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The perfect classical half hour

30 minutes of back to back classical music including works by Gabriel Fauré, Sergey Rachmaninov, and Cecilia McDowall.

Half an hour of back to back classical music to help wind down at the end of a busy day. Opening with a shimmering Aquarium from Saint-Seans, and a lesser known prelude by Rachmaninov, the sequence moves slowly and heavily into an orchestral Pavane by Cecilia McDowall, then weaves around Graham Fitkin's mysterious Carousel, before alighting on a Telemann sonata for recorder and violin. The perfumed French harmonies of Poulenc's Stabat Mater melt into William Grant Still's Lyric Quartet, and the half hour concludes with a gentle orchestration of Fauré's well-loved Berceuse from his Dolly Suite.

Producer: Helen Garrison

29 days left to listen

30 minutes

Last on

Today19:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Aquarium (Carnival of the Animals)

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Charles Groves.
    • Sir Charles' Precious Music Box 1, Groves, Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • DENON.
    • 22.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Prelude in F Major, Op. 2

    Performer: Alessio Bax.
    • Piano Solo: Rosy Romance.
    • East Props Music - OMiP.
    • 8.

  • Cecilia McDowall

    Pavane

    Orchestra: Ulster Orchestra. Conductor: George Vass.
    • McDowall: Shipping Forecast.
    • Dutton Epoch.
    • 4.

  • Graham Fitkin

    Carousel

    Performer: Ruth Wall.
    • GFR.

  • Georg Philipp Telemann

    Sonata in A minor TWV.42:a4

    Ensemble: Palladian Ensemble.
    • LINN.

  • Francis Poulenc

    Stabat Mater; Vidit Suum

    Singer: Janice Watson. Choir: BBC Singers. Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier.
    • CHANDOS.

  • William Grant Still

    Lyric quartet - musical portraits of three friends: The Quiet One

    Ensemble: Catalyst Quartet.
    • Uncovered, Vol 3.
    • Azica.
    • 3.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Berceuse (Dolly Suite)

    Orchestrator: Henri Rabaud. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Thomas Beecham.
    • Sir Thomas Beecham: The French Collection.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 6.

Broadcast

  • Today19:00
    BBC Radio 3

Music to help you focus

Music to help you focus

Discover the best classical music for study, inspiration and relaxation.