Revival of the Third Programme - contributions invited

[Sydney Grew]

[Thanks to French Frank for responding favourably to a request for permission to post this.]

An up-to-date version of the original Third Programme has been launched this week. A list of its many advantages in comparison with Radio Three may be read in the introductory section here: http://thethird.freeforums.net/index.cgi?board=ourbcs

Communications are now invited from people wishing to contribute:

a) recorded performances by amateur musicians (soloists, chamber groups, orchestras or choirs); or

b) a spoken talk, or series of talks, on some serious subject, rather in the style of the Reith lectures; or

c) poetry readings.

Here are our first three broadcasts, all available at the Internet Archive (video section):

1) Paul Hindemith - Parody Overture to the Flying Dutchman. A kind of initial proof of concept.

2) Hans Erich Apostel - Piano Concerto (as originally broadcast by the Third in 1964). This includes a high-level analysis displayed as the music proceeds.

3) Bernard van Dieren - Sixth String Quartet. This one includes the complete score, displayed in time with the (extraordinarily beautiful) music.

[jayne lee wilson]

Please could you give us some info about the codecs/bitrates/sampling rates used?

[Sydney Grew]

Thanks for your query. The sound track - which is the important part - uses in the first three broadcasts aacPlus v2 encoding, also known as eAAC+, also known as HE-AAC v2. Such audio files are often given the extension m4a. The sample rate is 44100 Hertz and the average bit rate used - after some experimentation - is 256 kilobits per second. Bear in mind that the original sound sources for the programmes - so far - have been quite low in quality; our aim has been simply to ensure that nothing we do reduces the quality further.

The video track is standard H264, resolution 720 by 480 pixels, and a frame rate of 25 per second.

Any of these audio and video parameters may be changed if required for future broadcasts. For example, the sharp and clear display of a full page of orchestral score requires at the very least a height of 768 pixels (although something over 1000 would be preferable); that will be just manageable on a lap-top. We are experimenting with files having more than one video track - one for each of two or three different resolutions, and (in the case of Liszt's Faust Symphony, say, or Dr. Williams's Sea Symphony) one video track for the poetry, another for the full score, and a third for a real-time analysis, allowing the listener to switch between the various video tracks at will while the music is playing.

I have tested the broadcasts with four different media players: VLC, MPlayer, WinAmp, and the Windows Media Player; no problems have arisen.

The Internet Archive Video department is very good, because it permits listeners to download a file that is indentical with the file originally uploaded by the creator - and without commercial pressure or advertisements.

[Andrew Slater]

Very good.

I wish you well in the venture.

Have you contacted any amateur groups direct?

[Chelsea]

According to french frank, the Controller of Radio 3 recently described FoR3 as following the 'heritage' of the old Third Programme. It strikes me that even if this is only partially true, Sydney Grew, your valiant efforts to revive the Third Programme in the digital age are an interesting experiment. If I may therefore ask you, directly, who do you consider your audience to be?

[Sir Velo]

c, we've met before haven't we?

[Chelsea]

I suspect that you are confusing me with a close relation, Sir Velo! Nevertheless, he sends you his best regards. Keep cycling, and more importantly, recycling!

[Sydney Grew]

Two further broadcasts from the revived Third Programme have now appeared.

4) Our fourth broadcast consists of Anatoly Alexandroff's Fourth Pianoforte Sonata, opus nineteen, written in 1922. It is a powerful piece, packed with pungent harmonies. This nineteen-minute item comprises both the full score and a structural summary, displayed simultaneously with the music. Pianoforte music demands the highest quality, so the audio track here uses a variable data rate estimated to be 425 thousand bits per second.

5) And the fifth broadcast consists of Delius's Double Concerto from 1916. In my view this is the most beautiful orchestral work of the twentieth century. It was written for the renowned Harrison sisters May (violin) and Beatrice (violoncello). A detailed analysis, an erudite commentary and some photographs are displayed in time with the music (twenty-one minutes).

Further information about both broadcasts, and about the general philosophy of the revived Third, may be found in the "Introduction and Programme Guide" section here: http://thethird.freeforums.net/index.cgi?board=ourbcs

[Sydney Grew]

Thanks to Mr. Slater for his wishes above - and no, we have not yet directly contacted any groups; that is something for the future. At present it is still a question of learning new techniques with each new broadcast. I hope to put together well over a hundred over the course of time.

6) The sixth broadcast from the revived Third Programme comprises one work, Waldemar von Baußnern's Serenade in four movements for violin, clarinet and pianoforte. The work contains many original turns, and has a duration of twenty minutes. The broadcast includes the full score, displayed in time with the music, and it is the first of our broadcasts to use an larger screen resolution of 1280 pixels by 720, affording a superior experience when displayed full-screen.

Von Baußnern's extensive œuvre includes eight symphonies, hardly ever played; sadly a number of them may even have been lost - no one seems certain whether they have been lost or not.

The usual information about the broadcast and links to the Internet Moving Image Archive may be found in the "Introduction and Programme Guide" section here: http://thethird.freeforums.net/index.cgi?board=ourbcs.