Podcast Episodes

Mack the Knife

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…

10 years, 9 months ago

Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica

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 En…

10 years, 9 months ago

Mr Blue Sky

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 E…

10 years, 9 months ago

The Lord Is My Shepherd

This much-loved hymn based on Psalm 23 has been set to music many times, including Brother James' Air and Crimond.

The Queen requested the Crimond ve…

11 years, 4 months ago

Scarborough Fair

"Tomorrow we're going in search of a song and in search of a dream of England which has travelled right around the world" - Will Parsons

No one can be…

11 years, 4 months ago

First Cut Is the Deepest

Long before it was a worldwide hit for Rod Stewart, the Cat Stevens song 'First Cut is the Deepest' made a name for Ike and Tina Turner's former back…

11 years, 4 months ago

Bach Cello Suite No 1 in G Major

Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suite No I in G major is one of the most frequently performed and recognisable solo compositions ever written for cello…

11 years, 4 months ago

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' took him years to write. It originally had as many as 80 verses. Recorded for his 'Various Positions' album, it was almo…

11 years, 4 months ago

La Boheme

"La Boheme is a work of genius, for me it's the perfect opera. There's not a bar or a word or anything you'd want to alter. It just gets to you"

- Op…

11 years, 9 months ago

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' by The Smiths is explored through personal stories.

Released in 1986 on 'The Queen Is Dead' album, it's becom…

11 years, 9 months ago