Poulenc, Alice Coltrane, Tallis

Tonight's specially curated playlist begins at a Parisian soirée, where the 'darlings' of fashionable society preen and parade in the opening to Poulenc's ballet 'Les Biches'. The mood darkens with a turbulent movement from Amy Beach's Piano Trio in A minor, reminiscent of Rachmaninov, followed by Alice Coltrane's spiritual journey through experimental jazz and Indian traditions, both musical and mystical. Dvořák's melancholic 'dumka' (thought) brings a Slavonic flavour, as does Haydn's 'Bird' Quartet, which has a boisterous final movement derived from a Slavonic folk dance. A moment of calm comes from Tallis's exquisite Renaissance polyphony, and the mixtape ends with Alison Balsom and Guy Barker's languorous, luxurious arrangement of Satie.