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La virtuose lettone de l'orgue Iveta Apkalna nous emmène dans une odyssée à travers les plus grandes musiques pour son instrument : elle fait exploser les mythes, renverse les clichés et réinvente notre façon d'aborder l'une des plus extraordinaires machines musicales jamais créées.

Elle se délecte d'un éventail de musiques d'orgue brillantes et saisissantes, des plus célèbres aux plus inconnues : des chefs-d'œuvre de JS Bach, Liszt et Duruflé aux œuvres moins connues de Saariaho, Satie, Rheinberger et Nico Muhly. En se concentrant sur ce remarquable répertoire, Iveta met fin à toute idée préconçue selon laquelle le monde de l'orgue est quelque peu aride ou technique, et nous guide à travers le génie musical de certains des plus grands interprètes de ces 100 dernières années.

Par-dessus tout, cet ouvrage est personnel. Pas de complétude, pas d'excuses pour avoir manqué telle ou telle fugue ou toccata. Au lieu de cela, il s'agit d'une approche fraîche et convaincante de la plus grande - et souvent sous-estimée - musique jamais écrite.
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Acclaimed Latvian organ virtuoso Iveta Apkalna takes us on an odyssey through some of the greatest music for her instrument: exploding myths, overturning cliches and reinventing the way we approach one of the most extraordinary musical machines ever created.
She revels in an array of arresting, brilliant organ music from the famous to the unfamiliar: from cherished masterpieces by JS Bach, Liszt and Durufle to lesser-known works by Saariaho, Satie, Rheinberger and Nico Muhly. In focusing squarely on this remarkable repertoire, Iveta puts to bed any preconceptions that the world of the organ is somehow dry or technical - guiding us through the musical brilliance of some of the greatest performers of the last 100 years.
Above all, this is personal. No completism, no apologies for missing out this or that fugue or toccata. Instead: a fresh, compelling approach to some of the greatest - and often under-appreciated - music ever written.

[Image: Detail from Tearer of Teeth or The Tooth Puller by David Ryjckaert III (1612-1661). Credit: David Dyjckaert III / Buyenlarge / Getty Images]

Until the eighteenth century there were no professional dentists. The only way to deal with a serious case of toothache was to call on the services of blacksmiths, travelling showmen or so-called barber-surgeons, all of whom had a sideline in tooth extraction. But in 1728, French physician Pierre Fauchard published the first complete scientific description of dentistry and he is credited as being “the father of modern dentistry”. His book, Le Chirurgien Dentiste or The Surgeon Dentist, was translated into several languages.

Joining Rajan Datar to discuss the painful and sometimes gruesome history of humans and their teeth are
Dr. Scott Swank of the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, US;
Rachel Bairsto, Head of Museum Services at the British Dental Association and
Professor Dominik Gross of RWTH Aachen University in Germany.

1. Civil Justice for Harry Dunn?
   
2. Exclusive interview with the lawyer of Anne Sacoolas
   
3. Can the law fight climate change?
   
4. Reforming Judicial Review
   

Le contrôle juridictionnel est un mécanisme permettant de vérifier la légalité des décisions ou des actions d'organismes publics tels que le gouvernement ou le parlement. Mais ce mécanisme s'est-il transformé en "politique par un autre moyen" ? Le gouvernement a chargé Lord Faulks et un groupe d'experts d'examiner cette question et de formuler des recommandations de réforme. Le rapport a été publié la semaine dernière. Mais le gouvernement veut-il maintenant aller beaucoup plus loin que les recommandations du rapport ?

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Judicial Review is a mechanism to check the legality of decisions or actions by public bodies such as the government or parliament. But has this turned into "politics by another means"? The government commissioned Lord Faulks and a panel of experts to examine this question, and to make recommendations for reform. The report was published last week. But does the government now want to go much further than the recommendations in the report?

Faut-il prévoir une aide juridique pour les familles endeuillées dont un proche est décédé sous la responsabilité de l'État, par exemple en prison, dans une cellule de police ou dans un établissement de santé mentale ? Ces décès déclenchent des "enquêtes au titre de l'article 2", en référence au droit à la vie, protégé par la Convention européenne des droits de l'homme. Le médecin légiste voudra savoir ce qui a mal tourné, afin que cela ne se reproduise pas. L'État dispose d'une représentation juridique pour se défendre, mais les familles n'ont souvent pas les moyens de s'offrir les services d'avocats spécialisés qui, selon les défenseurs de la cause, sont nécessaires pour garantir l'égalité des armes.

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Should there be legal aid for bereaved families whose relative died in the care of the state, such as in prison, a police cell or in a mental health in-patient setting? These deaths trigger "Article 2 inquests", referring to the right to life, protected under the European Convention on Human Rights. The coroner will want to find out what went wrong, so it doesn't happen again. The state has legal representation to defend itself, but the families often can't afford the specialist lawyers that, campaigners argue, are required for a level playing field.

Around the world environmentalists are taking governments and companies to court to fight climate change. Joshua Rozenberg explores how the law is evolving into a powerful activists' tool.

The writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan shares her lifelong passion for classical music with Michael Berkeley and describes how we can best prepare for an unpredictable future.

Born in Texas, raised in Holland and educated in Britain, Margaret Heffernan has had a hugely varied career – she’s been a high profile entrepreneur and the CEO of multimedia technology companies in America; she’s written plays and spent 13 years as a BBC producer; she’s a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath; she’s written seven bestselling and prize-winning business books and her Ted Talks have been watched by more than twelve million people.

(...) Margaret’s intense curiosity about the world is reflected in her lifelong desire to discover music. She trained as a singer while living in America and she chooses music she studied by Vivaldi and by Monteverdi; part of a requiem by the contemporary composer Nick Bicat; and a piece by William Brittelle performed by the experimental vocal group Roomful of Teeth, to which her son introduced her.

And we hear part of Anthony Burgess’s rarely heard operetta Blooms of Dublin, which was produced for the BBC in 1982 by her first husband Michael who was killed when they had been married for just two years.

Interviewed by Bernard Pivot, Anthony Burgess talks about how he became a "professional author", and why he wrote certain books of his using a pseudonym. He then discusses the subject of his famous work A Clockwork Orange, the importance of free will and violence which are sometimes necessary in both politics and art.

Multitalented writer, director, actor and goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Sir Peter Ustinov CBE read his autobiography.

Starting with his earliest days when his parents had newly arrived in London from Leningrad in 1920. The young Peter discovered an early talent for mimicry - which landed a nanny in serious trouble!

Abridged in eight parts by Jack Singleton.
Producer Rosemary Hart

Au fil des siècles, les compositeurs ont créé des chefs-d'œuvre musicaux que de nombreux auditeurs ont fini par considérer comme des pierres de touche spirituelles. Par exemple, le motet Spem in alium de Tallis, l'opéra Parsifal de Wagner, l'oratorio The Dream of Gerontius d'Elgar, la Messe de Bernstein. Mais que croyaient réellement ces compositeurs à propos de Dieu, de la foi, de la compassion, de la vie après la mort et de la rédemption ? Et avons-nous besoin de partager ces croyances d'une manière ou d'une autre pour vivre une expérience spirituelle en écoutant leur musique ?

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Catholic composer Sir James MacMillan considers Sir Edward Elgar's complex life and religious faith as an English composer living through times of great distress and turmoil.

Following the somewhat disastrous premiere of his oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius, Elgar complained, "I always said God was against art and I still believe it. I have allowed my heart to open once - it is now shut against every religious feeling and every soft, gentle impulse forever."

James talks with Em Marshall-Luck, Stephen Johnson and Joanna Bullivant about Elgar's religious upbringing and the triumphs and tragedies of his life which were reflected in his attitude towards faith and religion.

Joshua Rozenberg asks what's the point of investigating the dead over allegations of abuse. He speaks to the former judge Sir Richard Henriques, who is critical of recent police investigations into dead people accused of abuse.
The programme also explores whether we need new laws to protect cyclists on our roads.
Producer: Smita Patel
Researcher: Diane Richardson.

Jacques Cousteau a appelé la mer de Cortez, au Mexique, "l'aquarium du monde". Elle abrite l'une des espèces les plus menacées de la planète. La vaquita est un petit marsouin menacé d'extinction totale, dont le nombre est tombé à moins d'une douzaine. Les vaquitas se prennent notamment dans les filets utilisés pour attraper le totoaba. La pêche au filet de ce grand poisson marin est illégale. Mais la vessie natatoire du totoaba est réputée avoir de puissantes propriétés médicinales en Chine et se vend pour des milliers de dollars dans un commerce contrôlé par le crime organisé mexicain. Les efforts déployés pour sauver le vaquita ont donc entraîné un conflit avec les communautés de pêcheurs pauvres du nord de la Basse-Californie, qui dépendent souvent des revenus illicites tirés du totoaba. La veille du Nouvel An 2020, un pêcheur a été tué et un autre gravement blessé lors d'une altercation entre des bateaux locaux et un navire d'une ONG qui patrouillait pour mettre fin à la pose de filets illégaux qui tuent le vaquita. Linda Pressly rend compte depuis la côte de la Basse-Californie d'un dangereux conflit d'intérêts. Le vaquita peut-il être sauvé ?
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Jacques Cousteau called Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, ‘the aquarium of the world’. It is home to one of the most critically endangered species on earth. The vaquita is a small porpoise facing total extinction, whose numbers have dwindled to less than a dozen. In particular, the vaquita get caught in the nets used to catch totoaba. Casting nets for this large marine fish is illegal. But the totoaba’s swim bladder is believed to have potent medicinal properties in China, and sells for thousands of dollars in a trade controlled by Mexican organised crime. So efforts to save the vaquita have brought conflict to poor fishing communities in northern Baja California – people who often rely on an illicit income from totoaba. On New Year’s Eve, 2020 one fisherman was killed and another seriously injured in an altercation between local boats and an NGO ship patrolling to stop the sinking of illegal nets that kill the vaquita. Linda Pressly reports from the coast of Baja California on a dangerous clash of interests. Can the vaquita be saved?

Producer: Michael Gallagher
Producer in Mexico: Ulises Escamilla Haro
Editor, Bridget Harney

Nearly forty years ago Teresa Keswick exchanged her career as a London lawyer for life as a nun in an enclosed and largely silent Carmelite monastery in Norfolk. She’s devoted her life to prayer and work and has become a highly skilled embroiderer. Since 2014 she’s written a regular column for The Oldie magazine.

In a special programme for Easter Day, Sister Teresa shares her fascinating life story and the music she loves with Michael Berkeley.
Teresa tells Michael about her initial reluctance to accept her vocation and leave her busy social life in London for a remote monastery in the Norfolk countryside and the contentment she eventually found in the strict daily routine of prayer and work. (...)