Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Spirits of the Forest

As Radio 3 goes Into the Forest, the In Tune Mixtape evokes the spirit of the forest with 30 minutes of specially curated music interspersed with natural sounds of the forest.

As Radio 3 goes Into the Forest, the In Tune Mixtape evokes the spirit of the forest with 30 minutes of specially curated music interspersed with natural sounds of the forest. Music from the Rainforest people of Northern Congo begins and ends the sequence, with a call to the creatures of the forest, and the complex polyphonic singing of the Spirit Ceremony. Also, Rameau evokes forest birds on the harpsichord, Bold Sir Rylas goes hunting for wild boar, we hear marimbas fashioned from the Colombian Rainforest, Canadian composer Jonas Bonnetta goes walking in the forest, Finnish singers Varttina do some tree-hugging, and Saint-Saens goes cuckoo.

More notes on the music:
1. Forest call of the Mbenjele people of Ibamba village, Northern Congo: recorded in 2012 by Radio 3's Music Planet team
2. Varttina: the song is about fir trees in the forest - one has died, but new ones are growing. Yet the dead fir will not be forgotten - its memory will live on in this song.
3. Carnival of the Animals: the Cuckoo movement, accompanied by some real specimens from the 大象传媒's wonderful Natural History Library
4. Bold Sir Rylas: a jolly hunting expedition for wild boar ends in a brutal murder.
5. Rameau depicts the 'conversation' of nightingales on the harpsichord
6. A song from the forests of Colombia, accompanied by marimbas made from the local wood
7. Jonas Bonnetta is a composer living in a remote cottage in the forests of eastern Ontario.
8. We finally return to the Mbenjele people of the Congo Rainforest. In this ceremony for the Spirits of the Forest, they sing music inspired by the calls of the birds and other animals. It is music totally free from any influences from the west or anywhere else - pretty rare nowadays.

30 minutes

Last on

Mon 18 Jun 2018 19:00

Music Played

  • Mbendjele people of northern Congo, from the Pemba village

    Mbenjele Forest Call

  • 痴盲谤迟迟颈苍盲

    Kelo (Fir tree)

    • Viena.
    • Westpark Music.
    • 004.
  • Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns

    The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Wood (Carnival of the Animals)

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Performer: Nelson Freire. Performer: Gidon Kremer. Performer: Isabelle van Keulen. Performer: Tabea Zimmermann. Performer: Mischa Maisky. Performer: Georg H枚rtnagel. Performer: Irena Grafenauer. Performer: Eduard Brunner. Performer: Edith Salmen-Weber. Performer: Markus Steckeler.
    • Saint-Saens: Carnaval des Animaux: Argerich/Frerie/Kremer.
    • Philips.
    • 9.
  • Jean鈥怭hilippe Rameau

    Le Rappel des Oiseaux in E minor, from Pieces de clavecin (1724, revised.1731)

    Performer: Steven Devine.
    • Resonus.
  • Grupo Gualajo

    La Gallina Culidur

    • El Pianista de la Selva.
    • Resistencia Music.
  • Jonas Bonnetta

    Interlude and Fogo

  • Mbendjele people of northern Congo, from the Pemba village

    Mbenjele spirit ceremony

Broadcast

  • Mon 18 Jun 2018 19:00

Music to help you focus

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