Slow Radio: A Sunday walk through Harlem

Original version

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

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Slow Radio

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Disengage from the frenzied pace of modern life with this diverse selection of programmes. Tune in, drop out. It's time to go slow.

A Sunday walk through Harlem

BBC Radio 3 - Slow Radio, A Sunday walk through Harlem

A Sunday stroll through the New York neighbourhood of Harlem on a cold winter's day.

A Sunday stroll through the neighbourhood of Harlem on a cold winter's day, accompanied by sounds of nature against the urban bustle of New York City.

It is January 2022, and in the Upper Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem all is quiet as people stay at home, preferring not to venture out into the minus-13-degree snow and ice that has blanketed the city.

This half-hour soundscape begins with the geese pecking at the frozen lake at the northern tip of Central Park with the occasional sound of a passer by who has braved the weather.

As we head north to Harlem, walking up Malcolm X Boulevard, an invitation into the warmth of the Abyssinian Baptist Church is welcome.  It is no ordinary service but a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr and we hear sounds of the pastor and gospel choir as they join together in worship.

Heading back out into the bracing cold, Harlem is busier. More people are gathered on the streets with stereos playing music, and public transport still in operation, battling against the snow.

Sounds of live jazz emerge from local restaurants and wandering inside is a refuge from the weather, joining crowds of brunch-goers enjoying live music, drinks, food and the company of others.

It takes about half an hour to walk from Central Park to the Jackie Robinson Park, where a flight of swallows can be heard returning us to the sounds of nature that we heard at the beginning of our walk.

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.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Slow Radio

A Sunday walk through Harlem

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3