In Space no-one can hear you sing...
Space. A place few men or women have gone before...but plenty of music has. From Holst and Bowie to John Williams and Ligeti, Tom Service discovers the music of the spheres
Space. A place few men or women have gone before ... but plenty of composers have. The universe has inspired musicians for hundreds of years and consequently we all know what space music sounds like. Or do we?
From Holst and David Bowie to John Williams via Ligeti, Thomas Ades and the Beastie Boys, Tom Service dons his spacesuit on a mission to explore why cosmic-inspired music sounds the way it does, and discovers how space science is just as inspired by music as musicians are by space.
En route to the stars, space scientist Lucie Green is on hand to tell Tom the reality of sound in space, while mathematician Elaine Chew helps him uncover the music of the spheres.
Featured in...
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Space
Brian Cox, music from space films and landing on moon rocks
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Music of the Spheres—Radio 3 in Concert
A collection of programmes and features about the planets and other heavenly bodies.
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate βnoiseβ from βmusicβ, but is it that simple?
Podcast
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The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
