What are your favourite editions of Discovering Music...

[doversoul1]

Discovering Music didn't always work for me. To take a recent example, there was an episode on Gesualdo with James Weeks of Exaudi. Very technical, the choir felt they were riding over a humped backed bridge, which was the last thing it felt like to me, as a listener.

Peter Phillips in the series Glory of Polyphony took an overview approach, contrasting his work with Palestrina, and this gave me a much better insight into the work and mind set of Gesualdo.

Is it not Composer of the Week you are referring to? There certainly hasn’t been a ‘recent’ programme of Discovering Music.

[Quarky]

Is it not Composer of the Week you are referring to? There certainly hasn’t been a ‘recent’ programme of Discovering Music.

Eventually found it, still available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zvpkr

Phew! That took 30 minutes of solid searching through Radio 3's labyrinthine records...

[doversoul1]

Eventually found it, still available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zvpkr

Phew! That took 30 minutes of solid searching through Radio 3's labyrinthine records...

This is great.Thank you!!!!

[Quarky]

Listening yet again to this, I have to admit that I am hearing a lot more in Gesualdo's madrigals. It's a pity that so much of the singing was cut from this recording, and we were just left with the speech - but I guess the Madrigals are available on You Tube etc.

Searching through the BBC archives, I did not realise that there have been so many programmes on Gesualdo over the past year or two. Would give the COTW another whirl - but no longer available.

I liked the Stravinsky rework. There were a number of allusions to more modern composers, Wagner, Schoenberg, Spectralists.

But still prefer Peter Phillips presentation.

[Quarky]

Actually, it would make sense to have the words to Gesualdo's madrigals available when listening - since his changes of mood are apparently triggered by a single word.

The words are available on the web, but Radio 3 might easily post them on their website, as and when.