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Classical music for your journey

Half and hour of back to back classical music, including works by Ēriks Ešenvalds, Rachmaninov, Pauline Hall, and Grace Williams.

30 minutes of back to back classical music to help wind down at the end of a busy day. Longing and yearning are a recurring theme in today's mix, opening in amongst the stars with Ēriks Ešenvalds' shimmering choral depiction, followed by one of the most beautiful of Rachmaninov's piano preludes. The Norwegian composer Pauline Hall is inspired in her orchestral writing by the poetry of Verlaine, and Reynaldo Hahn's seductive Venetian love song conjures up scenes of gondolas and lapping water along the Grand Canal. There is more yearning emotion in a harp miniature by Grace Williams, and the sad but exquisite setting of the Requiem by Herbert Howells, with a little light relief provide by a comedic clog dance.

Producer: Helen Garrison

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3'.

21 days left to listen

30 minutes

Last on

Fri 3 Jul 202619:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Ēriks Ešenvalds

    Stars

    Choir: Vasari Singers. Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse.
    • Heaven Full of Stars.
    • Naxos.
    • 1.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Prelude in D Major Op. 23 No. 4

    Performer: Steven Osborne.
    • Rachmaninoff: Preludes, Op. 23 & 32.
    • Hyperion.
    • 5.

  • Pauline Hall

    Ariettes oubliées (Verlaine Suite)

    Orchestra: Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Conductor: Christian Eggen.
    • Norway in Music: Pauline Hall.
    • Simax.
    • 003.

  • Reynaldo Hahn

    La Barcheta (Venezia)

    Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Performer: Graham Johnson.
    • Souvenirs De Venise.
    • Helios.
    • 13.

  • Ferdinand Hérold

    Clog Dance; Dance of the Cock and Hens (La Fille Mal Gardée)

    Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • EMI.

  • Grace Williams

    Hiraeth

    Performer: Edward Witsenburg.
    • Harp Music from Six Centuries.
    • Globe.
    • 20.

  • Herbert Howells

    Requiem aeternam I

    Conductor: Paul McCreesh. Choir: Gabrieli Consort.
    • A Song of Farewell: Music of Mourning and Consolation.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 903.

Broadcast

  • Fri 3 Jul 202619:00
    BBC Radio 3

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