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Errollyn Wallen's Mighty River

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical surrounds of the evocative Mighty River by the current Master of the King's Music, Errollyn Wallen.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical surrounds of the evocative Mighty River by the current Master of the King's Music, Errollyn Wallen.

Mighty River was written in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the Abolition of England's Slave Trade Act. Composer Errollyn Wallen was born in Belize but grew up in London and has lived her whole life close to the water - both rivers and oceans which were part of the transatlantic slave trade over hundreds of years of human history and which touched her own family directly. In this episode, you'll hear music from other composers whose lives were impacted by slavery; from Ignatio Sancho and Joseph Bologne to Florence Price.

Our destination piece explores the themes of slavery and freedom through the idea of a ‘mighty river’ – an unstoppable force heading for the ocean, just like the innate human desire to be free. Today's Music Map features other hymns to freedom; from Brahms and Beethoven to Dmitri Shostakovich and Oscar Peterson.

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29 days left to listen

1 hour, 29 minutes

Last on

Yesterday13:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    F.A.E Sonata: Scherzo

    Performer: James Ehnes. Performer: Andrew Armstrong.
    • Brahms: Violin Sonatas.
    • Seattle Chamber Music Society.
    • 4.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Symphony No.10 in E minor: II Allegro

    Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Kirill Petrenko.
    • Shostakovich: Symphony Nos. 8, 9, 10.
    • Berliner Philharmoniker.
    • 3.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    O welche lust (Fidelio prisoners' chorus Act 1)

    Choir: Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 1.

  • Oscar Peterson

    Hymn to Freedom

    Ensemble: The Oscar Peterson Trio.
    • Hymn to Freedom.
    • Verve Records.
    • 1.

  • Ignatio Sancho

    Hornpipe

    Ensemble: The Raritan Players.
    • Ignatius Sancho: Music of an Eighteenth-Century Black Englishman.
    • Centaur.
    • 1.

  • Joseph Bologne

    Violin Concerto No. 2 in A major: I. Allegro moderato

    Performer: Anne‐Sophie Mutter. Ensemble: Mutter’s Virtuosi.
    • Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mutter’s Virtuosi.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 2.

  • Florence Price

    Symphony No.1 in E minor: III Juba Dance

    Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Roderick Cox.
    • Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement & Symphony No. 1.
    • Decca.
    • 1.

  • Angeline Morrison

    Unknown African Boy (d.1830)

    Performer: Angeline Morrison.
    • The Sorrow Songs (Folk Songs Of Black British Experience).
    • Topic Records.
    • 1.

  • Ottorino Respighi

    Botticelli Triptych: I. La Primavera

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Respighi: Orchestral Works.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 5.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Well Tempered Clavier Book 1: Prelude in C major

    Performer: Maurizio Pollini.
    • Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 1.

  • Simon Jeffes

    Perpetuum mobile

    Performer: Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
    • Concert Programme.
    • Penguin Café.
    • 7.

  • Samuel Barber

    Violin Concerto Op.14: III. presto in moto perpetuo

    Performer: Renaud Capuçon. Orchestra: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Conductor: Daniel Harding.
    • Sibelius & Barber: Violin Concertos.
    • Erato.
    • 2.

  • Trad.

    Amazing Grace

    Music Arranger: John Newton. Singer: Paul Robeson.
    • On My Journey: Paul Robeson's Independent Recordings.
    • Smithsonian Folkways.
    • 15.

  • Errollyn Wallen

    Mighty River

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: John Andrews.
    • Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works.
    • Resonus Classics.
    • 15.

Broadcast

  • Yesterday13:30
    BBC Radio 3