SUNDAY HALF-HOUR FROM COTHAM PARISH CHURCH
Introduced by Jeremy Carrad. Director of Music: Dr John Bishop
November 1977 (with brass ensemble)DOWNLOAD or listen here:
April 1981 DOWNLOAD or listen here:
TOMTICKETATOM
Ravel’s Boléro is one of the most performed pieces in the concert repertoire. For 338 out of the 340 bars the drum beats out the hypnotic rhythm which has pulled in the crowds since its first performance in 1928. Ravel himself described his most famous work as a joke, but what about the musicians who have to play it? For conductor Bramwell Tovey it’s full of great moments: Jack Brymer thinks it’s like being hit behind the ear with a sock full of wet sand.
This programme, produced for BBC Radio 4 by Richard Bannerman, won a Sony Radio Award in 1988 for Best Classical Music Programme. It was first broadcast in ‘Kaleidoscope” to mark the 50th anniversary of Ravel’s death.