Musicians - play The Archers theme online!
| 17:33 PM, Monday, 16 May 2011
Amateur musicians have been invited to take part in an online performance of The Archers theme tune, Barwick Green.
As part of BBC Radio 3's Light Fantastic festival, players can record their own part - from violins to percussion - and send them in. Contributed parts will be assembled into a complete performance of the work.
Radio 3 has prepared a special web page containing full instructions, the sheet music to download, and videos of the BBC Concert Orchestra performing the work - together with a conductor-only video to keep the individual players at home in time.
Light Fantastic is a 'festival of summer fun' celebrating the lighter side of orchestral music, including concerts, broadcasts and sing-a-long events.
Barwick Green is a 'maypole dance' from the suite My Native Heath by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood. When the founder of The Archers Godfrey Baseley selected the tune, he played it numerous times over a weekend and decided that it would bear repeated listening - hardly expecting it to be repeated over 60 years!
Keri Davies is an Archers (and Archers Extra) scriptwriter and web producer.
- Read full details, watch the videos and download the parts
- All about the Light Fantastic festival
- Discover Arthur Wood on Wikipedia
- Picture shows an extract from the first violin part for Barwick Green
Comment number 1.
At 23:56 18th May 2011, joe wrote:This was mooted by a few contributors to the Message Board (myself included) a few weeks ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbarchers/NF2693940?thread=8175016
Nice to know that a similar project is going ahead. Unfortunately, none of the musicians involved in that discussion are UK residents, so we can't participate - the videos are blocked. Any way round this? A downloadable mp3 of a click track perhaps? It's not actually essential to see the conductor, so the video element need not be an issue.
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Comment number 2.
At 02:28 19th May 2011, The devil wears Burberry wrote:It's such a pity that contributors to the Message Board, many of them gifted musicians,
are unable to join in this exciting project, by dint of the fact that they live abroad.
Can this not be adjusted, technically, so as include them, and thus reach the widest possible range of listeners/players?
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Comment number 3.
At 16:45 19th May 2011, Keri Davies wrote:I do sympathise with your viewpoint, and the clicktrack idea is an interesting one. I'll pass it on to Radio 3.
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Comment number 4.
At 13:58 20th May 2011, joe wrote:Thanks for that, Keri. I might add that a clicktrack also leaves you free to concentrate on reading the dots - it's hard to position a music stand at the right height and still see a minute video on your monitor!
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Comment number 5.
At 02:07 22nd May 2011, Canadianenthusiast wrote:I was encouraged to participate, and wanted to, but living in Canada, can I still send in my playing (on the violin) even though I cannot view the videos from here?? Perhaps people abroad such as I could send my playing into BBC Radio 3 if I knew the MM pulse or - the click track as suggested above!
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Comment number 6.
At 13:06 25th May 2011, Keri Davies wrote:Good news for overseas listeners/musicians!
In the light of your comments above, the videos have now been made available for international access - so you should be able to participate if you wish.
Available here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/2011/05/musicians_-_play_the_archers_t.html
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Comment number 7.
At 21:26 25th May 2011, Bear in the Bull wrote:Hey Keri
Any room for a Concrète or Radiophonic version after the best styles of Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson, Dick Mills and others during the "golden era" of the BBC RWS?
Bear
[Please pass the green brass Coolicon lampshade...]
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Comment number 8.
At 15:56 1st Jun 2011, Keri Davies wrote:Nice idea, but there are no current plans, said a BBC spokesperson...
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Comment number 9.
At 01:15 2nd Jun 2011, joe wrote:Hi Keri
Nice to know that feedback here is noted! Thanks.
Unfortunately, despite the announcement above, as of this moment the videos still seem to be blocked. Any idea when this might be rectified?
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