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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Composer of the Week: Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): Episode 4: The Return of Ulysses

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Episode 4

Episode 4: The Return of Ulysses

The Return of Ulysses

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), The Return of Ulysses

Donald Macleod on Monteverdi's penultimate operatic masterpiece, The Return of Ulysses.

We hear two examples of Monteverdi's ability to exploit the expressive power of religious music and explore his penultimate operatic masterpiece, a version of Homer's Odyssey.

Today Donald Macleod explores a masterpiece from the pens of Monteverdi and Homer - Ulysses. Monteverdi's penultimate opera is a compelling version of Homer's Odyssey, and the first opera ever to focus on real human characters and their feelings. Opera had only just been developed as a public entertainment; before 1637 the rich nobility had been the only ones who could afford this luxurious form of artistic endeavour. However, the power and expression in Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland proved an immense hit with Venetian audiences.

But we begin by hearing two pieces which show Monteverdi's ability to exploit the expressive power of religious music: an Offertory and Sanctus from his collection Selva morale e spirituale (literally: "Moral and Spiritual Forest").

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Claudio Monteverdi

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Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Episode 4: The Return of Ulysses

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