128. Salute to the sun: Handel, Eternal source of light divine
Eternal source of light divine is three beautiful and brilliant minutes of Handel, as effective at setting us up for the day as any yoga routine (though you can do that too of course)! It’s a quietly awe-filled salute to the sun. Listening time 10mins… Listen
127 A whole new world: Bach, Cello Suite no.1
In his Cello Suites, JS Bach catapulted the instrument into the solo spotlight and discovered new worlds of sound and possibilities, full of riches to explore. Nominally it’s dance music but its depth and beauty bring us stillness and solace. Listening time 25 mins… Listen
126. Into a black hole… and out the other side? Thovaldsdottir, Metacosmos
Carrying a fragile flower whilst walking a tightrope. Finding the balance between beauty and chaos. Being pulled along by forces outside of our control. On Cacophony we talk about ‘diving into great music’: Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Metacosmos might be the biggest dive yet – into a black hole! Universal and yet personal, her music is distinctive, compelling, moving and profound. [23mins]… Listen
125. Ain’t no mountain high enough: Strauss, Alpine Symphony
With the wonders of our imagination and some great music to help, all things are possible – so let’s enjoy the views from the top of a mountain: leaving the house (or even getting out of bed) is entirely optional. Richard Strauss takes us over the top (in every sense) in his epic, excessive, exuberant Alpine Symphony, with great views and plenty of thrills but also moments that inspire deeper contemplation on the glories of nature. It’s a trip you don’t want to miss. Listening time 62mins.… Listen
124. Heading North by Southwest with Willie Ruff: Strayhorn, Suite for The Duo
Brilliant and meaningful, North by Southwest may have been the initial name for Billy Strayhorn’s Suite for The Duo, a brilliant, late work for horn and piano: it’s a title that suggests confusion and conflicting ideas about the dying composers direction of travel. It’s a great piece: virtuosic but raw and written with a total understanding of both horn and piano and what they can do.
It’s a longer episode than normal because (amazingly) I was able to speak with Willie Ruff, the horn play for whom it was written. Willie, now in his nineties, joined me from his home in Alabama and he talked about his life and career, the Mitchell-Ruff duo, Strayhorn and how Suite for The Duo came to life. (37 mins)
… Listen
123. Emptiness and space: Sculthorpe, Kakadu
Heat, danger, emptiness and space. Plenty of all of this in Peter Sculthorpe’s excellent Kakadu – inspired by northern Australia but featuring universal themes of humanity, life, death, and timelessness. Listening time c22 mins… Listen
122. The height of passion? Haydn, Symphony No.49
It’s not about that sort of passion, but this symphony La Passione is intense, dark, thrilling, and one of Haydn’s best! Listening time c30 minutes (podcast 5.5′, music 23′)… Listen
121. An unbearable lightness of being? Robert Schumann, Symphony no.4
One of my favourite joyful but heavyweight quick fixes, Robert Schumann’s original Symphony no.4 is an intense and inventive stream of consciousness full of light and life. It’s a thrill. Shame Schumann didn’t see it that way…
Listening time c35 minutes… Listen
120. A forgotten French flower: Bayon Louis, Overture ’Mayflower’
Another forgotten gem from a late 18th century woman composer, Marie Emmanuelle Bayon Louis’s overture to d’Épine, Mayflower, is boisterous and brilliant.… Listen