The three-dimensional style of caricature originated by Roger Law and Peter Fluck, creators of the Spitting Image puppets, is unique but, in essence, it is part of a British tradition stretching back to the eighteenth Century. In this programme, Fluck and Law consider the work of famous caricaturists, including Gillray, Daumier, Grosz and Dix.
Domenico Scarlatti – His Music and His World
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) is one of the greatest composers of keyboard music ever to have lived. This film presents performances of his brilliant, expressive and original sonatas in the context of his travels across Europe in the service of the Vatican and the courts of Portugal and Spain. From Bernini’s impressive façades in Rome, through the peasant areas of the Iberian peninsula and the Spanish royal palaces, it traces the influences and ideas that inspired the composer. Harpsichordist Rafael Puyana performs on an instrument dating from 1740.
The Caravaggio Conspiracy
To research a book on art theft, journalist Peter Watson assumed the identity of a shady art dealer for almost three years. In this guise and with the help of Sotheby’s, Christie’s and the police, he pursued stolen paintings and was instrumental in the recovery of a del Sarto and a Bronzino – though not the Caravaggio he was hunting. This film, shot in London, Italy and New York, tells the story through extensive reconstructions.
Glyndebourne: A Celebration of Fifty Years
Taking a closer look at Glyndebourne’s world-famous opera house set in the heart of the Sussex countryside, this film goes behind the scenes and meets the people who create its unique atmosphere and sense of occasion. The exciting 50th Anniversary season in 1984 was chosen to reflect some of the works which have been particularly significant in the history of the Festival. In this documentary there is film of rehearsals for new productions of Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte, the two operas with which Glyndebourne opened in 1934. These are both directed by Sir Peter Hall. There is also film of Hall’s preparations for Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. John Cox is seen working on Richard Strauss’s Arabella.
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Cantor of St.Thomas’s
“Too operatic and too long!” – one opinion of Bach’s music, on his appointment to his last, longest and most famous post as Cantor of Leipzig’s Thomasschule. Brian Cox portrays Bach (1685-1750) in a film based on the records of his employers, the City Council – the story of his fight to defend position, status and, above all else, his music. Performances, in authentic style, are directed by Sir Roger Norrington.
The music content of the film includes excerpts from: The Art of Fugue, the St. Matthew Passion, Fugue in C Minor for Organ, Cantatas No. 131, 71 and 123, Passacaglia in C Minor for Organ, Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in E Minor, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Invention for Harpsichord No. 5 in E Flat, Sonata No. 1, the St. John Passion, The Wedding Cantata, Mass in B Minor and The Musical Offering.
The King’s Singers’ Madrigal History Tour
In this series, the highly-acclaimed King’s Singers vocal ensemble travels through
Germany, Spain, France, England and Italy to perform a varied selection of madrigals in the
settings which first inspired their composition in the Golden Age of the sixteenth century. An
introductory programme looks at the origins of the madrigal in Italy and traces its development
throughout Europe to become the musical rage of the High Renaissance.
Masterclass: Jorge Bolet
The legendary Cuban pianist, one of the last representatives of the grand tradition of Romantic piano playing, died in 1990. This masterclass series, made just a few years before his death, starts with a programme in which he talks about his life and work on the concert platforms of the world, illustrating his reminiscences at the keyboard. In three following programmes, Bolet works with up-and-coming young pianists on the movements of Rachmaninov’s formidable Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Op. 30. The series concludes with Bolet giving a concert performance of the piece with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bryden Thomson.
Gesualdo the Prince
The story of Carlo Gesualdo (1560-1613) is one of the most famous and most blood-curdling in musical history: it tells of a crime of passion involving a great composer who was also a prince. This dramatised film takes the form of a mystery – Gesualdo’s terrible secret surfaces slowly until the events that shattered his life and set a dark tone to his music are revealed. Peter Eyre is Gesualdo and the Schütz Consort, directed by Sir Roger Norrington, plays his music.