'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace' found its way into weddings, funerals and school assemblies. Discover how this hymn has also embedded itself into the hearts of peace campaigners, charity workers and reformed alcoholics. Its simplicity often belies the challenges at its heart. Its lyrics call for unconditional love and forgiveness in the toughest situations. The words are based on a poem which has often been attributed to St Francis of Assisi. However, Franciscan Historian, Dr Christian Renoux,...
Jul 16, 2013•27 min
Written by Joaquin Rodrigo in 1939, the Concierto de Aranjuez is a guitar classic. He wrote it amid the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, and in circumstances of poverty and personal tragedy. How has it touched and changed people's lives? The composer's daughter Cecilia Rodrigo explains how the blind composer was inspired by the fountains and gardens of the palace of Aranjuez. Nelício Faria de Sales recounts an unforgettable performance deep inside one of Brazil's largest caves. David B Katague re...
Jul 09, 2013•28 min
Stories of love, loss and friendship through the Second World War favourite, Lili Marlene. She was made famous by Marlene Dietrich - with songs sung by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact Producer: Maggie Ayre. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
Jul 03, 2013•28 min
Written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer for Robert Wyatt, Shipbuilding was recorded in several versions by Elvis Costello himself, Suede, June Tabor, Hue and Cry, Tamsin Archer and The Unthanks. The blend of subtle lyrics and extraordinary music makes this a political song like no other. It transcends the particular circumstances of its writing: the Falklands War and the decline of British heavy industry, especially ship-building. Clive and Elvis describe how the song was written in 1982 and ...
Mar 08, 2013•28 min
The Stabat Mater's imagines the sufferings of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, and Pergolesi's 18th-century setting remains a choral favourite. Pam Self tells the moving story of how this piece unites her and her friend Helen Vaughan, both during life and after. Soprano Catherine Bott reflects on the piece's themes. The Stabat Mater has been reinterpreted many times over the years: Sasha Lazard recalls singing it in the school choir, before later taking the melody and transforming it in...
Feb 26, 2013•28 min
The Irish traditional song She Moved Through The Fair is well loved and well recorded by many. To some it is a ghost story that tells of unfulfilled longings and of hopes and aspirations cut short. Sinead O' Connor and other fans talk about the haunting beauty of this ancient song and of why its imagery is carved into their souls. Featuring: Sinead O'Connor Catriona Crowe Bernie Warren David Johnston. Producer: Maggie Ayre First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2013....
Feb 19, 2013•28 min
More than just 'da da da dum': Beethoven's 5th Symphony is this week's Soul Music. It accompanied Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on the regular Bombay to Basra route he sailed during his early days in the Merchant Navy. Archaeologist and crime novelist, Dana Cameron, spent many a long day in a dark, lonely basement analysing artefacts from a merchant's house in Salem, Massachusetts. A CD player was often her only companion and Beethoven's 5th buoyed her through these arduous days working towards her Ph...
Feb 12, 2013•28 min
‘Is That All There Is?’, a Leiber & Stoller song made famous by Peggy Lee, is based upon a short story by Thomas Mann called 'Disillusionment'. But those who know and love it feel it's inspirational rather than a cynical, world weary musical take on existentialism and the futility of life. ‘Soul Music’ uncovers the compelling individual stories behind our collective love of music. Producer: Maggie Ayre First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2013.
Feb 08, 2013•28 min
Bach's St Matthew Passion was written in 1727 and was probably first performed as part of the Good Friday Service at Thomaskirche in Leipzig. This programme explores ways in which Bach's St Mattew Passion touches and changes people's lives. Guitarist Andrew Schulman describes what happened when he was played this music whilst he was in a coma. James Jacobs talks about the St Matthew Passion providing solace in difficult times during childhood. And singer Emma Kirkby, conductor Paul Spicer and mu...
Oct 09, 2012•28 min
An exploration into the enduring appeal of the Dire Straits classic, Brothers in Arms. Although thought to have been written by Mark Knopfler in response to the Falklands war in the mid 1980's, it's a piece that people now associate with many other conflicts; military, personal and social. Bass player, John Illsley explains why it remains such a special piece for Dire Straits. Marines chaplain, Nigel Beardsley, recalls the important part it's played in the lives of so many soldiers in Iran and A...
Oct 08, 2012•28 min
The Skye Boat Song brings back a wealth of childhood memories for many. The words "Speed Bonnie Boat Like a Bird on the Wing" tell the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape to the Isle of Skye - dressed as a maid - after defeat at the battle of Culloden. Originally written by Sir Harold Boulton and Anne MacLeod back in the 1870's, we explore the song’s beauty and how it continues to touch people's lives across the world in very different ways. The Queen's Piper, who has played it in happy and ...
Oct 08, 2012•28 min
Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major Opus 61 was written in 1806, but was not a success at its premiere. 200 years on and this Concerto is regarded as one of the greatest pieces ever written for the violin. Beethoven Violin Concerto has touched and shaped people's lives in many ways. Writer Kelly Cherry describes her father loving this piece and still remembering it even when he had Alzheimers. Violinist Robert Gupta talks about this piece being the music which cemented his friendship with Nat...
Oct 08, 2012•28 min
While for many, it will be always associated with brown bread, the Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony is an enduring a piece that never fails to move and inspire. Anti- apartheid campaigner Albie Sachs explains that through whistling the theme while in solitary confinement, he was able to make contact with the wider world and kept his spirit and hope alive. Margaret Caldicott recalls the important role the piece played in her mother's life while in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Series exp...
Aug 28, 2012•28 min
The Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah is stirring, emotional and unmistakable. The Alzheimer's Society runs a group called 'Singing for the Brain'. It's for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s and their carers who come together to sing in a group. As music is tied so closely to emotional memories, often lyrics and music remain firmly fixed in the brain, while other memories have died away. Julia Burton recalls the power of the Hallelujah Chorus, as performed at a special event by Singing f...
Feb 28, 2012•27 min
The powerful song, Non, je ne regrette rien was made famous by Edith Piaf. Written in 1960 by Charles Dumont, in a fit of despair, he gave the music to lyricist Michel Vaucaire, but was surprised by the words he wrote. Dumont thought the song should be about war or revolution. Vaucaire explained he wanted to give the song to Edith Piaf. She was living in Paris at the time, having recently finished her 'suicide tour' during which she had collapsed. At that time, Piaf didn't think much of Charles ...
Feb 21, 2012•27 min
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto - famously featured in David Lean's film "Brief Encounter" - is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical music. Some of its fans describe the way in which it has touched and shaped their lives. Featuring a pianist from Taiwan whose memories of a repressive childhood were dispelled by the emotions contained within this music. Plus a story from an acclaimed pianist from Argentina who was told she would never play the piano again after a serious car accid...
Feb 14, 2012•28 min
An exploration of the haunting melancholy of Gresford, the Miners' Hymn. Written by a former miner, Robert Saint, to commemorate the Gresford pit disaster in 1934, it has been played at mining events ever since. George Leslie Lister wrote the words in 1970. With the thoughts of Albert Rowlands who was working in the lamp-room of Gresford colliery when there was a devastating underground explosion. His father was among the men lost. Plus the composer's grandson, David Saint, organist at St. Chad'...
Feb 07, 2012•28 min
Baker Street is Gerry Rafferty's glorious and instantly recognisable hit. It’s arguably the most popular track from his widely respected musical legacy. (Gerry sadly died aged just 63 in 2011) His daughter Martha Rafferty recalls hearing him develop the melody in the attic of their Glasgow home. His inspiration for the lyrics came from a book by Colin Wilson about the sense of disconnection from the world that artists often feel. Featuring: * Musician and founder member of Stealer's Wheel, Rab N...
Jan 31, 2012•28 min
Irving Berlin’s enduring classic, Let's Face the Music and Dance is celebrated by those for whom it has a special significance. It was written in 1932 as a dance number for the film ‘Follow the Fleet’ starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Since then it has taken on a life of its own, being recorded by hundreds of artists including Diane Krall, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, Vera Lynn, Ella Fitzgerald and Matt Munroe. For Sir John Mortimer's widow, Penny, it conjures up the very essence of her...
Sep 13, 2011•28 min
The words of one of our most loved hymns, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, were taken from the last six verses of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Brewing of Soma, an attack on ostentatious and overt religious practise. But it wasn't until over 50 years later, that a school teacher at Repton in Derbyshire had the inspiration to pair it with a tune by Sir Hubert Parry, thus confirming it as a favourite for assemblies, funerals and weddings. Repton’s former music director, John Bowley, explains...
Sep 06, 2011•28 min
Exploring the impact that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel has had on people's lives. Written in 1978, just prior to his departure from Estonia, Arvo’s piece for piano and violin is musically minimal, yet produces a serene tranquillity. It's in F major in 6/4 time, with the piano playing rising crotchet triads and the violin playing slow scales, alternately rising and falling, of increasing length, which all end on the note A. The score of the piece looks deceptively simple, but ...
Aug 30, 2011•28 min
Witchita Lineman is the ultimate country/pop crossover track - written by Jimmy Webb for the Country star Glen Campbell. Released in 1968, it tells the story of a lonely lineman in the American Midwest, travelling vast distances to mend power and telephone lines. The song has been covered many times, but Glen’s version remains the best-loved and most played. Johnny Cash also recorded an extraordinary and very raw version. Peter Lewry, a lifelong Cash fan, describes how it came about. David Crary...
Aug 23, 2011•28 min
An exploration of the impact that Mendelssohn's Octet has had on different people's lives, demonstrating the healing power of music in a variety of situations around the world. Felix Mendelssohn wrote his Octet for double string quartet in 1825 aged just 16. Despite his youth, this is a mature and brilliant piece of music described by our interviewees as "carnivalesque", "a romp", "a party". Choreographer Bill T Jones describes the way in which the Octet showed his company how to keep living dur...
Aug 16, 2011•28 min
Gustav Mahler wrote his 5th Symphony during the summers of 1901 and 1902. The Adagietto is the 4th movement which is thought to have been inspired by falling in love with Alma who he married around this time. This single movement is the composer’s most well-known piece of music. It was famously used in the 1971 Luchino Visconti film Death in Venice. It was also conducted by Leonard Bernstein at the mass at St Patrick's Cathedral, New York on the day of the burial of Robert Kennedy. Composer Davi...
Mar 29, 2011•28 min
Winterreise was written the year before Franz Schubert's death aged just 31, these 24 songs based on poems by Wilhelm Müller describe a journey that takes us ever deeper into the frozen landscape of the soul. Singers Thomas Hampson, Mark Padmore, Alice Coote and David Pisaro describe the experience of immersing themselves in this music. And Bernard Keefe tells of the time he sang these songs in Hiroshima to survivors of the bomb. Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal...
Mar 22, 2011•28 min
‘The Impossible Dream' is a song that talks of the resilience of the human spirit. It tells the story of a quest and it's had a surprising journey of its own. It was originally composed for the 1965 musical The Man of La Mancha which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes story of Don Quixote. The music was written by Mitch Leigh and the lyrics by Joe Darion. Now in his 80s, Leigh explains how his first writing partner was WH Auden and talks about why this particular piece struck a chord with Afric...
Mar 15, 2011•28 min
Simple Gifts started life as a Shaker Hymn and became incorporated into the hymn Lord of the Dance and Aaron Copland's ballet suite Appalachian Spring. Nora Guthrie describes the central place this tune has played throughout her life. Pete Lashley tells how he heard it unexpectedly whilst touring in New Zealand. Michael Carter explains why his father chose this tune for his famous hymn "Lord of the Dance" and Scott Malchus describes running a marathon whilst listening to this music. Featuring: T...
Mar 08, 2011•28 min
Mozart's Clarinet Quintet was written in 1789, two years before the composer’s death. The first ever work for string quartet plus clarinet remains a firm favourite for music lovers around the world. Professor Paul Robertson describes how his wife played this piece to him whilst he lay in a coma. Clarinettist Peter Furniss tells of the solace the slow movement provided his mother as she lay dying. And Alex Smith explains the importance of this piece in his work to help children with autism, Asper...
Mar 01, 2011•28 min
Beethoven's fifth and final piano concerto, The Emperor is majestic and moving in equal measure. Richard McMahon plays extracts and discusses the virtuosic it demands. Australian film producer, Hal McElroy, talks about using the Adagio (the second movement) to illustrate the classic 1970s film Picnic at Hanging Rock. That was where Andrew Law – who was Chaplain at Malvern College - first heard the piece. He describes the Adagio as being 'one of those pieces of art which it is worth being alive t...
Oct 05, 2010•28 min
An examination of the enduring popularity of the hymn, How Great Thou Art. Based on a Swedish poem by Carl Gustav Boberg, it was written by the British missionary Stuart Hine in 1949. It subsequently become an Elvis Presley classic and as the country and western star , Connie Smith explains, it's the piece she always sings to close her show, the stirring lyrics and soaring melody having the ability to move and inspire audiences of all ages and backgrounds. At the age of 101, George Beverly Shea ...
Sep 28, 2010•28 min
