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Michael Berkeley's guest is the poet Pam Ayres.

Michael Berkeley’s guest is the poet Pam Ayres, who shares the music that matters most to her, including some seasonal favourites. It’s now 50 years since Pam first won a vast national audience on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, with poems including her much-loved wintry verse 'Sling another chair leg on the fire, Mother!'

Her musical choices include Rachmaninov, Elgar and Johnny Mathis.

9 days left to listen

1 hour, 26 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Dec 202512:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Anon.

    Gaudete

    Performer: Steeleye Span.
    • Below the Salt.
    • Chrysalis Records.
    • 10.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato

    Performer: Yuja Wang. Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.
    • Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 1.

  • Ruggero Leoncavallo

    I Pagliacci: "Recitar!... Vesti la giubba"

    Singer: Luciano Pavarotti. Orchestra: National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Giuseppe Patanè.
    • Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci.
    • DECCA.
    • 9.

  • Trad.

    O Little Town of Bethlehem

    Performer: John Challenger. Music Arranger: Ralph Vaughan Williams. Music Arranger: Thomas Armstrong. Lyricist: Phillips Brooks. Choir: Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. Director: Andrew Nethsingha.
    • On Christmas Night.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 15.

  • Ciro Dammicco

    When a Child Is Born

    Singer: Johnny Mathis.
    • The Essential Johnny Mathis.
    • Columbia/Legacy.
    • 5.

  • Edward Elgar

    Nimrod (Enigma Variations)

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Litton.
    • Holst: The Planets, Op. 32 - Elgar: Enigma Variations, Op. 36.
    • BIS.
    • 10.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne Op.9 No.2 in E Flat

    Performer: Jan Lisiecki.
    • Extract from BBC R3 Live TX of BBC Prom 14 on 25/07/2023 from Royal Albert Hall,.

  • George Fenton

    The Barn Owl Ballad

    Lyricist: Pam Ayres. Singer: Natalie Dunne.
    • Barn Owl Ballad (a single, not an album).
    • Shogun Music Ltd (online only release).
    • 1.

  • Joaquín Rodrigo

    Aranjuez Mon Amour

    Performer: Brian Winter. Music Arranger: Kevin Bolton. Ensemble: Brighouse and Rastrick Band. Conductor: David Hirst.
    • Greatest - The Brighouse & Rastrick Band.
    • Crimson.
    • 11.

Broadcast

  • Sun 21 Dec 202512:00
    BBC Radio 3

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