PODCAST

Soul Music

BBC Radio 4

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact

music music commentary

All Episodes

27:56

O Holy Night

Soul Music ·

2017/12/20

"O' Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining..." and so begins the gentle carol of reflection that has touched the lives of listeners around the world. For The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, it's the carol that lifted his spirits as he lay in a London hospital battling pneumonia. It is also the hymn that inspired a fellow patient to find faith. In Philadelphia it is the song that outreach worker Asteria Vives sang when she took Christmas to the homeless, whilst for singer and songwriter

27:49

Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Soul Music ·

2017/06/14

Sandy Denny was just 19 years old when she wrote 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes?', her much-loved song about the passing of time.Soul Music tells the story behind the song and speaks to people for whom it has special meaning. Record producer Joe Boyd and founder member of Fairport Convention Simon Nicol remember Sandy and her music. We speak to musicians who have covered the song, including folk legend Judy Collins and the singer Rufus Wainwright, about what the song means to them. We hear from

27:42

You Are My Sunshine

Soul Music ·

2017/06/07

You Are My Sunshine was written in or around 1939 and was adopted by the then governor of Louisiana, Jimmy Davies, who recorded and used it as his campaign theme song. It has since been recorded by more than 400 artists, from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to Aretha Franklin and Bryan Ferry. A mother and daughter tell their story of how the song helped the daughter's recovery after a catastrophic car crash, and how it has come to symbolise her struggle to rebuild her life after being in a coma for

27:36

Siegfried Idyll

Soul Music ·

2017/05/31

Wagner's peaceful Siegfried Idyll was written to thank his wife after the birth of his son Siegfried. On her birthday in 1870, she awoke to find an orchestra on her staircase performing the music for the first time. It is music which celebrates family relationships, and Soul Music hears from people whose lives and relationships have been touched and changed by this remarkable piece.Cellist Nick Trygstad explains how the music conjures up scenes of domestic life and helped him cope with his

27:20

My Favourite Things

Soul Music ·

2017/05/24

"Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens". Guests from around the world share their special memories of The Sound of Music classic 'My Favourite Things'.Written by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1959, this deceptively simple song has travelled the globe to comfort and enthral children the world over. Iranian Astronaut and philanthropist Anousheh Ansari's first encounter with this musical classic was in her native language of Farsi. It's a melody she held dear to her during years of unrest through the

27:18

Waterloo Sunset

Soul Music ·

2017/05/17

Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks was released in 1967. Soul Music hears the poignant, thoughtful and life-changing memories of those who love it.Childhood holidays were an escape from bullying for John Harvey. He describes the unforgettable moment when he heard Waterloo Sunset for the first time, on the radio, in 1967. Getting to know the music of The Kinks, and finding out about the character of its lead singer, Ray Davies, shaped and coloured his life from then on.Allison Moore Adams is an American

27:11

The Star-Spangled Banner

Soul Music ·

2016/11/01

America's national anthem was written by a lawyer, Francis Scott Key, after watching the British navy bombing Fort McHenry in 1814. It was set to an English social men's club song and recognized as the national anthem in 1889. Notoriously difficult to sing, and traditionally played at public sports events and orchestral concerts, the anthem has inspired emotion and attracted controversy. We hear from: Dr John Carlos who along with Dr Tommie Smith, raised their fists on the Olympic podium in the

27:46

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Soul Music ·

2016/10/25

Memories of first love, first borns and loss are stirred by 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'.This timeless love song was written by Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, and made famous by Roberta Flack. Activist and folk musician Peggy Seeger recalls her first meeting with the Scottish folk musician, which would inspire him to write the song, and talks about what the song means to her today. Ewan MacColl's biographer Ben Harker explains why this song is so different from much of his other work

27:27

Jerusalem

Soul Music ·

2016/10/18

"Jerusalem" has become a quintessentially middle-class and very English song, but it is held in the hearts and memories of people from different backgrounds and cultures. There is a bit of cricket - commentator Jonathan Agnew (Aggers) discusses England's stunning and unexpected victory in the 2005 Ashes. Jerusalem reminds him of that extraordinary summer. Pamela Davenport is the daughter of a man who felt that the words of Jerusalem highlighted inequality in society; lack of money prevented him

27:54

A Change Is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke

Soul Music ·

2016/10/12

Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come has become synonymous with the American Civil Rights Movement.It was released in December 1964, two weeks after the influential singer was shot dead in Los Angeles. Contributors include: Sam Cooke's brother LC, singer Bettye Lavette who sang it for Barack Obama at his inaugural ceremony and civil rights activists from the Freedom Summer of 64, Jennifer Lawson and Mary King.Producer: Maggie AyreFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.

28:15

Feed the Birds

Soul Music ·

2016/05/03

'Feed The Birds' was written for the film Mary Poppins by Richard and Robert Sherman.

27:36

Mozart's Requiem

Soul Music ·

2016/04/26

How Mozart's Requiem, written when he was dying, has touched and changed people's lives. Crime writer Val McDermid recalls how this music helped her after the loss of her father. Hypnotist Athanasios Komianos recounts how the piece took him to the darker side of the spirit world. And a friend of ballet dancer Edward Stierle, Lissette Salgado-Lucas, explains how Eddie turned his struggle with HIV into a ballet inspired by Mozart's music.Basement Jaxx used the Requiem in their live shows while Felix

27:25

The Way You Look Tonight

Soul Music ·

2016/04/19

'The Way You Look Tonight' was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film 'Swing Time'. Sung by Fred Astaire to Ginger Rogers while she was washing her hair, the song won an Oscar. It has been recorded by Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. Sarah Woodward, daughter of actor Edward, recalls how aged seven, she watched him sing it on The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show with his 'angelic' voice.Theatre director Michael Bawtree remembers the song being his father's favourite, and being

27:31

Sukiyaki (Ue o Muite Arukou)

Soul Music ·

2016/04/14

Memories of a prison camp in the Arizona desert, a tsunami and a plane crash are stirred by the bittersweet Japanese song Sukiyaki, a huge global hit of the 1960s.Originally released in Japan with the title 'Ue o Muite Arukou' ('I Look Up As I Walk'), the song was retitled 'Sukiyaki' (the name for a type of beef stew) for international release. It went to No 1 in the USA, Canada and Australia and placed in the top 10 of the UK singles chart. With melancholy lyrics set to a bright and unforgettable

27:27

Bring Him Home

Soul Music ·

2016/04/05

Bring Him Home is a beautiful and moving prayer-in-song that has developed meaning and identity outside of the hit musical, from Les Miserables.What has been its impact? Celebrated tenor, Alfie Boe has sung it many times in the West End and on Broadway. He discusses what the song means to him.Herbert Kretzmer talks about the agonising process of writing the lyrics.The Greater Manchester Police Male Voice Choir recorded a version especially for the programme; one of their members describes singing

27:22

Fairytale of New York

Soul Music ·

2015/12/22

The tragi-comic tale of love gone sour and shattered dreams eloquently depicted in the Christmas classic Fairytale of New York is the focus of this edition of Soul Music. James Fearnley, pianist with The Pogues recounts how the song started off as a transatlantic love story between an Irish seafarer missing his girl at Christmas before becoming the bittersweet reminiscences of the Irish immigrant down on his luck in the Big Apple, attempting to win back the woman he wooed with promises of 'cars big

27:03

Nimrod

Soul Music ·

2015/12/15

Edward Elgar's incomparable Nimrod, and the part it plays in people's lives, is explored this week:Composed as part of the Enigma Variations in the latter part of the 19th century, Nimrod was inspired by Elgar's friend and music editor, Augustus Jaeger.In an interview for this programme, Jaeger's granddaughter, Gillian Scully, talks about her grandfather and describes hearing her own granddaughter playing Nimrod at a school concert.The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch - National Chaplain to the Royal

27:17

Mack the Knife

Soul Music ·

2015/12/08

The Brecht/Weill song, 'Mack The Knife' first appeared in 'The Threepenny Opera' in Berlin in 1928. Sung about the criminal MacHeath, the 'play with music' is based on John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera', who was inspired by the real-life English highwayman, Jack Sheppard.The song became a hit when performed in 1959 by Bobby Darin. Ella Fitzgerald famously forgot the words when performing live in Berlin in 1960 and her improvised version won a Grammy.Suzi Quatro talks about how she performed it with her

27:40

Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica

Soul Music ·

2015/12/01

Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica (Lord Bless Africa) is a song that runs through the very soul of South African life. It was originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Xhosa clergyman at a Methodist mission school near Johannesburg who is said to have been inspired by the melody of John Parry's 'Aberystwyth', a hymn that would've been shared by Welsh missionary's at that time. It went on to travel the African continent but most significantly it became one of the defining symbols of a united South

27:07

Mr Blue Sky

Soul Music ·

2015/11/24

Mr Blue Sky is the Electric Light Orchestra's brilliantly off-beam classic song. It was released as a single in 1978, having first appeared on the ELO album 'Out of the Blue' in 1977. Written by Jeff Lynne, it was a no.6 hit in the UK, and has endured on the radio airwaves ever since.Tracey Collinson whose husband, Nigel, loved the track tells of the meaning it has for her.Musicologist, Allan Moore, discusses the anomolous use of the word 'blue': usually associated with downbeat emotions, this is a

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