Forum des auditeurs passionnés et critiques de France Culture

BBC 3 Iranian Classical Music 2, 9 et 16/07/2023 : une série de trois émissions d'une heure avec Mahsa Vahdat, chanteuse*. Voix posée, présentation de grande qualité, un régal de bout en bout. La durée de diffusion en ligne était de 30 jours. Premier volet : "Les origines de la musique classique persane".

The Origins of Persian Classical Music



Iranian singer and educator Mahsa Vahdat begins her three part series on Iranian - or Persian - classical music. In this episode she explores the origins of the music, from the Persian empire more than 1,500 years ago, to the Maqam system that dominated for centuries, before giving way in the 19th century to the Radif system that defines Iranian or Persian classical music today.

Parmi les pièces diffusées :
Mahmud Karimi
Homayun: Leyli-o Majnun
o Avaz Course: Vocal Radif of Persian Classical Music, Vol. 4.
o Mahoor Institute of Culture & Arts.




Et les programmes de Radio Golha, "Iran Culture" de 1956 à 1979 ?




* Mahsa Vahdat: My Voice Is My Home Vidéo : introduction puis chant à partir de la 33e minute.

Inside Music sur BBC 3 est un autre format inconnu à Radio France : deux heures de libre antenne où un musicien propose son autobiographie musicale. Rares sont les numéros qui n'offrent pas un parcours éclectique cadré par une personnalité expérimentée maîtrisant le monologue radiophonique. Ces deux heures hebdomadaires rappellent l'émission de même durée du dimanche soir autrefois produite par le producteur de France Musique Renaud Machart (évincé de l'antenne par Marc Voinchet). L'ex-chanteur y offrait en partage la musique qu'il aimait, une émission loin de toute promotion commerciale et proche du portait personnel intime qui ravissait ses fidèles auditeurs.

Le numéro d'Inside Music du 6 février dernier donnait à entendre le programme du principal percussionniste de l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Londres Andy Barclay.



Le musicien dans sa large sélection musicale faisait la part belle aux percussions avec, entre autres, deux pièces du xylophoniste et créateur de dessins animés George Hamilton Green, Log Cabin Blues - Blue Fox Trot (Music Arranger: Amadinda Percussion Group. Ensemble: Amadinda Percussion Group).  



Log Cabin Blues (George Hamilton Green) (1925)


Blue Fox Trot

Andy Barclay is the principal percussionist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and he’s lined up a playlist that features some incredible writing for percussion by composers including Tchaikovsky, Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten and Arnold Schoenberg.
Andy is also fascinated by much softer and meditative music by Perotin, Duruflé and Brahms, and reveals how he is brought to tears by Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosesnkavalier.
Plus, joyful Bach for the new year.
A series in which each week a musician explores a selection of music - from the inside.
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3

L'art de l'entretien de Michael Berkeley : réussir à avoir une conversation amicale et intelligente tout en faisant des incursions dans la vie privée de l'invité (famille, joies et coups durs personnels ou professionnels).  Un plaisir que d'écouter Neil Hannon retracer ses débuts et sa carrière.

Si ceci est disponible sur Internet, ce serait un partage bienvenu :



En attendant, un autre morceau extrait du programme :



Carlo Savina - Blues - La dolce vita dei nobili

Neil Hannon is a singer, songwriter and the driving force behind the band The Divine Comedy, which he founded in 1989. Along with hit singles such as National Express, and 12 albums with the band, his music appears in an impressively varied range of settings – including original songs for the recent film Wonka, a chamber opera inspired by Tolstoy for Covent Garden, and the theme tune for the sitcom Father Ted.

Neil talks to Michael Berkeley about growing up in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland with a bishop for a father, writing his first pop song when he was 14, and how, as a self-described "pathetic twerp", he managed to make it in the pop world. His typically wide-ranging musical passions include works by Puccini, Stravinsky, Chopin and Ravel, alongside tracks by Michael Nyman, Kate Bush and Scott Walker.

Producer: Graham Rogers

Reconnaissance à Renaud Machart qui avait en son temps, celui des mémorables émissions du dimanche soir Paysages composés et Zig-Zag diffusées entre 2000 et 2018, présenté avec art et sensibilité  "Membra Jesu Nostri" de Buxtehude. Un tel passeur est, pour le profane, un précieux éveilleur aux grandes (et petites) œuvres.

Aussi quel bonheur d'écouter cette interprétation de haute volée donnée en concert le 19 mars 2023 et diffusée le 30 janvier sur BBC Radio 3 en entrée de Through The Night. Le concert dure une heure.

Lecture parfaite de l'auteur du récit diffusé en cinq volets de 14' :  The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland BBC 4 Mon 22 Jan 2024. La durée de mise en ligne (30 jours) ayant expiré, il faudra peut-être aller du côté d'Internet Archive pour la réécoute ou à défaut regarder une des vidéos YouTube où l'auteur retrace la généalogie de son récit.

The Country of the Blind review – a penetrating study of the loss of sight The Guardian Mon 17 Jul 2023.

Andrew Leland reads from his witty and revelatory memoir about losing his sight and his quest to learn about the rich culture of blindness.

Andrew is midway through his life with an inherited eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa, suspended in the liminal state of the soon-to-be blind. He grew up with full vision but, starting in his teenage years, his sight began to degrade from the outside in, such that he now sees the world as if through a narrow tube. Soon, but without knowing exactly when, he will likely have no vision left.

Full of apprehension but also dogged curiosity, Andrew embarks on a sweeping exploration of the state of being that awaits him. He negotiates his changing relationships with his wife and son, and with his own sense of self, as he moves from his mainstream, ‘normal’ life to one with a disability. Andrew is determined not to merely survive this transition but to grow from it - to seek out and revel in that which makes blindness enlightening.

Thought-provoking and brimming with warmth and humour, The Country of the Blind is a deeply personal and intellectually exhilarating tour of a way of being that most of us have never paused to consider, and from which we have much to learn.

Andrew Leland’s writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker and The San Francisco Chronicle. He has hosted and produced The Organist, an arts and culture podcast, and has been an editor at The Believer magazine since 2003. He lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and son.

Les épisodes sont introduits par quelques secondes de Stevie Wonder :

In this first episode, Andrew describes how he first realised his sight was deteriorating as a teenager, and how he began to come to terms with his eventual diagnosis.
In this second episode, Andrew describes how he met his wife Lily and how their relationship has evolved as his sight has deteriorated.
In this third episode, Andrew describes the changes he has had to make to his everyday life to adapt to blindness, from using a cane to learning braille.
In this fourth episode, Andrew describes a visit to his eye doctor with his wife and wonders whether he is ready embrace life without sight.
In this final episode, Andrew describes his experience at a training centre for the blind and contemplates how his life will be when he has lost all of his sight.

Une heure qui s'écoute comme cinq minutes, est-ce possible ? Oui, grâce à la verve et à l'art de conter de l'invitée de ce numéro de This Cultural Life (15/01/2024), Patricia Cornwell. Mais encore une fois, la finesse de sensibilité de John Wilson, le "médiateur" entre l'invitée et l'auditeur, sa sobriété et son empathie, en sus du gros travail en amont avec Edwina Pitman, la réalisatrice, permettent une libre parole qui retient l'attention, suscite la réflexion et éveille la curiosité (inform, educate and entertain). Ceci est de la création de patrimoine radiophonique. Et BBC 4 l'offre au téléchargement sans limite de temps. Que demander de plus ? À suivre, le numéro du 03/02/2024 avec Juliette Binoche.

Patricia Cornwell’s books have sold over 120 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored dozens of New York Times bestsellers. For over thirty years her protagonist, the forensic scientist Kay Scarpetta has been investigating murders across America, tracking down criminals by analysing evidence left on the bodies of victims. Cornwell has won the Sherlock Award, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development. She's also authored two books on the identity of Jack the Ripper. Her latest Kay Scarpetta novel is Unnatural Death.

Patricia talks to John Wilson about her challenging childhood and upbringing in North Carolina. She reveals the influence of two works of literature on her own writing; Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an ancestor of Cornwell's; and William Golding's Lord of the Flies. She also talks about her interest in the Parthenon Sculptures and her fascination with the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Producer: Edwina Pitman

Moral Maze : Ukraine - the moral case for ceding land for peace BBC Radio 4, le 24 janvier 2024.

Cette émission d'une heure est construite sous la forme suivante : le présentateur Michael Buerk invite quatre intervieweurs (le panel) et quatre personnalités (à distance) autour d'une question morale. Un premier tour de table (3') définit le sujet et fait état des positions des membres du panel. Commence ensuite l'interview de chacun des quatre experts ou témoins invités (12' par personnalité). Enfin retour en petit comité pour évaluer collectivement les interventions et dire si la position des intervieweurs a changé (8').

Au vu des personnalités invitées à s'exprimer dans ce numéro, il faut constater que l'éventail des opinions est large. Tous les aspects du sujet sont analysés et l'auditeur se voit offrir des visions du monde qui lui permettent non seulement de se situer mais aussi de voir de manière critique sa propre façon de juger. Le désir de présenter la complexité  et de faire œuvre pédagogique est évidente, même si, dans la récapitulation finale, on perçoit un désir de mettre en avant une position en accord avec le consensus médiatique (celui de la tendance politique de la BBC en général).

Quoi qu'il en soit on est très largement au-dessus de toute discussion en studio à France Culture alors que l'on est sur la radio généraliste de la BBC. Un modèle d'émission ayant la représentation équilibrée des points de vue comme objectif.

Le descriptif de ce numéro est très insuffisant. Pourquoi ni les quatre invités du panel, ni les quatre personnalités n'y sont mentionnés échappe au sens commun.  

Les participants à cette discussion :

- Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, University of Edinburgh
- Anne McElvoy, executive editor and head of audio at POLITICO Europe.
- Matthew Taylor, former political strategist and current Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation
- Charles Fraser, priest, Head of Divinity at The Leys School

1. Owen Matthews, British writer, historian and journalist, former Moscow and Istanbul Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine.  
2.  Iryna Terlecky, Chair of the Association of Ukrainian Women
3.  John Rees, political activist, academic, journalist and writer, national officer of the Stop the War Coalition, Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London.
4. Janina Dill, Fellow at Trinity College and Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict (ELAC).

It’s now nearly two years since Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine. Hopes that Ukraine might seize back its territory have been dashed, in a conflict that’s become deadlocked. At first it felt clear – the invasion is wrong, Putin must fail and be seen to fail, Ukraine’s defiance and bravery must be supported with everything its allies can provide. But as the death, destruction and bloodshed continues, with little sign of progress on either side, questions have been raised about how the war might ever be brought to an end.

How realistic is it for Ukraine to aspire to recapture all of its land, even Crimea? This year’s US presidential election has sharpened the focus: A Trump victory could threaten Ukraine’s future supply of arms. Some believe Russia would settle for the land it has already captured. If so, for Ukraine the bitter pill of ceding some 20% of its territory would at least bring the war to an end. But what’s the moral case for this? What’s the real value of peace – bought at the cost of justice? If western powers are seen to allow aggression to win the day in Ukraine, what message would that send to Vladimir Putin and other tyrants around the world? In Ukraine, what’s the moral case for ceding land for peace?

La série en trois volets d'une heure proposée sur BBC 3 par la compositrice Caroline Shaw à la voix de velours, The Colours in Sound, est un bonheur d'écoute.

Le premier numéro du 04.02.2024 A Rainbow in Tones est l'exemple même de ce que ne fait pas France Musique et qui est l'incarnation de la radio de culture à vocation d'éducation et de sensibilisation musicale. Caroline Shaw introduit et désannonce chaque œuvre avec un commentaire éclairant, et lie l'ensemble de son programme à un discours construit.

Ce premier numéro ne bénéficie pas, sur la page, du détail des œuvres que la compositrice détaille avec leurs interprètes au fil de la diffusion. Un relevé donne :
Monteverdi, Ouverture des Vêpres ;
Debussy, La mer ;
Scriabine, Poem of Ecstasy ;
Caroline Shaw, Passacaglia from Partita for 8 Voices ;
Duke Ellington, Magenta haze ;
Liszt, Orpheus ;
Messiaen, Turangalîla-Symphonie ;
Anna Thorvaldsdottir, In the light of air, Existence.

Il ne reste plus qu'une journée pour écouter ce numéro, huit jours pour le 2e et 15 jours pour le 3e.

Grammy-award winning composer Caroline Shaw takes us on a journey through the colours in sound. She explores how composers use their paint brushes to draw light to hidden qualities within tones.

Sounds have been described as having colours since the very first writings on music. And many composers have played with the idea - or even their own lived experience of - synaesthesia: the perception of sound combinations as having chromatic, visual qualities. (...)

Produced by James Taylor
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 3

Roomful of Teeth - Shaw: Passacaglia (4th mvt) from Partita for 8 Voices


2. Inner Space and Outer Worlds

This second episode looks at the concept of ‘space’ in music, through the lens of orchestration. The idea that through choosing different instruments or tone colours composers can evoke a sense of closeness in physical space - and also a great sense of cosmic vastness and of wonder.
Featuring music from Mahler, Sibelius, Hildegard, and Holst.

3. Sounds You Can Feel

This episode looks at how composers evoke physical feeling in music, through the different instruments and tone colours they choose.
Featuring music from Byrd to Brahms, and Bach to André 3000.

Une série de The Essay, "Women of Substance" (5X14') qui commence de la plus belle des façons par une introduction sans fard de  Sally Marlow : ce sont les propres démons de la chercheuse, alcoolisme et addiction à des drogues, qui l'ont amenée à s'interroger sur la relation entre les addictions des cinq personnalités choisies et leurs œuvres. Le premier numéro sur Frida Kahlo du 05.02.2024 est un modèle d'étude biographique sous l'angle de la prise de drogues. On n'y trouve aucun jugement moral, ni accusations ou indignations, Sally Marlow observe son sujet avec autant de recul que possible.

On note de nouveau que l'excellence de l'émission est due à une des maisons de production indépendantes auprès desquelles s'approvisionne la BBC (ici "TellTale Industries Ltd" pour Radio 3) pour remplir sa grille. Le triptyque mentionné dans le billet ci-dessus était, lui, réalisé par "Overcoat Media". Rien de semblable à Radio France.

Professor Sally Marlow is a specialist in mental health and addiction, who as a young woman had struggles of her own. In this five-part series Sally looks at the work of five women artists and asks what their work can tell us about their addictions and the nature of addiction.

To do this Sally has chosen five iconic artists: Frida Kahlo, Billie Holliday, Anna Kavan, Andrea Dunbar and Nan Goldin. All five are celebrated for their daring, all were artistically progressive and they all remain highly relevant today. Whilst elements of their art reflect traumatic events in their lives, showing that addiction does not happen in a vacuum, their work is so much more than their addictions - startling, beautiful, innovative and enduring - evoking powerful emotions as well as critical acclaim. These artworks - books, music, plays and photographs resonated with Sally and allowed her to better understand her own struggle, eliciting empathy and facilitating healing.

In the first in the series, Sally looks at Frida Kahlo’s life and work. Scientists talk about biological, psychological and social causes of addiction and Frida painted all three. A collision between a bus and a tram when she was 18 caused horrific life-changing injuries and Frida spent long periods of time in hospital. Aged 22 she married the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera who was 20 years her senior.

Their relationship was fraught and Frida famously remarked “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the tram and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.” Her injuries, her miscarriages and the betrayal of Diego’s affair with her sister, Frida painted all these. She also wrote openly about the prescription drugs she took to control the pain.

Sally looks at her diaries and says that as an addiction researcher she is surprised Frida’s drug and alcohol use have not been more widely analysed but then with such a remarkable talent, her addictions quite rightly should be secondary to her art.

Presented by Professor Sally Marlow
Produced by Geraldine Fitzgerald
A TellTale Industries Ltd production

Le savoir-faire radiophonique, tant sur le plan technique que dans la mise en scène et l'interprétation de ce récit, est prodigieux : The Family by John Elliott (1980). La lettre lue par l'avocat est un véritable film à suspense. La distribution est impeccable, le protagoniste de l'histoire, Watson, est joué par George Cole (1925-2015).

A series of stories of the Supernatural.
Starring George Cole and Janet Moore.
Written by John Elliott.
Watson .... George Cole
Carole .... Janet Moore
Sergeant .... Peter Baldwin
The Nurse .... Elizabeth Ryder
Receptionist .... Jane Thompson
Policeman .... Graham Faulkner
Ecclestone .... John Church
Adapted and directed by Derek Hoddinott.

L'émission de BBC 3, Breakfast Friday Petroc's classical picks du 26/05/2023 a déjà fait l'objet des billets "Pasture & Storm: the music of Sadie Harrison" & Sietze de Vries, organiste de la Martinikerk de Groningen (NL).

Un troisième ne peut pas nuire...

L'émission contient non seulement le FRIDAY POEM : The Unpredicted by John Heath-Stubbs (1918-2006) [read by Bill Wallis]

* The Unpredicted

The goddess Fortune be praised (on her toothed wheel
I have been mincemeat these several years)
Last night, for a whole night, the unpredictable
Lay in my arms, in a tender and unquiet rest -
(I perceived the irrelevance of my former fears)
Lay, and then departed. I rose and walked the streets
Where a whitsuntide wind blew fresh, and blackbirds
Incontestably sang, and the people were beautiful

mais le suivait la pièce d'Ottorino Respighi, Italiana (Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No 3) Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. o DG que l'on trouve en ligne sous la même direction Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite n. 3



C'est le moment de rappeler que le début de cette pièce a formé le générique de l'émission "Par les rues, par les chemins" (2005-2008) de François-Xavier Szymczak, notre producteur essentiel (cf. aujourd'hui Les Essentiels).

De François-Xavier Szymczak à Petroc Trelawny, par-dessus la Manche un chemin continu de qualité professionnelle et culturelle, les deux partageant notamment une grande rigueur dans la prononciation des langues étrangères.