
Mel Powell
Sun 5 May 2013
00:00
BBC Radio 3
Geoffrey Smith celebrates pianist Mel Powell's dazzling solos and compositions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s5m93
A teen-aged prodigy with Benny Goodman, pianist Mel Powell produced dazzling solos and compositions, including Goodman hits like "Mission to Moscow". Later, he teamed up with cornettist Ruby Braff, before teaching classical music at Yale. Geoffrey Smith celebrates a rare talent.
Music Played
01. ‘S Wonderful
Mel Powell
Composer: Gershwin Performers: Edmond Hall, cl; Buck Clayton, t; Henderson Chambers, tb; Steve Jordan, g; Walter Page, b; Mel Powell, p; Jimmy Crawford, d. 30 December 1953
Four Classic Albums Plus, Avid, AMSC 1063. D2, Tr. 15 (4.15)
02. The Earl
Benny Goodman
Composer: Powell Performers: The Benny Goodman Band 1941
Benny Goodman Plays Solid Gold, CBS, S80795. S1/3 (2.32)
03. Mission to Moscow
Benny Goodman
Composer: Powell Performers: Tony Faso, Jimmy Maxwell, Lawrence Stearns, t; Lou McGarity, Charlie Castaldo, tb;, Hymie Schertzer, Clint Neagley, as; Jon Walton, Leonard Sims, ts; Bob Poland, bar; Mel Powell, p; Dave Barbour, g; Cliff Hill, b; Howard Davies, d. 30 July 1942
Swing, Swing, Swing, Retropsective, RTS4414 (2); D2, Tr. 20 (2.33)
04. The World is Waiting for the Sunrise
Benny Goodman
Composer: Goodman Performers: Benny Goodman, cl; Mel Powell, p; Sid Weiss, b; Ralph Collier, d. 10 March 1942
Sounds of Jazz, Fontana, TFE 17079. S1/1 (2.46)
05. Shine
Benny Goodman
Composer: Mack, Brown, Dabney Performers: Benny Goodman, cl; Mel Powell, p; Red Norvo, vib; Mike Bryan, g; Slam Stewart, b Morey Feld, d. 1945
Benny Goodman Rides Again, Vocalion, CDUS3001 (1); Tr.20 (3.13)
06. Sweet Georgia Brown
Jazz at the Philharmonic
Composer: Casey, Pinkard, Bernie Performers: Dizzy Gillespie, Al Killian, tp; Charlie Parker, Willie Smith, as; Lester Young, Charlie Ventura, ts; Mel Powell, p; Billy Hadnott, b; Lee Young, d. 28 January 1946
Jazz at the Philharmonic: The First Ten Years, Proper, P1425. Tr. 7 (9.31)
07. Anything Goes
Mel Powell
Composer: Porter Performers: Mel Powell, p; Bumps Myers, s; Jake Porter, t; Lee Young, d; Red Callender, b. 10 December 1947
Four Classic Albums Plus, Avid, AMSC 1063. D2; Tr. 19 (2.40)
08. You’re Lucky to Me
Mel Powell
Composer: Razaf, Blake Performers: Edmond Hall, cl; Buck Clayton, t; Henderson Chambers, tb; Steve Jordan, g; Walter Page, b; Mel Powell, p; Jimmy Crawford, d. 30 December 1953
Four Classic Albums Plus, Avid, AMSC 1063. D2, Tr. 18 (4.56)
09. Borderline
Mel Powell
Composer: Powell Performers: Paul Quinichette, ts; Bobby Donaldson, d; Mel Powell, p. 17 August 1954
Four Classic Albums Plus, Avid, AMSC 1063. D1, Tr. 1 (3.27)
10. You’re My Thrill
Mel Powell
Composer: Clare, Gorney Performers: Ruby Braff, t; Bobby Donaldson, d; Mel Powell, p. 24 August 1954
Four Classic Albums Plus, Avid, AMSC 1063. D1, Tr.9 (5.19)
11. Out of Nowhere
Mel Powell
Composer: Green, Heyman Performers: Benny Carter, s; Mel Powell, p; Howard Alden, g; Milt Hinton, b; Louie Bellson, d. 21 October 1987
The Return of Mr Powell, Chiaroscuro, CRD301; Tr. 5 (8.30)
Private Passions
Guests from all walks of life discuss their musical loves and hates.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnv3
Max Beesley
Sun 5 May 2013
12:00
BBC Radio 3
Michael Berkeley's guest is actor and musician Max Beesley.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011j6k5
Michael Berkeley's guest this week is the Manchester-born actor Max Beesley, who made his name in the 1997 TV mini-series 'The History of Tom Jones' and has gone on to star in major TV series including 'Bodies', 'Hotel Babylon', 'Survivors' , 'The Last Enemy', and 'Mad Dogs' (with Philip Glenister, John Simm and Marc Warren). He recently appeared with Ashley Jensen in the ITV drama 'The Reckoning'.
Born into a musical family (his mother was a jazz singer and his father a professional jazz drummer), Max was a pupil at Chetham's School of Music, studied percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and pursued a career as a musician before turning to acting. He has toured as percussionist/keyboard/backing vocals with George Michael, Robbie Williams, Take That and Chaka Khan among others.
Max Beesley is passionate about music, and his eclectic choices include keyboard pieces by Bach and Liszt, a Chopin prelude arranged for cello and piano by Aaron Copland, Elly Ameling singing Schubert's 'Ave Maria', part of the 'Dies irae' from Mozart's Requiem, 'The Shrove-Tide Fair' from Stravinsky's ballet 'Petrushka', music from his own soundtrack to the film 'The Emperor's Wife', and Pat Metheny's 'Third Wind' from the album 'Still Life Talking'.
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
00:06
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
‘Dies Irae’ from Requiem in D minor KV626
Performers: Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein
DG431041-2
00:10
Franz Schubert
Ave Maria
Performers: Elly Ameling (soprano)/Dalton Baldwin (piano)
DECCA 4625552
00:17
Igor Stravinsky
‘The Shrove-Tide Fair’ from ‘Petrouchka’
Performers: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi
TELARC CD80587
00:26
Frédéric Chopin
Prelude in E minor, Op.28 no.4
Performers: Terry King (cello), Shizue Sano (piano) Arranger: Copland
MUSIC & ARTS PROGRAMS OF AMERICA CD1076
00:32
Johann Sebastian Bach
‘Prelude in C minor’ from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 BWV 847
Performers: Hélène Grimaud (piano)
DG 4777978
00:36
Max Beesley
Music from ‘The Emperor’s Wife’ soundtrack
Performers: Max Beesley (piano), The London Session Orchestra
Used by permission
00:40
Franz Liszt
Liebestraum no.3
Performers: Yundi Li (piano)
DG 471 585-2
00:50
Pat Metheny
Third Wind
Performers: Pat Metheny Group
GEFFEN 92414521
http://www.classicarts.co.uk/passions-thisWeek.asp
Words and Music
A sequence of music interspersed with well-loved and less familiar poems and prose read by leading actors
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006x35f
Ave Maria
Sun 5 May 2013
18:30
BBC Radio 3
Poems and music inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Jenny Agutter and Andrew Buchan.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s5mb0
Ave Maria: Music and texts inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary with Jenny Agutter and Andrew Buchan.
Jenny Agutter can currently be seen starring as Sister Julienne in the hit BBC TV series "Call the Midwife", and Andrew Buchan is currently playing the part of the father of a murdered boy in the ITV drama "Broadchurch".
The Virgin Mary has inspired perhaps more writing and music than any other historical or Biblical figure and this edition of Words and Music attempts to dip a small toe in the ocean of material available. Following the Biblical narrative from the Annunciation, the birth and life of her son Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, the story goes beyond the New Testament into Catholic traditions concerning the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, her crowning and, back on earth, the numerous visions and miracles that have been reported in her name over the centuries.
The programme includes poems, prose and texts by a wide variety of authors including Thomas Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Dorothy Parker, W.B. Yeats, Marina Warner and Carol Ann Duffy, as well as extracts from the Gospels.
An eclectic selection of music includes works by Bach, Messiaen, Rautavaara, Robert Parsons, James MacMillan, Massenet and Jacqui Dankworth.
Producer
Helen Garrison.
Producer's Note
The subject of the Virgin Mary is a vast one and therefore challenging. 2000 years of history, legend, myth and tradition have built up around the story of this young girl who, as the Christian Bible tells us, was chosen by God to bear His son. Whether or not one believes the supernatural and mystical elements of the Gospel accounts, there is no doubt that Mary, whoever she really was, has intrigued and fascinated generations throughout the world, regardless of cultural heritage or religion.
Choosing how to address such a huge subject area was the first hurdle; there are an infinite number of texts and poems written about Mary and in Western culture it is hard to avoid classical music that hasn’t been inspired or which has some connection to Marian tradition. In the end I decided to keep it simple and to follow her life story chronologically, telling the story from the point of view of writers and poets who are commenting on each stage of her life.
Jenny Agutter opens the programme in the present day with an extract from a report from the Catholic News Agency about the church officially acknowledging a miraculous appearance of the Virgin to a young girl. The music that follows is suitably mysterious and almost as miraculous, sung by a very high male soprano multi-tracked over a glass harmonica. Byron’s poem The Ave Hour establishes the titular theme of the programme in adoration of the tradition of Marian prayer followed by every choral singer’s favourite setting of these words by the Renaissance English composer Robert Parsons.
We then begin Mary’s life as depicted in the Bible with Rupert Brooke’s account of the Annunciation as the Angel Gabriel tells Mary she is to bear the Son of God and call him Jesus. As Gabriel departs, accompanied by Rautavaara’s birds in his “Cantus Arcticus”, Mary pours forth her Magnificat, the song she sings upon discovering that her barren cousin Elizabeth is pregnant, as Gabriel predicted, with the future John the Baptist. J.S. Bach’s exuberantly Baroque setting of her words is the only way to follow.
Gerald Manly Hopkins May Magnificat plays upon the same verbal ideas but is directed towards nature at the height of spring, a time of year which is traditionally associated with Mary. The months of her blooming in pregnancy are not without problems, however, and her husband Joseph is asking the obvious awkward questions in John Adam’s extraordinary “El Niño”. Andrew Buchan hints at a chilling prediction of what is to come in “Carpenter” by George MacKay Brown, in which Joseph cuts down a tree to make a crib for the baby, only to find that it’s not a fit piece of wood, so he sells it to a centurion to make a gallows.
The baby is born and a choir of angels tells the news to shepherds. There is any number of well-known and beautiful carols depicting this scene, but I have a particular admiration for the choral music of James MacMillan whose works have already vastly enriched our liturgical choral repertoire in the UK. His “lo the Angel of the Lord” is the first of two of his works in this programme – very atmospheric and almost sinister.
The focus of this programme is Mary, however, and it is her feelings we want to know about. Often portrayed as serene, and in some medieval writings described as having no pain when giving birth, it’s more likely she was terrified, which WB Yeats acknowledges in his short poem “The Mother of God”. Dorothy Parker is more reflective, looking at the new mother with the benefit of hindsight and willing her to enjoy these early days. John Ireland’s sentimental “Holy Boy” is a beautifully simple piece and provides a gentle pause before things begin to darken for the mother and child.
Our current poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy never fails to provide a thought provoking contemporary insight into her Biblical characters, and instead of a straight forward account, describes Mary as she might have been viewed by furtive neighbours through a window.
There are few accounts of Jesus growing in the Gospels except for a telling incident when the 12 year old boy manages to run away from his parents, who spend three panic stricken days looking for him. His attitude, when they eventually discover him in the temple, is almost cruelly aloof and it is one of the few times we get any sense of how his mother might be feeling. Purcell takes this further with his “Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation” which explores Mary’s fear. Jacqui Dankworth and Anthony Kerr’s song “Where are you” continues the theme and I was delighted to find that it could create a kind of musical fusion with Steve Reich’s “Desert Music”.
Reich wrote this piece with what he describes as a Biblical landscape in mind, and he comments on the opening of the final movement, heard here, as wanting it to evoke the sense of “out on the plain, running like hell”. The Holy family had to “run like hell” from Nazareth as King Herod sent his soldiers out and about to slaughter young babies, and one gets the sense that in her heart, Mary never really stopped.
Thomas Hardy’s unusual poem “An evening in Galilee” brings a refreshing air of reality to Mary as her son grows up and she questions his sanity as he begins saying (to her mind) odd things and collects unsuitable followers. I particularly love the ending where she suddenly remembers she hasn’t put on Joseph’s dinner.
The mood suddenly and predictably turns black as we reach the crucifixion. The “Stabat Mater” text, describing Mary standing at the foot of the cross and grieving, has inspired many exquisite musical settings. Vivaldi is a personal favourite with its very simple but effective harmonic sequences, and sung with cool beauty on this recording by the counter tenor Andreas Scholl. James MacMillan focusses on the Biblical passage from St John’s Gospel in which Jesus asks the disciple “whom he loved” to look after his mother.
Almost nothing is written in the New Testament about what happens to Mary after the crucifixion, but in Catholic tradition she is eventually assumed into Heaven and crowned, and there are plenty of musical and poetical settings of texts describing Mary, the Queen of Heaven. Once there, she acts as an advocate on our behalf, the most popular words used by worshippers being “Ave Maria” – “Hail Mary… pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death”. There are too many gorgeous musical versions to choose from, but The Polish composer Pavel Lukaszewski’s is new to me and its almost sugary sweet harmony is a fun contrast with Oscar Wilde’s rather earnest account of seeing a portrait of Mary and asking her to pray for his forgiveness.
Spectacular Marian processions are a great tradition in Catholic countries and in convents such as the one Marina Warner attended as a child, and after all the sombre grieving and praying it’s a relief to hear some more light hearted music. Wolf-Ferrari’s opera “The Jewels of the Madonna” has the usual complex plot one would expect, but at its heart is a procession carrying an image of the Virgin bedecked in sparkling adornments.
There is an entire tradition of Mary’s association with the sea and I could have dedicated the whole programme to it, but the Timothy Daniel Sullivan’s “Fisherman’s Prayer” is fairly typical, depicting Mary as a star which guides sailors in their hour of need. The weather theme is continued as the programme draws to a close with a song by Nick Drake, who sings to the “strange face, with your eyes so pale” and asks her to “lend a hand and lift me to your place in the cloud”.
The final quotation read by Andrew Buchan is from the writer Seamus Heaney who neatly sums up his personal view of the prayer from which this programme takes its title, and in the popular version of the Ave Maria by Gounod, based on Bach’s 1st prelude for keyboard, Cecilia Bartoli definitely gives it an amorous treatment.
Music and featured items
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
Catholic News agency report May 5, 2008 (extract)
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:00
Thomas Bloch
Sancta Maria (extract)
Performer: Fabrice Di Falco (male soprano) Performer: Thomas Bloch (glass harmonica)
Naxos 8.555295, Tr17
00:01
Maurice Duruflé
Tota pulchra es (from Quatre motets su des theme gregoriens)
Performer: The Choir of St John’s College Cambridge Performer: Christopher Robinson (conductor)
Nimbus NI5599, Tr11
Salve Regina (Catholic prayer)
Read by Andrew Buchan
George Gordon Noel Byron: The Ave Hour
Read by Andrew Buchan
00:05
Robert Parsons
Ave Maria
Performer: The Cardinall’s Musick Performer: Andrew Carwood (conductor)
Hyperion CDA67874, Tr11
Rupert Brooke: Mary and Gabriel
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:11
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for birds and orchestra): Mvt II Melankolia (extract)
Performer: Royal Scottish National Orchestra Performer: Hannu Lintu (conductor)
Naxos 8.554147, Tr2
Bible – Luke 1:35-37
Read by Andrew Buchan
Magnificat (from Bible) Luke 1:46-55
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:14
J.S. Bach
Magnificat – opening movement
Performer: Monteverdi Choir Performer: John Elliot Gardiner (conductor)
Philips 411 458-2, Tr1
Gerard Manley Hopkins: The May Magnificat
Read by Andrew Buchan
00:17
Frederick Delius
On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring (extract)
Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Performer: Richard Hixkox (conductor)
Decca 440 323-2, Tr1
00:19
John Adams
El Ni¬¬ño: Now she was sixteen years old (extract)
Performer: Willard White (baritone) Performer: Daniel Brubeck (counter tenor) Performer: Brian Cummings (counter tenor) Performer: Steven Rickards (counter tenor)
Nonesuch 79634-2, Tr7
Robert Herrick: Another
Read by Andrew Buchan
George Mackay Brown: Carpenter
Read by Andrew Buchan
00:21
Olivier Messiaen
La Nativité du Seigneur: mvt I La Vierge et l’Enfant (extract)
Performer: Olivier Latry (organ)
DG 471 480-2, Tr1
00:22
James MacMillan
And lo, the Angel of the Lord
Performer: Cappella Nova Performer: Alan Tavener (conductor)
Linn CKD 383, Tr1
William Butler Yeats: The Mother of God
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:27
Benjamin Britten
This Little Babe (from A Ceremony of carols)
Performer: Coventry Cathedral Boys' Choir Performer: John Marson (harp) Performer: David Lepine (conductor)
Chapter 1 Records: CMS 1007, 7
Dorothy Parker: Prayer for a new mother
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:29
John Ireland
The Holy Boy
Performer: Maggini Quartet
Naxos 8.557777, Tr5
Carol Ann Duffy: The Virgin Punishing the Infant (after the painting by Max Ernst)
Read by Andrew Buchan
00:33
Henry Purcell
Tell me, some pitying angel (The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation)
Performer: Nancy Argenta (soprano) Performer: Nigel North (archlute) Performer: Richard Boothby (viola da gamba) Performer: Paul Nicholson (chamber organ)
Virgin VC 7 59324 2, Tr5
00:40
Anthony Kerr
Where are you
Composer: Jacqui Dankworth Performer: Jacqui Dankworth (voice) Performer: Anthony Kerr (vibraphone) Performer: Bosco de Oliviera (percussion)
EFZ1010, Tr5
Bible – Luke 2:46-52
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:44
Steve Reich (b1936)
The Desert music (extract)
Performer: Chorus sine nomine Performer: Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich Performer: Kristjan Järvi (conductor)
Chandos CHSA 5091, Tr8
Thomas Hardy: An evening in Galilee
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:47
Antonio Vivaldi
Stabat Mater (opening mvt)
Performer: Andreas Scholl (counter tenor) Performer: Ensemble 415 Performer: Chiara Banchini (director)
HMC 901571, Tr13
00:50
James MacMillan
Woman, behold thy Son! (from Seven Last Words from the Cross)
Performer: Polyphony Performer: Britten Sinfonia Performer: Stephen Layton (conductor)
Hyperion CDA67460, Tr2
Bible - John 19:26-27
Read by Andrew Buchan
00:54
Jules Massenet
The last sleep of the Virgin (from La Vierge)
Performer: Matthew Lee (cello) Performer: BBC Concert Orchestra Performor: Barry Wordsworth (conductor)
Naxos 8.570331, 3
Clyde McGee: Mary at the cross
Read by Jenny Agutter
00:59
Pavel Lukaszewski
Ave Maria
Performer: Tenebrae Performer: Nigel Short (conductor)
Signum SIGCD085, Tr7
Oscar Wilde: San Miniato
Read by Andrew Buchan
Marina Warner: Alone of all her sex (extract)
Read by Jenny Agutter
01:03
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Intermezzo from Act III Jewels of the Madonna
Performer: Philadelphia Orchestra Performer: Eugene Ormandy (conductor)
Sony SBK 63053, Tr9
Siegfried Sassoon: Morning Glory
Read by Andrew Buchan
Timothy Daniel Sullivan: Fisherman’s Prayer
Read by Andrew Buchan
01:07
Nick Drake
Cello Song (from the album Five leaves left)
Performer: Nick Drake (voice) Performer: Clare Lowther (‘cello) Performer: Danny Thompson (bass) Performer: Rocki Dzidzornis (congas)
IMCD 8/842 915-2, Tr6
Seamus Heaney: “Mother of God A History of the Virgin Mary”
Read by Andrew Buchan
01:11
Charles Gounod
Ave Maria (arr from Bach Prelude No1 BWV 846)
Performer: Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) Performer: Cinzia Maurizio (harp) Performer: Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Performer: Myung-Whun Chung (conductor)
Decca 478 2249, CD2Tr4