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Friday - Sarah Walker with Antony Sher

With Sarah Walker. Including My Favourite Operatic Intermezzos; Music in Time: Francesco Landini: Questa fanciull', Amor; Artist of the Week: Mahler: Totenfeier.

9am
My favourite... operatic intermezzos. In this new feature Sarah shares her top operatic intermezzos, highlighting the emotional directness and unforgettable melodies of these orchestral miniatures, tucked inside operas by Puccini, Wolf Ferrari, Offenbach, Leoncavallo and Mascagni.

9.30am
Take part in today's musical challenge: trace the classical theme behind a well-known song.

10am
At the start of the year that marks 400 years since Shakespeare's death, Sarah's guest is the Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor Antony Sher. Antony is a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has acted many of the Bard's most famous roles, from Richard III to Falstaff. He has written a number of books recording the stages of researching, rehearsing and performing great Shakespearean parts, offering a behind the scenes look at the Royal Shakespeare Company at work. Throughout the week Antony shares a selection of his favourite classical music, talks about bringing Mahler to life on the stage and explains how he is preparing for his starring role in King Lear.

10.30am
Sarah places Music in Time as she encounters a Medieval multi-instrumentalist, singer, poet and philosopher: Francesco Landini, blind from childhood and the most revered Italian composer of his age. He even had a musical formula named after him, the Landini Cadence, which punctuates his ballata, Questa fanciull', Amor.

11am
Sarah's Artists of the Week are the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. When they started out in 1986, this unique period instrument band decided to throw away the orchestral rulebook. They were self-governing, their leaders rotated, and they worked with a range of conductors. Despite their name, they are keen to explore a wide repertoire, from Monteverdi to Mahler and beyond; and their four Principal Artists are Sir Simon Rattle, Ivan Fischer, Sir Mark Elder and Vladimir Jurowski. To celebrate the orchestra's thirtieth anniversary year, Sarah showcases a range of their recordings, demonstrating their diversity, artistry, and the brilliantly incisive, colourful style of playing.

Mahler
Totenfeier
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Vladimir Jurowski (conductor).

3 hours

Music Played

  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: THE ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

    • John Blow

      A Dance by a Huntsman (Venus and Adonis)

      Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Director: René Jacobs.
      • HARMONIA MUNDI.
  • Peteris Vasks

    White Landscape [Winter] (The Seasons)

    Performer: Alessandro Stella.
    • KHA.
  • MY FAVOURITE...OPERATIC INTERMEZZOS

    • Pietro Mascagni

      Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana

      Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
      • DG.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Piano Trio in D major, H.15.8

    Ensemble: Beaux Arts Trio.
    • PHILIPS.
  • Frédéric Chopin

    Ballade No 3 in A flat major, Op 47

    Performer: Evgeny Kissin.
    • RCA.
  • Richard Strauss

    Sextet (Capriccio)

    Ensemble: Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (St Matthew Passion, BWV.244)

    Ensemble: Gabrieli Players. Conductor: Paul McCreesh.
    • ARCHIV.
  • Hans Leo Hassler

    Mein G' Mut ist mir verwirret

    Choir: Singer Pur.
    • ARS MUSICI.
  • ANTHONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.1

    • John Barry

      Out of Africa (Main Theme)

      Orchestra: Studio orchestra.
      • MCA.
  • ANTHONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.2

    • Gaetano Donizetti

      Spargi d'amaro pianto (Lucia di Lammermoor)

      Singer: Joan Sutherland. Choir: Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Conductor: Richard Bonynge.
      • DECCA.
  • ANTHONY SHER'S CHOICE NO.3

    • Henry Purcell

      The Fairy Queen (Act 4: Symphony)

      Orchestra: Orchestra of The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
      • CORO.
  • Madeleine Dring

    Mazurka (3 Dances)

    Performer: Ro Hancock-Child.
    • Micropress Music.
  • MUSIC IN TIME: MEDIEVAL

    • Francesco Landini

      Questa fanciull’ Amor

      Performer: Andrew Lawrence‐King. Choir: Gothic Voices. Singer: Catherine King. Singer: Steven Harrold. Singer: Julian Podger. Singer: Leigh Nixon.
      • AVIE.
    • anon.

      Creata fusti, o vergine Maria

      Singer: Catherine King.
      • AVIE.
    • Francesco Landini

      Questa fanciull’ Amor

      Performer: Andrew Lawrence‐King.
      • AVIE.
    • Oswald von Wolkenstein

      Mein herz das ist versert

      Singer: Catherine King. Singer: Leigh Nixon.
      • AVIE.
    • Francesco Landini

      Questa fanciull’ Amor

      Performer: Andrew Lawrence‐King.
      • AVIE.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Adagio in C minor and Rondeau in C major, K 617

    Performer: Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin. Performer: Sir Stephen Hough.
    • BIS.
  • Isaac Albéniz

    Cadiz (Suite española)

    Music Arranger: Unspecified. Performer: John Williams.
    • Echoes of Spain.
    • CBS.
    • 7.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: THE ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

    • Gustav Mahler

      Totenfeier

      Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski.
      • SIGNUM.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Ave Maria

    Choir: Tenebrae. Conductor: Nigel Short.
    • SIGNUM.
  • Fanny Mendelssohn

    Piano Sonata in C minor

    Performer: Heather Schmidt.
    • NAXOS.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: THE ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      Brandenburg Concerto No.4 in G major, BWV1049

      Performer: Rachel Beckett. Performer: Marion Scott. Performer: Monica Huggett. Director: Monica Huggett. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
      • VIRGIN CLASSICS.

Classical Roots

Answer: 'American Tune' by Paul Simon is based on 'O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden' from J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion

The music played:

Paul Simon
American Tune
Paul Simon (singer)
WARNER MUSIC UK LIMITED

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  • Fri 15 Jan 2016 09:00

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