The Prince (of Wales) and the Composer (Parry) ...
Post categories: BBC Television
|15:11 UK Time, Friday, 27 May 2011
HRH The Prince of Wales at Westminster Abbey Radio 3 listeners might like to know that, this evening at 730 on BBC 4 TV (repeated on BBC HD at 1.25am on Saturday, 28 May), HRH The Prince of Wales will present The Prince and the Composer, a film directed by John Bridcut (Britten's Children (2004) and The Passions of Vaughan Williams (2008)) about Sir Hubert Parry, whose music featured so prominently at the recent Royal Wedding. 
Parry is simultaneously one of Britain's best-known and least-known composers. Jerusalem is almost a national song, regularly performed at rugby grounds, schools, Women's Institute meetings and the Last Night of the Proms, while Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is one of Britain's best-loved hymns. Everyone knows the tunes, yet hardly anyone knows much about the man who wrote them.
In this feature-length documentary film, HRH The Prince of Wales, a longstanding enthusiast of Parry's work, sets out to discover more about the complex character behind it, with the help of members of Parry's family, scholars and performers.
Graeme Kay is Interactive Producer for Radio 3 and BBC Classical Music TV.
- You can read a Blog about the film, by director John Bridcut, by clicking this link.
- The Prince And The Composer is on BBC Four at 7.30pm on Friday, 27 May and on BBC HD at 1.25am on Saturday, 28 May.
- Read biographical details of Sir Hubert Parry
- Listen to a 57-minute Podcast about Parry, from Radio 3's Composer of the Week
Comment number 1.
At 23:42 27th May 2011, Rosie wrote:Dear BBC4,
Words cannot express my total disgust and disbelief that any commentator of any kind, however famous, should have the temerity to talk over the sublime singing of the choristers of Westminster Abbey as was witnessed this evening regarding the program of Sir Hubert Parry The Prince and The Composer.
It was nothing short of sacrilege. The wretched commentator kept telling us to listen to the nuances of the singing but did not give us a chance to hear it since he kept talking over it! It broke my heart, and I switched off.
Yours in fury.
RHJ
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Comment number 2.
At 22:20 28th May 2011, french frank wrote:Forgive me for feeling smug that there's far more discussion going on about the programme and Parry on The Radio 3 Forum [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator] than there is here. You really shouldn't have axed our messageboards - blogs aren't the same.
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Comment number 3.
At 22:23 28th May 2011, french frank wrote:Oh, that link doesn't work - try here https://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?2207-The-Prince-and-the-Composer-Parry
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Comment number 4.
At 17:23 30th May 2011, hrc3 wrote:RHJ, I think you're in a minority judging by the comments on the parallel BBC TV blog on this topic: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2011/05/the-prince-and-the-composer.shtml
I too greatly enjoyed the programme - as this was a film/documentary and not a performance I think it is entirely reasonable that some of the music was talked over, be it the choir of Westminster Abbey, the excellent Schola Cantorum of Oxford, the BBC Philharmonic or the London Symphony Orchestra.
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