The Magical Forest
Enter the magical musical world of the forest. It's charming, mysterious, beautiful and scary - Tom Service is your guide.
Enter the magical musical world of the forest. It's charming, mysterious, beautiful and scary. Tom Service is your guide as he explores the magical role of the forest in music, from the Romantic charms of Schubert songs to the nightmarish spirits of Weber's Freischütz opera, and beyond to the symbolic psychological forests of Schoenberg's Erwartung and Sibelius's Tapiola. He also talks to sound artist Jez Riley French about his close-up recordings of forests, which bring us the truly wild sounds of un-romanticised nature.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Music Played
-
![]()
John Walter Bratton
Teddy Bears Picnic
Performer: Henry Hall & His Orchestra.- EMI.
-
![]()
Carl Maria von Weber
Der Freischütz: Act 2: Wolfs Glen Scene
Performer: Staatskapelle Dresden. Performer: Colin Davis.- Decca.
-
![]()
Arnold Schoenberg
Erwartung
Performer: Jessye Norman. Performer: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Performer: James Levine.- Philips.
-
![]()
Richard Wagner
Forest Murmurs (from Siegfried)
Performer: Vienna Philharmonic. Performer: Georg Solti.- Decca.
-
![]()
Jean Sibelius
Tapiola
Performer: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Leif Segerstam.- Ondine.
-
![]()
Jez riley French
Tree, Northumbria
Performer: Jez riley French.- Private Recording.
-
![]()
Anna Friederike Potengowski
Improvisation for mammoth ivory flute
Performer: Anna Friederike Potengowski.- Delphian.
-
![]()
Franz Schubert
Waldesnacht D.708
Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter. Performer: Bengt Forsberg.- DG.
-
![]()
Phoebe Riley Law
Forest Manifesto
Performer: Phoebe Riley Law.- Private Recording.
-
![]()
Jez riley French
Fence Dawn Chorus
Performer: Jez riley French.- Private Recording.
-
![]()
Jean Sibelius
Tapiola
Performer: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Leif Segerstam.- Ondine.
Broadcast
- Sun 21 Oct 2018 17:00BBC Radio 3
Featured in...
![]()
Into the Forest—Breakfast
Programmes and features exploring the enchantment, escape and magical danger of forests.
Why do we call it 'classical' music?
Tom Service poses a very simple question (with a not-so-simple answer).
Six of the world's most extreme voices
From babies to Mongolian throat singers: whose voice is the most extreme of all?
How did the number 12 revolutionise music?
How Schoenberg opened a new cosmos for composers and listeners to explore.
Why are we all addicted to bass?
Bass is everywhere, but why do we enjoy it? Join Tom Service on a journey of discovery.
Watch the animations
Join Tom Service on a musical journey through beginnings, repetition and bass lines.
When does noise become music?
We like to think we can separate “noise” from “music”, but is it that simple?
Podcast
-
![]()
The Listening Service
An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service
