Donald Macleod visits the home of Jane Austen with historian Amanda Vickery to discover some of the seasonal customs and Christmas music of late-Georgian Britain.Music featured:
Thomas Clark: While Shepherds Watched
William Matthews: How beauteous are their feet
Anon: The Holly and the Ivy
Viotti: Violin Concerto No 13 in A Major
Handel: Messiah
Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade: Sinfonia
Thomas Wilson: Wellington's Triumph
Thomas Straight: Trip to Vauxhall, Sailor Laddie
Weber (orch Berlioz): Aufforderung zum Tanz
Trad (arr. Townsend): Arise and Hail the Joyful Day
Trad.: Awake, and join the cheerful choir
Attrib. Wade (arr. Vincent Novello): O come, all ye faithful
Arr. Thomas Butts: Hark! how all the welkin rings
Attwood: O God, Who by the Leading of a Star
Mendelssohn: The Evening Bell
Jarman: There were shepherds abiding
John Wainwright: Christians, awake, salute the happy morn
Pleyel: Symphony No.12 in E flat
Kalmar Wesley: Rondo on God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
Trad: The First Nowell
Anon: Remember The Poor
John Hill: The people that walked in darkness
Richard Charke: Harlequin Restor'd
John Frederick Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley, Overture Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Chris Taylor 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 A Georgian Christmas: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026800And 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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Composer of the Week Podcast Folgen
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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Folge vom 26.12.2025A Georgian Christmas
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Folge vom 19.12.2025Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)This week, Kate Molleson explores the life and music of Sergey Prokofiev – a composer whose imagination shaped some of the most vivid music of the 20th century. From childhood stories in rural Ukraine to bold experiments at the St Petersburg Conservatory, from revolutionary Russia to the bright lights of New York, and finally to his dramatic homecoming, Prokofiev’s journey is full of ambition, upheaval and colour. We hear music that tells tales – fairytales, fantasies and fragments of real life – revealing a composer who never stopped dreaming.Troika (from Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60) Cinderella Suite, Op. 87 The Winter Bonfire, Op. 122: IV–VIII Music for Children, Op. 65: Nos. 1–9 Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 Four Études, Op. 2 Autumnal Sketch Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10 The Ugly Duckling, Op. 18 Cinderella Suite No. 1, Op. 107: IV. Fairy Godmother and Winter Fairy Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 'Classical' Seven, They Are Seven, Op. 30 Scythian Suite, Op. 20: I–II Old Grandmother’s Tales, Op. 31: Nos. 1–4 Overture on Hebrew Themes The Love of Three Oranges: Suite Five Songs Without Words Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63: II. Andante assai Le Pas d’acier Suite, Op 41a: I, II The Prodigal Son, Op. 46, Scene 1: IV–VIII Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the KnightsPresented by Kate Molleson Produced by Ellie Ajao 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 Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002n9nvAnd 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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Folge vom 05.12.2025John Rutter (born 1945)This week, Donald Macleod visits Sir John Rutter at his Cambridgeshire home to celebrate his 80th birthday and explore the twists and turns of his extraordinary career. One of the most influential choral composers of the 20th and 21st centuries – and for many, the sound of Christmas – Rutter is also an international conductor, arranger, editor and producer, describing himself as a musical “magpie.” Across the week, we hear hallmark carols alongside music shaped by his life’s milestones: from childhood in London and formative years in Cambridge, to his long association with America, his response to personal tragedy, and his latest creative ventures. Music featured: Nativity Carol 4 Orchestral Miniatures: Dance to Your Daddy London Town: A Choral Celebration Shepherd’s Pipe Carol The Lord Bless You and Keep You Visions Cityscapes: Flower of Cities All Banquet Fugue (from The Reluctant Dragon) A Clare Benediction Reflections: Prelude What Sweeter Music Wind in the Willows (Extract – Opening) Somerset Wassail Candlelight Carol I’ll Make Me a World Gloria Cityscapes: Big Apple Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit Lord Make me an Instrument (arr. for orchestra) Requiem: Lux Aeterna Mass of the Children: Sanctus and Benedictus The Gift of Life: The Gift of Each Day There is a flower When Icicles Hang: Good Ale Bird Songs: If I were an Owl Dancing Tree (In My Garden) Celebration Overture All the Stars Looked Down Carol of the Magi Presented by Donald Macleod. Produced by Amelia Parker 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 John Rutter (b 1945) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002mk0y. 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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Folge vom 28.11.2025Max Roach (1924-2007)This week, Kate Molleson explores the life and work of a musical giant – drummer and composer Max Roach – in the company of writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre. Together they trace Roach’s extraordinary journey: from his early days at the heart of bebop alongside Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, through his pioneering role as a bandleader, his political activism during the civil rights era, and his later innovations in percussion and collaboration. Roach’s story is one of constant reinvention as performer, composer and activist, shaping jazz and beyond for more than half a century.Music includes: Dr Free-Zee (from Max Roach +4) Joy Spring (from Clifford Brown and Max Roach) Bu Dee Daht (from Coleman Hawkins: Rainbow Mist) Salt Peanuts (from Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945) Ko-Ko (from Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes) Bird Gets the Worm (from Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes) Move (from Miles Davis: The Complete Birth of the Cool) Cherokee (from Jazz at Massey Hall) Cou Manchi-Cou (from Max Roach Quartet, featuring Hank Mobley) Maximum (from In the Beginning) Daahoud (from Clifford Brown and Max Roach) Sandu (from Study in Brown) Take the A Train (from Study in Brown) Fleurette Africain (from Money Jungle) Driva’man (from We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite) Freedom Day (from We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite) Garvey’s Ghost (from Percussion Bitter Sweet) Lonesome Lover (from It’s Time: Max Roach, his Chorus and Orchestra) The Drum Also Waltzes (from Drums Unlimited) Libra (from Members Don’t Git Weary) Let Thy People Go (from Lift Every Voice and Sing) Joshua (from Lift Every Voice and Sing) A Quiet Place (from Collage) Double Delight (from Bright Moments) Spirit Possession (from Birth and Rebirth) Love is a Many Splendored Thing (from Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street) 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 Max Roach (1924-2007) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002mb7w. 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.