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Betsy Jolas: language, breath, and living sound

Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore shine new light on the 'modern' music of the 20th century. This week, Gillian explores the organic aliveness of the music of Betsy Jolas.

Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore present BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. In this episode, Gillian celebrates the organic aliveness encountered in the music of the French-American composer Betsy Jolas, who was born in Paris in 1926. On the way to a full performance of her 1977 trumpet concerto Onze Lieder, we’ll be pacified by lullabies, skirt the literary worlds of Joyce and Baudelaire, and discover the important role that languages - both real and invented - played for some of the 20th century's finest composers.

Produced by Sam Phillips
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

22 days left to listen

59 minutes

Last on

Last Sunday21:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Betsy Jolas

    Onze lieder

    Performer: Håkan Hardenberger. Orchestra: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Fabien Gabel.
    • Tomasi, Jolivet & Others: French Trumpet Concertos.
    • BIS.

  • John Williams

    Main Title

    Performer: John Williams.
    • Star Wars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
    • 20th Century.

  • Betsy Jolas

    Quatour III - 9 Etudes - II. Vibrato

    Ensemble: Concord String Quartet.
    • Betsy Jolas & Lejaren Hiller: String Quartets.
    • New World.

  • Betsy Jolas

    Lovemusic

    Ensemble: Ensemble Accroche Note.
    • Jolas: Ventosum Vocant.
    • Accord.

  • Betsy Jolas

    Motet IV "Ventosum vocant"

    Ensemble: Ensemble Accroche Note.
    • Jolas: Ventosum Vocant.
    • Accord.

  • Anton Webern

    5 Pieces For Orchestra, Op.10 - V.

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Antal Doráti.
    • Five Pieces For Orchestra, Op. 16 / Five Pieces For Orchestra, Op. 10 / Three Pi.
    • Philips.

  • Orlande de Lassus

    Timor et tremor

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • Great European Choral Works.
    • CORO.

  • Alban Berg

    Wozzeck - Act I Scene 3 "Komm' mein Bub! (Marie's Lullaby)

    Singer: Waltraud Meier. Orchestra: Staatskapelle Berlin. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
    • Berg: Wozzeck, Op. 7.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Henri Dutilleux

    Tout un monde lointain - I. Enigme

    Orchestra: Orchestre national de France. Conductor: David Robertson.
    • Tout un monde lointain.
    • ALPHA.

  • Gérard Grisey

    Partiels

    Ensemble: Ensemble Musikfabrik. Conductor: Emilio Pomàrico.
    • Partiels.
    • WERGO.

  • György Kurtág

    Grabstein für Stephan, op. 15c

    Ensemble: Asko|Schönberg. Conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw.
    • György Kurtág: Complete Works For Ensemble And Choir.
    • ECM.

  • Joji Yuasa

    Mai-Bataraki II

    Performer: 木ノ脇道元.
    • Joji Yuasa’s The 70th Birthday Concert Live 1999.
    • Music Scape.

  • Claude Vivier

    Lonely Child (1980)

    Ensemble: Schoenberg Ensemble. Conductor: Reinbert de Leeuw. Singer: Susan Narucki.
    • Lonely Child (1980).
    • DECCA.

  • Betsy Jolas

    Onze lieder

    Performer: Håkan Hardenberger. Orchestra: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Fabien Gabel.
    • Tomasi, Jolivet & Others: French Trumpet Concertos.
    • BIS.

  • Evan Parker

    WW3

    • Winns Win.
    • BYRD OUT.

Broadcast

  • Last Sunday21:00
    BBC Radio 3