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BBC Radio 4
Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe take us on a musical journey of discovery, exploring the web of connections between tracks across the breadth of all musical styles, from pop, rock, reggae and hip-hop to classical, jazz, folk and country.
Episodes
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Mar 22, 2024 • 43min
Eliza Carthy and Tim Rhys-Evans share the joys of singing
Fiddler and folk musician Eliza Carthy and choral conductor Tim Rhys-Evans join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the next five tracks. Starting at a famous masked ball in Vienna, they then head for the Genoa docks, rounding off with a cheeky Soca hip-thrusting classic. In the penultimate episode of the current series, recorder player and baroque flautist Heidi Fardell demonstrates some of her collection of early instruments.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:'Ach, ich darf nicht hin zu dir!' From Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II
La Partenza (The Parting) by Trallaleri of Genoa
Gagliarda by Giorgio Mainerio, performed by Il Giardino Armonico
How High The Moon by Nancy Hamilton and Morgan Lewis, sung by Ella Fitzgerald
Dollar Wine by Colin Lucas
Other music in this episode:Hotel California by The Eagles
The Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
Battalia a 10 by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Die Katz (The Cat) by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Mack the Knife by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, sung by Ella Fitzgerald

Mar 15, 2024 • 43min
Anne Dudley and Emily Sun are on a Mission
Composer, producer and arranger Anne Dudley and concert violinist Emily Sun add five more tracks to the playlist with Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye. The journey takes them from a dark tale of deceit and entrapment to a hotel you can never leave. Irish pipes and whistle player John McSherry also calls in to tell us about his live recording of traditional jigs.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Babooshka by Kate Bush
Piano Concerto in A Minor (1st mvt) by Edvard Grieg
Theme from Mission: Impossible by Lalo Schifrin
The Roaring Promenade by John McSherry, Brendán Quinn & Francis McIlduff
Hotel California by The EaglesOther music in this episode:The Look of Love Pt 4 by ABC
Poison Arrow by ABC
The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Piano Concerto in A minor by Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel

Mar 8, 2024 • 43min
Anna Meredith and Joe Stilgoe head for South Africa
Anna Meredith - composer, producer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music - and singer, songwriter and pianist Joe Stilgoe join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye to add five more tracks. The journey takes them from Hugh Masekela's South Africa to a masked ball in Brazil, and ending up at arguably the most famous notes ever played on the saxophone.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela
You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon
My End is My Beginning by Guillaume de Machaut
Baile De Máscaras by Bala Desejo
The Pink Panther Theme by Henry ManciniOther music in this episode:Titanium by David Guetta feat. Sia
Nautilus by Anna Meredith
Lazarus by David Bowie
Mr Bull No. 4 by Freddie Gumbi
In My Solitude by Branford Marsalis
Old Landmark by Aretha Franklin
Padam Padam by Kylie Minogue

Mar 1, 2024 • 43min
Leo Geyer and Gillian Moore take us from Bach to Bowie
Composer, conductor and bassoonist Leo Geyer, and The Southbank Centre's Gillian Moore, join Jeffrey Boakye and saxophonist Jess Gillam - standing in for Cerys Matthews - as they head from a famous Bach well-tempered classic, via Taiwan, to David Bowie's parting gesture. British-Chinese flautist Daniel Shao explains the intricacies of a traditional Taiwanese flute tune.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Jess GillamThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude in C Major by Bach
Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
A Tayal Folk Song by Ming Flute Ensemble
Symphony No.9 in D Major (1st movement) by Gustav Mahler
Lazarus by David BowieOther music in this episode:Pull Up To The Bumper by Grace Jones
In the Mood by Glenn Miller
Ave Maria by Charles Gounod
Don't Cry For Me Argentina by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice
Fugue No 24 in B Minor by Bach
Symphony No.6: 'Pathétique' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Feb 23, 2024 • 43min
Amy Harman and Debbie Wiseman get In the Mood
Bassoonist Amy Harman and Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman are today's studio guests, as Linton Stephens sits in for Cerys Matthews alongside Jeffrey Boakye. This episode takes us from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Glenn Miller's wartime smash hit.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Jeffrey Boakye and Linton StephensThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Nonet, Op.2 ‘Gradus ad Parnassum’: 1st movement by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Nobody Knows (Ladas Road) by Loyle Carner
Adagio from Piano Sonata in G minor by Clara Schumann
If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys
In the Mood by Glenn MillerOther music in this episode:Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Irving Berlin
Moondance by Van Morrison
Symphony No. 6 in B minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Nobody Knows by Pastor T L Barrett & The Youth for Christ Choir
Tar Paper Stomp by Wingy Manone

Feb 16, 2024 • 43min
Anna Lapwood and Benjamin Appl go on a European dance adventure
Organist Anna Lapwood MBE and Bavarian baritone Benjamin Appl join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye on a trans-continental journey as they explore the music of dance in different cultures, from the beer tents in Munich to Transylvania.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus by The Bavarian Oompah Band
‘Burlesque Overture’ Suite in B-flat Major by Georg Philipp Telemann
Fast Dance + Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók
Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille by Jacques Dutronc
Moondance by Van MorrisonOther music in this episode:Jumpin' at the Woodside by Count Basie and Duke Ellington
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
Sakura Sakura by Tadaaki Misago and the Tokyo Cuban Boys

Feb 9, 2024 • 43min
Corinne Bailey Rae and Nicky Spence launch a brand new series
It's the start of a new playlist, and to get things going, singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae and the Scottish operatic tenor Nicky Spence join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add the first five tracks.As well as discussing the five compositions, the four are outnumbered by the London Bulgarian Choir who give a special live performance in the Add to Playlist studio. Also, producer Fraser T Smith sends a message about the recording of one of Adele's biggest hits.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Povela E Yova / Dilmano Dilbero by The London Bulgarian Choir
Confrontation and Rescue from Satyagraha by Philip Glass
Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
Meditation (Meditação) by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele Other music in this episode:A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band

Dec 8, 2023 • 43min
Neil Brand and Anna Phoebe round off the latest series
Composer, silent film music specialist and musician, Neil Brand, and violinist and composer Anna Phoebe, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye for the final episode of the current series.From Ma Rainey's loud and proud blues to a singalong classic from 1981, via an 8'25" digitally-manipulated track that could split the room, the current musical journey is making its last stop.Add to Playlist returns on 9th Feb 2024Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Prove It On Me Blues by Ma Rainey
O Superman by Laurie Anderson
Yo Soy Cubano by The Chakachas
Finale from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky
Lay All Your Love On Me by ABBA Other music in this episode:Peter Gunn Theme from The Blues Brothers, written by Henry Mancini
Believe by Cher
Backseat Freestyle by Kendrick Lamar
Crazy Frog by Axel F
Magic Carpet Ride '07 by Mighty Dub Katz
Theme from Stingray by Barry Gray

Dec 1, 2023 • 43min
Natalie Duncan and Martin Phipps unpick a children's festive favourite
Pianist, singer and songwriter Natalie Duncan and Martin Phipps, composer of TV's The Crown and Ridley Scott's new film Napoleon, join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they travel from Senegal to a massive Cher hit from 1998.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:El hadji n'fa djigui Diabaté by Salimata Diabaté
Mute Heart by Matt Calvert
Jingle Bells by Dean Shostak
Il Dolce Suono by Gaetano Donizetti
Believe by CherOther music in this episode:Insomnia 2021 by Faithless (Maceo Plex Epic Remix)
Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian
Wild Signals from Close Encounters of the Third Kind by John Williams
So Doggone Lonesome by Ernest Tubb
Adagio in C for Glass Harmonica, K356 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Nov 24, 2023 • 43min
Debbie Wiseman, Rhodri Marsden and Lang Lang enjoy a Beethoven classic
Composer Debbie Wiseman and the writer and multi-instrumentalist Rhodri Marsden join Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye as they add five more tracks, taking us from a Drifters' classic hit to one of Beethoven's most famous compositions.For Add to Playlist, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang reflects on playing Beethoven, and percussionist Ruairi Glasheen is on hand to talk us through the finer elements of the popular instrument, the güiro.Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented, with music direction, by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey BoakyeThe five tracks in this week's playlist:Under the Boardwalk by The Drifters
Für Elise: Bagatelle No 25 in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Tchintchirote by Cesária Évora
Golden Birdies by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian Other music in this episode:Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Oye Como Va by Eliane Elias
Butt music from Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights
Supersonic by Oasis
Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder
Hands Up by Cherry Bullet