Between the Ears: The Lark Descending

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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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Between the Ears

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Innovative and thought-provoking features on a wide variety of subjects

Innovative and thought-provoking features that make adventurous use of sound and explore a wide variety of subjects. Made by leading radio producers.

The Lark Descending

BBC Radio 3 - Between the Ears, The Lark Descending

Vaughan Williams's most famous piece reworked and reimagined in music and field recordings

Hinako Omori's electronic re-imagining of Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending sheds new light on the skylark's descent out of earshot.

Half environmental warning, half re-imagining of a classic work - The Lark Descending features an exclusive recording of Hinako Omori’s electronic arrangement of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.

When Vaughan Williams wrote his most famous work in 1914, the skylark would have been a ubiquitous presence in the British countryside, but today the skylark is on the "red list" of conservation concern. This bird may have inspired one of the most famous pieces of classical music ever, but now we’re facing an increasingly silent sky.

Between The Ears explores what we have lost, presenting The Lark Ascending in a new light, with a fresh, electronic arrangement.  Here, the soloist is the skylark itself - captured by sound recordist Chris Watson in Northumberland.   

Naturalist and broadcaster Lucy ‘Lapwing’ Hodson explores the relationship between The Lark Ascending and the birds disappearing from our skies.   Along the way, Lucy meets concert violinist Jennifer Pike at Vaughan Williams’s childhood home, producer and nature beatboxer Jason Singh, and writer and conservationist Laurence Rose.  

Over 150 years after Vaughan Williams was born, the contrast between the popularity of his most famous work and the steady decline of skylark numbers in the UK has never been as stark. Composer Hinako Omori's electronic re-imagining of the piece explores this contrast in Conversation With A Lark.  

Produced in binaural sound, immerse yourself in the skylark’s world by wearing headphones for the best listening experience.

Producer: Rebecca Grisedale-Sherry
Mixing Engineer: Marvin Ware

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.

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