Soul Music

‘The Impossible Dream' is a song that talks of the resilience of the human spirit.It tells the story of a quest and it's had a surprising journey of its own. It was originally composed for the 1965 musical The Man of La Mancha which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes story of Don Quixote. The music was written by Mitch Leigh and the lyrics by Joe Darion.Now in his 80s, Leigh explains how his first writing partner was WH Auden and talks about why this particular piece struck a chord with African American friends at that time. Generations on, international Soprano Lesley Garrett recalls how this song inspired her childhood dreams in Doncaster.Yachtsman of the Year Geoff Holt talks about how this song carried him across the Atlantic on one of the most important voyages of his life.Plus, former advertising executive Rob Chew explains how this piece is helping him face life’s biggest challenge.Contributors:Geoff Holt Rob Chew Mitch Leigh Stuart Pedlar Lesley GarrettSeries about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.Producer: Nicola HumphriesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

Simple Gifts started life as a Shaker Hymn and became incorporated into the hymn Lord of the Dance and Aaron Copland's ballet suite Appalachian Spring.Nora Guthrie describes the central place this tune has played throughout her life. Pete Lashley tells how he heard it unexpectedly whilst touring in New Zealand. Michael Carter explains why his father chose this tune for his famous hymn "Lord of the Dance" and Scott Malchus describes running a marathon whilst listening to this music.Featuring: Thomas Swain Michael Carter Nora Guthrie Scott Malchus Pete Lashley Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Rosie BoultonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2011.

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet was written in 1789, two years before the composer’s death. The first ever work for string quartet plus clarinet remains a firm favourite for music lovers around the world. Professor Paul Robertson describes how his wife played this piece to him whilst he lay in a coma. Clarinettist Peter Furniss tells of the solace the slow movement provided his mother as she lay dying. And Alex Smith explains the importance of this piece in his work to help children with autism, Asperger's, dyslexia and other childhood disorders. Featuring: Paul Robertson Peter Furniss Alex Smith John Playfair David Campbell Robin BatteauSeries exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Rosie BoultonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

Beethoven's fifth and final piano concerto, The Emperor is majestic and moving in equal measure.Richard McMahon plays extracts and discusses the virtuosic it demands. Australian film producer, Hal McElroy, talks about using the Adagio (the second movement) to illustrate the classic 1970s film Picnic at Hanging Rock. That was where Andrew Law – who was Chaplain at Malvern College - first heard the piece. He describes the Adagio as being 'one of those pieces of art which it is worth being alive to have heard'.Concert pianist, James Rhodes, describes how The Emperor was central to his childhood and his developing love of Beethoven's piano music. Music teacher and singer, Prue Hawthorne, recalls how her father (an amateur clarinettist) laboriously transcribed by hand the horn and clarinet sections of the first movement so they could play along with the record in their living room. Also contributing is the renowned Beethoven biographer, John Suchet.Concert pianist Richard McMahon has now retired as a teacher at the Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama.Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Karen GregorFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010.

An examination of the enduring popularity of the hymn, How Great Thou Art. Based on a Swedish poem by Carl Gustav Boberg, it was written by the British missionary Stuart Hine in 1949. It subsequently become an Elvis Presley classic and as the country and western star , Connie Smith explains, it's the piece she always sings to close her show, the stirring lyrics and soaring melody having the ability to move and inspire audiences of all ages and backgrounds.At the age of 101, George Beverly Shea shares his clear memories of singing it at hundreds of Billy Graham crusades.Featuring: Bud Boberg Ray Bodkin Bev Shea Jerry Schilling Malcolm Imhoff David Darg Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Lucy LuntFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2010.

"He wanted it to be something that's consoling and helpful. It's the end of their lives where they can rest in peace."World renowned choral conductor Sir David Willcocks, shares his personal reflections on the Faure Requiem alongside those for whom the music has comforted and inspired. Known for its peaceful and hopeful nature the Faure Requiem has been called 'The lullaby of death'. Whilst Gabriel Faure himself never spoke directly about what inspired his interpretation of the Requiem, author and biographer Jessica Duchen has speculated that it may have been born out of his experience as a soldier during the Franco-Prussian war. Featuring personal stories of conflict and deliverance shared from across the decades. Reaching from the beaches of Normandy to the plains of Afghanistan and into the skies of Salisbury.Faure composed the first version of the work, which he called "un petit Requiem" with five movements, of which the Pie Jesu and In Paradisum have become arguably the most popular."Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest."Featuring: David Willcocks Jessica Duchen Christina Schmid Paul Hawkins Ross MallockSeries exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Nicola HumphriesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2010.

At the core of Czech cultural identity Bedrich Smetana’s Ma Vlast. Written in the late 19th century, it's a series of six symphonic poems. For a western audience the most popular and best loved is Vltava, a soundscape conjuring up vivid images of the river which runs through Prague.Jan Kaplan is a Czech born film-maker who has lived in the UK since 1968. He describes the 'educational concerts' he had to attend as a young boy when - bored to tears - he would endure long performances of Smetana's music. However, as an adult living in exile, his experience of Czech culture was tinged with a remote sense of patriotism and he grew to appreciate his national composer. When - following the 1989 Velvet revolution - he was eventually able to return home, he witnessed one of the most famous and moving performances of Ma Vlast at Smetana Hall in 1990. Also at that concert was musicologist, Professor Jan Smaczny, who describes his memories of that evening, and explains the history and mythology portrayed in Ma Vlast.Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Karen Gregor.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2010.

Stephen Sondheim's song, Send In the Clowns, from the musical 'A Little Night Music' was written late in rehearsals for the actress Glynis Johns, playing the part of Desiree. A song of regret and anger, the part has famously been played by Judi Dench, and the song became an independent hit, sung by Judy Collins, Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand. Hannah Waddingham played the youngest ever Desiree in Trevor Nunn's production, and used her memories of an unhappy relationship to inspire her performance.Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Sara Conkey.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2010.

Bach wrote his Goldberg Variations for harpsichord in the 1740s, but today it's performed by pianists all over the world. People describe the place these pieces have in their lives. This includes: * A neuroscientist from New York * Pianist Angela Hewitt * A father driving his family through the night in the Australian Outback * A woman from Oregon whose life was transformed, perhaps even saved, by this music.Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Sarah ConkeyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands is a spiritual song originating in the USA.But it first caught the public's attention when Laurie London took it to the top of the charts in 1958. In this programme, people describe the place that the song has in their lives. Including the conductor of a choir for refugees and asylum seekers and the minister who led prayers on President Obama's first day in office.There's also a performance from Washington Performing Arts Society's Children of the Gospel Choir. They sang an arrangement of He's Got the Whole World in His Hands made by their conductor and Artistic Director Stanley J Thurston at the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral on January 21, 2009. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and their families attended this service and the sermon was given by the Reverend Sharon E Watkins.Contributors:John Copley Ian Bradley Amy Mclean Philip Wright Sharon Watkins Mike McGrother Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.Producer: Sara ConkeyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.