A portrait of the ancient landscapes and spectacular wildlife of the New Forest National Park, seen through the eyes of the people who know it best.
The New Forest is a fragment of the ancient wild wood that once stretched the length and breadth of Europe - it is also one of Britain's newest National Parks. This enchanted forest is like no other. Pigs and ponies roam beneath mighty oaks and beeches, and pockets of heathland shelter some of the rarest creatures in Britain, including dartford warblers, hobbies and sand lizards. People live here too - with a unique lifestyle that has survived since medieval times. This film follows a forest keeper, a coppicer, a storyteller and a farmer as the seasons change, revealing the secrets of an exquisite forest that is as old as England.
Michael Palin journeys through Poland, from the port of Gdansk in the north to the Slovakian border south of the Tatra Mountains. He considers the upheavals that traumatised Poland for 70 years, visiting Auschwitz and the spiritual capital of Poland, Czestechowa, where politics and religion are never far apart.
Palin meets the great European maestro, Lech Walesa, whose independent trade union Solidarity lit a fuse under Communism's grip on Eastern Europe. Then he marvels at the miracle of Warsaw, razed to the ground on Hitler's orders and restored to its old glory, brick by brick, from original plans.
He also enjoys the pleasures Poland has to offer, accepting a cameo role on stage with one of Poland's most famous cabaret groups, driving a steam loco on the Polish rail network out of Poznan during rush hour, and appearing on Polish breakfast TV, where he takes a Polish lesson from a Londoner who went to work in Poland and learned the language by drinking with Poles.
Everything is ready for Salvo's move to Genova - except, it would seem, Salvo himself. As he contemplates a new life away from his beloved Sicily and prepares to hand his role over to his deputy, soon to be inspector, Mimi' Augello, Montalbano can't help but be drawn deep into one last investigation.
A young woman has been found dead in what appears to have been a tragic accident, her car discovered at the bottom of a cliff with her body in it. But the evidence doesn't add up and, despite Augello's readiness to accept the easy conclusion, Montalbano remains convinced that the inconsistencies of the case need unpicking further. With only a few days to go till his planned move, will our most Sicilian of inspectors manage to extricate himself from Vigata?
Timeshift lifts the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment. What it reveals is a fascinating history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education. Today it is a subject that is almost impossible to discuss in public, but it's not that long since corporal punishment was a routine part of life. Surprising and enlightening, the programme invites us to leave our preconceptions at the door so that we may better understand how corporal punishment came to be so important for so long.
Two years after former detective Sarah Lund was divested of her investigative role and transferred to a low-key job in the country, the body of a female lawyer is found murdered in macabre and puzzling circumstances and Lund's former boss at Copenhagen police HQ finds that he has no choice but to call her back in to assist with the investigation.
Initially reluctant, Lund soon becomes engrossed with the case. As police grapple with what few clues they possess, newly-appointed Minister for Justice, Thomas Buch, strives to oversee some intricate political negotiations between parliamentary parties over the introduction of a series of new anti-terrorism laws. At the same time, soldier Jens Peter Raben awaits release from the psychiatric ward he was committed to following a nervous breakdown.
The police now have two murder cases, both victims having military backgrounds. Sarah Lund and Ulrik Strange start to investigate the possibility of a link between the two. In parliament, while in the middle of complicated political negotiations, Buch deals with the publicised terror threat and a possible connection to Islamist fundamentalists. Meanwhile at Herstedvester Prison, Jens Peter Raben is still in isolation when he finds out that his friend has been murdered.
Having escaped from Herstedvester Prison, Jens Peter Raben sets out to track down a member of his former army squad. When an Islamist activist is arrested as the main murder suspect, Lund and her partner Strange disagree on the direction of the investigation. In parliament, young justice minister Thomas Buch must fend off accusations of a cover-up regarding a previously unpublished Special Branch memo.
SUNDAY 13 JUNE 2021
SUN 19:00 The Lark Ascending (b019c9t9)
Dame Diana Rigg explores the enduring popularity of The Lark Ascending by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, which was recently voted Britain's favourite piece of classical music by listeners to Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4.
Composed at a key turning point in world history, The Lark Ascending represents music for all occasions. It is used in rites of passage such as births, deaths and marriages, and is a favourite for film-makers looking to create that quintessential English pastoral feel. Fans of the work include actor Peter Sallis, who wants a copy of The Lark Ascending to be buried with him, top violinist Tasmin Little, who has played the piece as part of the BBC Proms, and music critic Michael Kennedy, who was a personal friend of Vaughan Williams.
The programme includes a beautiful new performance of the work in the same village hall where it was heard for the first time in December 1920. The Lark Ascending is performed by 15-year-old violin prodigy Julia Hwang and pianist Charles Matthews, using the original arrangement for violin and piano.
SUN 19:30 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (m000x29z)
2021
Round 1
The world’s most prestigious opera singing competition returns to St David’s Hall in the Welsh capital, with 16 promising young performers competing to be BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021.
In the opening round, singers from Mongolia, Venezuela, China and Georgia compete for a place in the grand final. To sing again on Saturday, they must first impress this year’s expert panel of judges – Welsh baritone Neal Davies, who experienced success in this competition in 1991 as winner of the Song Prize, acclaimed American soprano Roberta Alexander and chair of the jury, Aidan Lang, general director of Welsh National Opera.
Featuring music by Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti and Mozart, the singers are accompanied by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra conducted by Michael Christie.
SUN 21:00 The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich (b07l6bd0)
Medieval art historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells the incredible story of a book hidden for centuries in the shadows of history, the first book ever written in English by a woman, Julian of Norwich, in 1373.
Revelations of Divine Love dared to present an alternative vision of man's relationship with God, a theology fundamentally at odds with the church of Julian's time. The book was suppressed for 500 years. It re-emerged in the 20th century as an iconic text for the women's movement and was acknowledged as a literary masterpiece.
Janina follows the trail of the lost manuscript, travelling from Norwich to Cambrai in northern France to discover how the book survived and the brave women who championed it.
SUN 22:00 The Sky at Night (m000x2b1)
Space Boom Britain
Britain’s space industry is booming. According to UK Space Agency, its annual income now stands at £16.4bn, and it employs over 45,000 people. Britain has always been a leader in the world’s aerospace industries. Airbus’s huge manufacturing plant in Stevenage was originally owned by de Havilland, where they made ‘Blue Streak’, Britain’s intercontinental ballistic missile which became part of the ESA's 'Europa' rocket. Before becoming part of Airbus, the business then called Astrium had focused on satellites and were Maggie’s employers.
Maggie meets Liz Seward who explains that while over half their business is building communications satellites, they are also involved in research instruments too. One of their recent creations – the Solar Orbiter – has not yet reached its final operational position in space, but has recently sent back spectacular pictures of coronal mass ejections. Back in the factory, Maggie sees a new satellite in the making. ‘Biomass’ is a European Space Agency project that will measure the amount of carbon trapped in the earth’s flora, building up a comprehensive 3D picture of the planet’s greenery. This is done using a specific type of radar that uses comparatively long wavelengths and consequently requires a huge 15m receiver – which in turn creates a huge challenge for its designers.
There are a vast number of job types required to build a spacecraft – and Maggie discovers perhaps the most surprising – that of crystal maker. Airbus in Stevenage is the manufacturer of the world’s purest quartz crystal. It is needed several times over in every satellite for calibration purposes. Because quartz vibrates at a specific frequency when an electrical current is applied to it, it is a vital constant in a world of wandering electronic systems. To be sure of supply and quality, Airbus makes its own. It’s an expensive commodity – a house-brick-sized crystal of space quality quartz is worth tens of thousands of pounds.
About 80 miles west of Stevenage, and at the other end of the business scale, Chris visits Oxford Space Systems, whose CEO Sean Sutcliffe explains that while microsatellites are opening up the industry to more companies, they pose challenges of their own because of their size. These satellites have tiny spaces on the rockets that launch them, but need quite sizeable antennas and receivers to communicate with people and machines on earth. This is OSS’s business – to provide novel engineering solutions in packing up and unfurling these structures. They combine the latest materials science with knitting and origami to produce antennas that extend to hundreds of times their packed length and receivers that unfurl like beautiful hi-tech flowers.
Of course, all spacecraft need rigorous testing before deployment. Maggie visits RAL-Space, who provide these services. She discovers that not only the conditions of space must be replicated in huge vacuum chambers, but that the experience of being launched must also be gone through. This means being shaken on a vibration table that can be programmed to replicate the precise vibration profile of the launch rocket and being shocked to simulate the firing of the explosive bolts that separates the spacecraft from the rocket. This is done by attaching critical components to a steel plate that then has a steel projectile fired at the plate’s opposite side.
So far, so good. But the success of the satellite has brought with it a huge problem. Dead and broken satellites are clogging up the available orbits and could makes things even worse if anything crashes into them. Chris visits multinational Japanese company Astroscale who have come up with a solution in the form of another satellite, controlled from their mission control in the UK. Their spacecraft – ELSA-d – is a proof of concept for a satellite retirement service, which it is hoped could clean up the dangerously cluttered low earth orbits
Pete Lawrence is on hand to tell us about the surreally beautiful phenomenon of noctilucent clouds, ice crystals in the upper atmosphere lit by the sun from beyond the horizon. The effect has become more common in recent years, because of the increase in rocket launches, which leave water in their wake as they leave the Earth.
Finally, Maggie shows Chris the final piece of evidence that Britain’s space industry is going from strength to strength, when they visit the new National Satellite Test Facility. This purpose-built, awe-inspiring, cathedral-sized building is capable of comprehensively testing the largest satellites from the UK and abroad. It houses a 20m-long vacuum chamber with a 7m diameter, the country’s largest faraday cage and vibration tables large enough to test whole spacecraft. And a scoop for the Sky at Night: it’s the first time that TV cameras have been allowed into the facility, which is scheduled to open in the second half of 2021.
SUN 22:30 African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power (m000m7j8)
Series 1
Kenya
In Kenya, a state created barely a century ago, Afua Hirsch explores how the British spun an idealised stereotype while carving out a brutal empire. Afua reveals the extremes of life today, the urban sprawl and untouched outback, and a young population still pushing away the lingering darkness of the British imperial past.
In an epic narrative that takes in railway building, Karen Blixen, President Jomo Kenyatta and the brutal British suppression of the 1950s Mau Mau Uprising, she charts how artists have responded to history happening around them. She meets acclaimed Kenyan painters Dennis Muraguri and Michael Soi and discusses the after-effects of the British colonial period and China’s growing influence as a new power in East Africa.
SUN 23:30 Horizon (b095vp3p)
2017
Goodbye Cassini - Hello Saturn
A billion miles from home, running low on fuel, and almost out of time. After 13 years traversing the Saturn system, the spacecraft Cassini is plunging to a fiery death, becoming part of the very planet it has been exploring. As it embarks on its final assignment - a one-way trip into the heart of Saturn - Horizon celebrates the incredible achievements and discoveries of a mission that has changed the way we see the solar system.
Strange new worlds with gigantic ice geysers, hidden underground oceans that could harbour life and a brand new moon coalescing in Saturn's magnificent rings. As the world says goodbye to the great explorer Cassini, Horizon will be there for with a ringside seat for its final moments.
SUN 00:30 Treasures of the Louvre (b01r3n6r)
Paris-based writer Andrew Hussey travels through the glorious art and surprising history of an extraordinary French institution to show that the story of the Louvre is the story of France. As well as exploring the masterpieces of painters such as Veronese, Rubens, David, Chardin, Gericault and Delacroix, he examines the changing face of the Louvre itself through its architecture and design. Medieval fortress, Renaissance palace, luxurious home to kings, emperors and more recently civil servants, today it attracts eight million visitors a year. The documentary also reflects the latest transformation of the Louvre - the museum's recently-opened Islamic Gallery.
SUN 02:00 The Lark Ascending (b019c9t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SUN 02:30 The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich (b07l6bd0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
MONDAY 14 JUNE 2021
MON 19:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00n1lvz)
Episode 2
Griff Rhys Jones continues with phase two of the restoration of his farm in Pembrokeshire. Work on the derelict miller's cottage is progressing well, but across the lane there is trouble at the mill, as Griff's plans meet local objections.
Meanwhile, Griff takes on another very unusual restoration project.
MON 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x292)
Series 4
A Mild Winter's Day
Winter scenes don’t have to be cold! With a touch of the sun’s warmth, Bob Ross turns the chill of winter into a golden day.
MON 20:00 Fake or Fortune? (b01n39kg)
Series 2
Turner: A Miscarriage of Justice?
In the early years of the 20th century, spinster sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies spent much of their vast fortune buying the cream of European art as a gift to the people of Wales. When Gwendoline died in 1951, all the paintings in her collection were bequeathed to the National Museum of Wales. Amongst the works most proudly displayed were many by JMW Turner, perhaps the nation's best loved artist. These paintings were the pinnacle of the sisters' collection, carefully selected and greatly valued.
Yet within months of this extraordinary act of generosity, the authenticity of the paintings was thrown into doubt by art world experts who branded them fakes. These prized exhibits were deemed 'unfit to hang on the gallery's walls'. For more than half a century a cloud has hung over three of the landscapes, said by experts to be a hand other than Turner's. But Philip believes this may be a miscarriage of justice. As Philip and Fiona investigate, they enter a murky world as they discover the paintings are connected to Turner's secret lover. In the end it will be down to the latest forensic testing in order to prove if the paintings were by Joseph Mallord William Turner. But will the process restore the Davies sisters' reputations as art connoisseurs and allow the pictures to see the light of day once again?
MON 21:00 Great British Photography Challenge (m000x294)
Series 1
Episode 4
The photographers face three final assignments, including a wildcard challenge where they are given free rein to try and get one last extraordinary shot for their portfolios. They are also in Glencoe for a dramatic landscape challenge and, in a series finale, they must curate and mount what they hope will be a winning exhibition for the judges. Choosing a maximum of 15 images from the hundreds they’ve taken across the course of the series is a huge task in itself.
It’s all still to play for as any of the six photographers could nab the title if they impress Rankin and his fellow judges from the art and fashion world.
MON 22:00 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (m000x296)
2021
Round 2
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World helped to launch the careers of some of the biggest stars in opera - Karita Mattila, Elina Garanca, Anja Harteros, the much-missed Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Bryn Terfel, Jamie Barton and the 2019 winner, baritone Andrei Kymach from Ukraine. With the biennial competition back in the Welsh Capital, who will be next to lift the trophy?
In the second round of music, singers from Denmark, South Korea and South Africa, as well as the home nation of Wales, compete for a place in the grand final.
With music by Mozart, Verdi, Mendelssohn and Handel.
MON 23:30 Britain in Focus: A Photographic History (b08k0srb)
Series 1
Episode 3
In the final episode, Eamonn McCabe traces the story of British photography from the explosion of colour images in the late 1950s to the ongoing impact of the digital revolution.
Eamonn enters the colourful Britain of postcard producer John Hinde, whose postwar experiments with colour photography captured a new mood of optimism and leisure in the country. He sees how colour snaps began to replace black-and-white prints in the family album as cheaper cameras and new processing techniques allowed ordinary people to record the world around them in colour. Eamonn meets John Bulmer, who broke new ground by using colour for documentary photography in his striking images of the north of England for the Sunday Times colour magazine. And he finds out why Jane Bown refused to follow the trend by sticking to black and white for her striking portraits of the era's most memorable faces.
Eamonn explores how a new, independent movement in photography emerged in the 1970s, fostering talents like Peter Mitchell, who used colour photography to comment on a changing urban Britain. Eamonn sees how this new movement encouraged Fay Godwin to infuse her poetic landscapes with political and environmental concerns, and meets Birmingham-based photographer Vanley Burke, whose work chronicled the growing African-Caribbean community in Handsworth. And Eamonn joins one of today's best-known British photographers, Martin Parr, to find out how he has trained a satirical eye on modern society.
Assessing the impact of the 'big bang' of digital photography, Eamonn goes back to his roots as a sports photographer - covering boxing in the East End of London. He reflects on how technology has developed from when he started in the 1970s, with manual cameras and rolls of film, to the digital cameras of today. Eamonn then sees how the digital revolution has shaped a new generation of practitioners - in whose hands a thoroughly 21st-century British photography is being created.
MON 00:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x292)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00n1lvz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MON 01:30 Fake or Fortune? (b01n39kg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 02:30 Great British Photography Challenge (m000x294)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 15 JUNE 2021
TUE 19:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00ndvtg)
Episode 3
Griff Rhys Jones continues with phase two of the restoration of his farm in Pembrokeshire.
Restoration work on the miller's cottage moves to the inside of the building. Across the lane, building work at the mill has ground to a halt as the planning authorities investigate local objections to Griff's plans. Meanwhile, Griff makes plans for a music festival in Pembrokeshire.
TUE 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x2fh)
Series 4
Little Home in the Meadow
Bob Ross employs some of his well-known oval magic to paint a lovely cabin scene situated in a serene, soft, little rolling pasture.
TUE 20:00 Yes, Minister (b0074rh7)
Series 2
The Quality of Life
Political sitcom. Jim Hacker makes a rash promise to save a popular city farm from closure but he needs Sir Humphrey's help.
TUE 20:30 To the Manor Born (b0078mc8)
Series 1
Grape Vine
Despite having come down in the world, Audrey feels appearances demand she take a holiday but dreads leaving her beloved Grantleigh Manor in DeVere's hands. So she picks the only safe week - when DeVere himself is on holiday.
TUE 21:00 Reporting History: Mandela and a New South Africa (m00052bl)
On the 25th anniversary of Mandela's election, BBC Correspondent Fergal Keane goes back to examine his reports, and considers why history did not turn out the way he expected.
At the heart of the film is an interview in which Fergal explores his decades of reporting in South Africa, from the fear being caught up in violent protests to the joy of reporting for BBC Newsbeat as Mandela was sworn in. He also meets historians and other experts as he considers how Mandela’s legacy has played out.
TUE 22:00 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (m000x2fk)
2021
Round 3
It’s the third round and four more of the world’s best young singers compete for the biggest prize in opera. Singers from the USA, Russia, South Korea and Austria will be hoping to impress the judges and make it through to the grand final.
Counter-tenor Iestyn Davies joins Petroc Trelawny to give his thoughts on each of the night’s performances.
With music by Wagner, Purcell, Mozart and Handel.
TUE 23:30 South Africa in Pictures (b00s6bdh)
British fashion photographer Rankin explores South Africa's rich photographic tradition, discovering how its leading photographers have captured this complex, often turbulent, nation through remarkable images and charting the unique role photography has played in documenting the story and people of this fascinating country.
Through encounters with legendary conflict photographers the Bang Bang Club, documentary photographer David Goldblatt and photojournalist Alf Kumalo amongst others, Rankin goes on a compelling and moving photographic journey to see the nation through their gaze.
TUE 00:30 Storyville (b01l8vw7)
The Queen of Africa: The Miriam Makeba Story
A Storyville documentary that takes a look at the life of South African singer and civil rights activist Miriam Makeba. Forced into a life of exile for exposing the harsh realities of apartheid, Makeba was the first African musician to win international stardom.
Always anchored in her traditional South African roots, Makeba's music delivered messages against racism and poverty. Exposing a tumultuous life - Makeba married South African musician Hugh Masekela and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael - this film traces her life and music using rare archive of performances, interviews and intimate scenes.
TUE 01:45 The Joy of Painting (m000x2fh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 02:15 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00ndvtg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 02:45 Motherland (m000w753)
Series 3
Episode 2
The mums (and dad) join the merry go round of secondary school open days as they face the choice of where to send their kids at 11. Julia panics about which catchment area she lives in and even considers a fake religious conversion to beat the system. As Kevin’s divorce progresses, Liz helps him navigate the shark pool of lawyers and makes a worrying discovery about her own situation along the way. Meanwhile, queen bee Amanda struggles with playing second fiddle to Meg’s illness.
WEDNESDAY 16 JUNE 2021
WED 19:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00nk324)
Episode 4
Griff's restoration on the cottage is almost complete, except now there is a problem with the roof on both the mill and the cottage. Meanwhile, George is off to visit one of the last working water mills in Wales to get ideas for the interior of the mill.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x2hh)
Series 4
Mirrored Images
Join Bob Ross on a clear windless day, where the reflections are so smooth that they appear to be crystal likenesses of the mountains above them.
WED 20:00 Timeshift (b06jnzjx)
Series 15
The People's Liners - Britain's Lost Pleasure Fleets
Timeshift casts off for a colourful voyage of 'high teas on the high seas' in the company of passengers and crew of the vintage steamers which were once a common sight on the rivers and coastal waters around Britain.
Far more than a means of transport, these steamers attracted a devoted following, treating their passengers, whatever their pocket, to the adventure and trappings of an ocean voyage whilst actually rarely venturing out of sight of land. A highlight of the great British seaside holiday from the 1820s until the early 1960s - and open to all - they were 'the people's liners'.
WED 21:00 Titanic's Tragic Twin: The Britannic Disaster (b083dp3s)
The Titanic sank in April 1912, and her sister ship, the Britannic, ultimately suffered the fate, sinking in 1916 due to an explosion caused by an underwater mine.
In the wake of the Titanic disaster, Britannic was re-engineered to be even stronger. And yet she sank in just 55 minutes - three times faster than Titanic. It's one of Britain's greatest untold disaster stories. Now on the 100th anniversary, presenters Kate Humble and Andy Torbet piece together exactly what happened in those 55 minutes.
While Andy makes a dangerous dive to the wreck, Kate speaks to descendants of the survivors. The characters she uncovers include Violet 'Miss Unsinkable' Jessops, who survived both Titanic and Britannic, Captain 'Iceberg Charlie' Bartlett and lookout Archie Jewell, who miraculously survived while those around him died.
WED 22:00 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (m000x2hl)
2021
Round 4
As BBC Cardiff Singer of the World marks its 20th edition, young opera singer from across the globe are in the Welsh capital hoping to make their name and join an illustrious list of previous winners.With a record number of applications this time, the standard of the singers competing in Cardiff is extremely high. Three places in the grand final have already been decided and they will be joined by tonight’s winner. At the end of the programme, we also find out who the judges have chosen as their wildcard selection to complete the line-up.
Petroc Trelawny presents full coverage of the fourth round from St David’s Hall in Cardiff with singers from Kosovo, Madagascar, England and Iceland performing music by Britten, Mozart, Gounod and Haydn.
WED 23:30 Great British Photography Challenge (m000x294)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 00:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x2hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00nk324)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 01:30 Timeshift (b06jnzjx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 02:30 Titanic's Tragic Twin: The Britannic Disaster (b083dp3s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2021
THU 19:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00npjt1)
Episode 5
It is the day of the festival. The showman's wagon is revealed in all its glory and festivalgoers have a chance to see work in progress. With the cottage and the mill completed, Griff and George reflect on George's first job as an architectural designer.
THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000x2hn)
Series 4
Back Country Path
Bob Ross takes a detour from the trail and discovers a rarely used path through country woods.
THU 20:00 Florence Foster Jenkins (b084zbf0)
Based on a true heartwarming story. In the autumn of 1944, as war rages in the Pacific, New York heiress and founder of the Verdi Club Florence Foster Jenkins devotes her life to music with the unswerving support of her eminent actor and monologist husband St Clair Bayfield. Delighted to provide support for other musicians, she is finally inspired by a Lili Pons recital to revive her own singing career, despite having very little talent in that regard.
THU 21:45 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (m000x2hq)
2021
Song Prize Final
Petroc Trelawny and Josie d’Arby host the first of two finals taking place in Cardiff this week. The Song Prize was first won by legendary Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel when it was introduced to the competition in 1989. For this Final the orchestra has been replaced by a piano as five singers undertake in the intimate and demanding discipline of ‘art song’ or lieder. Their aim is to impress the expert panel of judges: internationally acclaimed American soprano Roberta Alexander, John Gilhooly, director of one of the world’s great music venues, Wigmore Hall, and Welsh bass-baritone Neal Davies, who himself won the Song Prize title 30 years ago. Who will follow in his footsteps and be next to claim the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 Song Prize title?
THU 23:45 The Sky at Night (m000x2b1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
THU 00:15 Arena (b0613d0c)
Nicolas Roeg - It's About Time
The first major profile of the great British film director Nicolas Roeg, examining his very personal vision of cinema as in such films as Don't Look Now, Performance, Walkabout and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Roeg reflects on his career, which began as a leading cinematographer, and on the themes that have obsessed him, such as our perception of time and the difficulty of human relationships. With contributions from key collaborators, including Julie Christie, Jenny Agutter and Theresa Russell, and directors he has inspired such as Danny Boyle, Mike Figgis, Bernard Rose and Ben Wheatley.
THU 01:15 The Joy of Painting (m000x2hn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:45 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00npjt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 02:15 Timeshift (b0103pnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:45 on Saturday]
FRIDAY 18 JUNE 2021
FRI 19:00 Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day (b02yhsb6)
Fatherhood has proved a great subject for a variety of artists - some celebratory, some conflicted, but all inspired by what dad does and doesn't do. Here's a mixture of songs that celebrate and probe the emotional complexities generated by the sometime head of the household. Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Cat Stevens, Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon, Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Mike and the Mechanics, Suggs and the Blockheads, Neil Young, James Brown, Pigbag and even Ozzy Osbourne and his daughter Kelly put in an appearance, making a cracking compilation for Father's Day.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000x2h1)
Jakki Brambles presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 28 February 1991 and featuring Massive Attack, Jesus Jones and N-Joi.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000x2h3)
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 March 1991 and featuring Hale and Pace, Roxette and Xpansions.
FRI 21:00 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
Documentary chronicling our ever-changing love affair with the British singles chart on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. From the first NME chart in 1952, via Pick and Top of the Pops to home-taping the Radio One chart show and beyond, we have measured out our lives to a wonderful churn of pop driven, unbeknownst to us, by a clandestine world of music biz hustle. Featuring contributions by 60 years of BBC chart custodians from David Jacobs to Reggie Yates, chart fans Grace Dent and Pete Paphides and music biz veterans Jon Webster and Rob Dickins.
FRI 22:30 R.E.M. at the BBC (b019g9vf)
In September 2011 R.E.M., the rock band from Athens, Georgia, decided to call it a day after 31 years. This collection from the BBC archives includes performances of Pretty Persuasion from the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1984, Orange Crush on Top of the Pops in 1989 and special acoustic versions of Losing My Religion and Half a World Away on The Late Show in 1991, along with performances on Later with Jools Holland and Parkinson. Also, vocalist Michael Stipe and bassist Mike Mills reflect on the band ending.
FRI 23:30 Huey Morgan's Latin Music Adventure (m000kxmd)
Series 1
Puerto Rico
Migration has shaped music right across Latin America, but perhaps never more so than in Puerto Rico, where over half the population live, not on the island, but in the United States. Reflecting this story of two halves, Huey starts his final adventure right back on the streets where he first fell in love with the hot sounds of Latin Music - in New York City.
For Latinos leaving their home country and arriving in New York, identity and community was everything. ’El Barrio’, or Spanish Harlem, became the focal point for the Puerto Rican community, and Latin music the soundtrack to their survival. Fusing traditional music with American R&B and soul, newly minted Nuyoricans created the 60s Latin dance craze the boogaloo. Huey talks to Joe Bataan about his role as a boogaloo pioneer, and how music saved him from a life running gangs on the streets. Huey also drops in on music writer, and proud Nuyorican, Aurora Flores, who was there in El Barrio during the birth of salsa and witnessed the rise of legendary record label Fania.
Flying south to Puerto Rico itself, Huey sets off on a journey to discover the music that was left behind, hunting down the roots of salsa in the capital San Juan, and the traditional folk styles of bomba and plena. These songs still play an important role in marking births and deaths in rural areas of the country, and Grammy-nominated band Plena Libre believe they are the source of that fierce Puerto Rican pride. Recently Puerto Ricans have needed every bit of that strength and pride - the island is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Huey heads to a local bar to see how traditional music brought the community together after the storm.
Musical migration is still plays a huge part in Puerto Rico’s story - some of the most successful pop music of the last few years has come from this small island. Meeting up with cuatro player Christian Nieves, Huey discovers that traditional instruments are right at the heart of the most streamed and downloaded song of all time - Despacito! Huey heads back to the capital to learn about the birth of the world-dominating reggaeton rhythm with DJ Negro, the founder of The Noise, and meets breakout artist iLe to understand why Puerto Ricans are once again looking to their musical roots in their hope for a better future.
FRI 00:30 Latin Music: A Session with (m000kxmg)
Series 1
Edwin Colón Zayas
Edwin Colón Zayas is a world-renowned cuatro player, the Latin American guitar made famous in Luis Fonsi’s hit Despacito. Grammy Award-winning Edwin is joined by family and friends in the mountains of Puerto Rico to perform some of his favourite music.
FRI 01:00 Top of the Pops (m000x2h1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRI 01:30 Top of the Pops (m000x2h3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
FRI 02:00 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]