NEWS

Ahead of the BBC Proms performance of Delius's A Mass of Life, BBC Four is hosting a Delius evening on Sunday 17 August.  Ken Russell's wonderful 1968 film about Delius's final years, Song of Summer, will be shown again, followed by John Bridcut's film Delius: Composer, Lover, Enigma.  This will then be available on BBC iPlayer until August 2026.  (The broadcast on BBC Four is expected to begin at around 11pm, depending on the Proms relay earlier in the evening.)

In the week leading up to the King's coronation, BBC Four repeated The Prince and the Composer, presented by the then Prince Charles.  In this 2011 film, he explored the life and music of Hubert Parry, famous for the tune of 'Jerusalem' and the anthem 'I was glad', which is traditionally sung when the monarch enters Westminster Abbey for his or her coronation.  This documentary is believed to be the only time in which the King has spoken about previous coronations, and it gives some clue to his musical passions, which lie behind his personal commission of music by twelve different composers for his own coronation service. 

The film is currently being updated, with the changed title of The King and the Composer.

On his podcast Beeb Watch, Roger Bolton (former presenter of Feedback on Radio 4) talks to John Bridcut about the BBC, how impartiality impinges on its coverage of the royal family, and the crisis in classical music – not least in the BBC itself. Click here for the link.