Soul Music

An exploration into the enduring appeal of the Dire Straits classic, Brothers in Arms. Although thought to have been written by Mark Knopfler in response to the Falklands war in the mid 80's, it's a piece that people now associate with many other conflicts ; military, personal and social. Dire Straits bass player, John Illsley explains why it remains such a special piece for the band, while Marines chaplain, Nigel Beardsley, recalls the important part it's played in the lives of so many soldiers in Iran and Afghanistan and why it's now often heard at military funerals. The Irish playwright, Sam Millar describes why he based a very personal play around the song and Snuffy Walden, music director of the hit American TV show, The West Wing, talks about how the series writer, Aaron Sorkin insisted on it being used in its entirety during a crucial episode. Prof Alan Moore of Surrey University explains how it's Knopfler's brilliant use of harmony that gives the song the sense of yearning that has made it into one of

For many hearing The Skye Boat Song brings back a wealth of childhood memories, as the words "Speed Bonnie Boat Like a Bird on the Wing" tell the story of the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie, dressed as a maid to the Isle of Skye, after this defeat at the battle of Culloden. Originally written by Sir Harold Boulton and Anne MacLeod back in the 1870's, we explore the beauty of this song and how it continues to touch people's lives across the world in very different ways. Contributors in this programme include: The Queen's Piper, who has played this tune in happy and sad times, recalls playing it outside the Queen's window and leading Princess Margaret's cortege. A New Zealand artist shares his memories of time spent with his father, and the sound of him whistling the song on their way home as dusk fell. A sailor from the Isle of Skye, describes his connection with the spirituality of piece and the Loch on which he sails. Acclaimed violinist Tasmin Little shares her own arrangement of the piece and explai

Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major Opus 61 was written in 1806, but was not a success at its premiere. 200 years on and this Concerto is regarded as one of the greatest pieces ever written for the violin. This programme explores ways in which the Beethoven Violin Concerto has touched and shaped people's lives. Writer Kelly Cherry describes her father loving this piece and still remembering it even when he had Alzheimers. Violinist Robert Gupta talks about this piece being the music which cemented his friendship with Nathaniel Ayers - a moment which changed Robert's life. Joe Quigley remembers hearing the Concerto at a crucial point in his life whilst living in a monastery. Devorina Gamalova recalls being entranced by this music as a child. And violinist Christian Tetzlaff talks about what it's like to play the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Producer: Rosie Boulton.

While for many, it will be always associated with brown bread, the Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony is an enduring a piece that never fails to move and inspire. We hear from the anti- apartheid campaigner Albie Sachs, who explains that through whistling the theme while in solitary confinement, he was able to make contact with the wider world and kept his spirit and hope alive. Margaret Caldicott recalls the important role the piece played in her mother's life while in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Producer Lucy Lunt.

Stirring, emotional and unmistakable: The Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah is the subject of this week's Soul Music. The Alzheimer's Society runs a group called 'Singing for the Brain'. It's for people with dementia or Alzheimers and their carers who come together to sing in a group. As music is tied so closely to emotional memories, often lyrics and music remain firmly fixed in the brain, even though other memories have died away. Julia Burton of the Alzheimer's Society recalls the power of the Hallelujah Chorus, as performed at a special event by Singing for the Brain groups in Wiltshire and Dorset. Mrs Vera Fiton, whose late husband - Ted - had dementia talks about how important the weekly singing group was for both of them. Taking Ted from his care home to 'do the Hallelujah' was a weekly highlight, he enjoyed it so much, Vera recalls, that he'd still be singing in the taxi on the way home. Carol Pemberton, of the Birmingham-based a capella quintet 'Black Voices', took part in the reopening

The powerful song, Non, je ne regrette rien, made famous by Edith Piaf, is this week's Soul Music. Written in 1960 by Charles Dumont, in a fit of despair, he gave the music to lyricist Michel Vaucaire, but was surprised by the words he wrote. Dumont thought the song should be about war or revolution. Vaucaire explained he wanted to give the song to Edith Piaf. She was living in Paris at the time, having recently finished her 'suicide tour' during which she had collapsed. At that time, Piaf didn't think much of Charles Dumont and tried to cancel their appointment. But on hearing the song, Piaf told Dumont that with this song, she would sing again. Contributers include; Charles Dumont who lives in Paris at the same apartment, with the same piano on which he wrote the song in 1960. He plays the song on the very same piano. Lord Lamont, who became associated with the song when asked by a reporter which he regretted most - talking about the 'green shoots of recovery' or allegedly singing in the bath after the

Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, which was famously featured in David Lean's film "Brief Encounter", is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical. In this programme people describe the way in which Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto has touched and shaped their lives. The programme features a pianist from Taiwan whose memories of a repressive childhood were dispelled by the emotions contained within this music. Plus a story from an acclaimed pianist from Argentina who was told she would never play the piano again after a serious car accident, but who has recently performed this piece in New York. And finally an account of the place that this piece of passionate and heartfelt music played in the life of John Peel and his family, told by his wife Sheila Ravenscroft. The concerto is also given historical and musical context in the programme by pianists Peter Donohoe and Howard Shelley. Producer: Rosie Boulton.

The haunting melancholy of Gresford, the Miners' Hymn, is the music explored in this week's programme. Written by a former miner, Robert Saint, to commemorate the Gresford pit disaster in 1934 it has been played at mining events ever since; most notably at the famous Durham Miners' Gala. Contributors to the programme include: (note: since the programme was broadcast, we've been contacted by the daughter of the man who wrote the words to Gresford: his name was George Leslie Lister and he wrote the words in 1970). Albert Rowlands, now 91, was working in the lamp-room of Gresford colliery when there was a devastating underground explosion. His father was among the men lost. Peter Crookston is the author of 'The Pitmen's Requiem' a book which explores the history of the great northern coalfield and the life of Robert Saint. Robert Saint's grandson, David Saint, is the acting principal of the Birmingham Conservatoire and organist at St. Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham. Playing through Gresford on the cathe

Gerry Rafferty's glorious and instantly recognisable hit, Baker Street is the subject of this week's Soul Music. Rafferty died last year (on January 4th 2011) at the age of 63, leaving behind a widely respected musical legacy. The most popular of his tracks is, arguably, Baker Street: His daughter Martha Rafferty recalls hearing her father develop the melody in the attic of their Glasgow home; the sound of him picking-out the tune on his acoustic guitar would drift through the push-up attic-door, filling the rest of the house with what would become his biggest hit. She describes the inspiration for the lyrics: a book called 'The Outsider' by Colin Wilson which Rafferty was reading at the time. It's about the sense of disconnection from the world that artists often feel. Martha regards Baker Street as the lyrical version of that book. Other contributors include: Musician and founder member of Stealer's Wheel, Rab Noakes. He describes how the legal wrangling which followed the break-up of Stealer's Wheel in

The enduring Irving Berlin classic, Let's Face the Music and Dance is celebrated by those for whom it has a special significance. Written in 1932 as one of the dance numbers for Follow The Fleet, a movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, it's since taken on a life of it's own, being recorded by hundreds of artists from Diane Krall to Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra to Vera Lynn, Ella Fitzgerald to Matt Munroe. For Sir John Mortimer's widow, Penny, it conjures up the very essence of her husband, who loved life, romance and dancing - even though he was no Fred Astaire , a fact he always deeply regretted. Lawrence Bergreen , Berlin's biographer and academic Morris Dickstein explain why this song has such a unique place in popular culture and the cabaret singer and composer, Kit Hesketh Harvey explains why the melody continues to haunt us. We hear from the bride and groom who decided to dance down the aisle to it after their wedding and the redundant welder for whom the song will be forever associated wit

The words of one of our most loved hymns, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, were taken from the last six verses of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Brewing of Soma, an attack on ostentatious and overt religious practise. But it wasn't until over fifty years later, that a school master at Repton in Derbyshire had the inspiration to pair it with a tune by Sir Hubert Parry, thus confirming it as a favourite for school assemblies, funerals and weddings. The current Director of Music at Repton, John Bowley, explains how this happened, while composer and conductor Bob Chilcott explains why this was a musical mariage made in heaven. We hear from those for who whom the hymn has special significance, including the MP from Gloucester, Richard Graham; when briefly imprisoned in a Libyan gaol in 1978 he found enormous comfort in the words and tune. Pipe Major Ross Munro remembers recording the piece in the swelting heat of Basra with members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and film director Joe Wright recalls how the

Exploring the impact that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's piece for piano and violin Spiegel im Spiegel has had on people's lives. Written in 1978, just prior to his departure from Estonia, Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel is musically minimal, yet produces a serene tranquillity. It's in F major in 6/4 time, with the piano playing rising crotchet triads and the violin playing slow scales, alternately rising and falling, of increasing length, which all end on the note A. The score of the piece looks deceptively simple, but as violinist, Tasmin Little explains, it's one of the most difficult pieces to perform because the playing has to simply be perfect, or the mood is lost. "Spiegel im Spiegel" in German literally can mean both "mirror in the mirror" as well as "mirrors in the mirror", referring to the infinity of images produced by parallel plane mirrors. The programme contains an interview with visual artist Mary Husted who heard this work and was inspired to produce a set of collages called "Spiegel im Spi

Wichita Lineman, the ultimate country/pop crossover track, is the subject of this week's Soul Music. David Crary is a lineman from Oklahoma. He describes his job - storm-chasing to mend fallen power-lines; travelling on 'dirt roads, gravel roads, paved roads... up in the farmlands of Illinois and Missouri... down south in the Swamplands... it ain't nothing to swerve in the middle of the road in your bucket-truck to miss an alligator '. He recalls the first time he heard Wichita Lineman, travelling in the back of his family's Station Wagon, listening to the radio... thinking that being a lineman 'must be a cool job' if someone's written a song about it. Also a part-time musician, David has recorded his own version of the song which sums up his working life... on the road, working long hours, away from his wife and six kids. Wichita Lineman was written by Jimmy Webb for the Country star Glen Campbell. It tells the story of a lonely lineman in the American midwest, travelling vast distances to mend power and

This exploration of the impact that Mendelssohn's Octet has had on different people's lives, demonstrates the healing power of music in a variety of situations around the world. Mendelssohn wrote his Octet for double string quartet in 1825 when he was only 16 years old. Despite his youth, this is a mature and brilliant piece of music described in this programme by the interviewees as "carnivalesque", "a romp", "a party". Choreographer Bill T Jones describes the way in which the Octet showed his company how to keep living during the onslaught of AIDS in the 80's. Cellist Raphael and violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch talk about falling in love whilst learning this music in the 70's. South Korean Lisa Kim tells a story about going on tour with the New York Philharmonic to North Korea and her intense fear and mistrust being replaced by wonder when they played the Octet with a North Korean Quartet. And Matthew Trusler describes the importance of playing this work after the death of his son. The recording of the M

Adagietto from Mahler's 5th Symphony Mahler wrote his 5th Symphony during the summers of 1901 and 1902. The Adagietto is the 4th movement which is thought to have been inspired by falling in love with Alma who he married around this time. This single movement is Mahler's most well known piece of music. It was famously used in the 1971 Luchino Visconti film Death in Venice And it was also conducted by Leonard Bernstein at the mass at St Patrick's Cathedral, New York on the day of the burial of Robert Kennedy. In this programme, composer David Matthews explains the significance of this piece in Mahler's output. Psychoanalyst Anthony Cantle describes listening to it with his mother during her last days of dementia. Malcolm Reid tells how this piece signified a change in himself as a young man in the British police force with narrow, racist views, to hearing it in Australia and shifting his to becoming a liberal. And Helen Epstein explains why it was played at her mother's funeral. Producer, Rosie Boulton.

Schubert's Winterreise Written the year before Schubert's death aged just 31, these 24 songs based on poems by Wilhelm Müller describe a journey that takes us ever deeper into the frozen landscape of the soul. Singers Thomas Hampson, Mark Padmore, Alice Coote and David Pisaro describe the experience of immersing themselves in this music. And Bernard Keefe tells of the time he sang these songs in Hiroshima to survivors of the bomb. Producer, Rosie Boulton.

In this series that explores those pieces of music that never fail to move us, this week we feature, 'The Impossible Dream', 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 it's 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 80's 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 and former advertising executive Rob Chew explains how this piece is helping him face lifes biggest challenge. Producer Nicola Hum

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. In this programme, 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. Producer, Rosie Boulton.

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet Written in 1789, two years before Mozart's death, this first ever work for string quartet plus clarinet remains a firm favourite for music lovers around the world. In this programme 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.

Majestic and moving in equal measure, Beethoven's fifth and final piano concerto, The Emperor, is this week's Soul Music. Richard McMahon (concert pianist, and teacher at the Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama) plays extracts and discusses the virtuosic demands posed by The Emperor. 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 - now 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 clarinetist) labouriously 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 co