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History of the BBC Singers: the 1940s

Francis Poulenc discusses the score of Figure Humaine with Leslie Woodgate.
Francis Poulenc discusses the score of Figure Humaine with Leslie Woodgate.
(click image to enlarge)


1940: 14-hour days are not unusual as the Wireless Singers make programmes for the BBC's home, overseas, and forces services.

1941: Severe bombing in Bristol forces another move - this time to Bangor and Bedford.

1943: The Singers perform at the famous National Gallery concerts in London.

1945: Francis Poulenc's wartime cantata Figure Humaine is premiered in a live broadcast from the Concert Hall of Broadcasting House.

1946: Launch of the Third Programme, the BBC's new and influential radio arts channel.

1948: Foreign touring begins, with trips to Denmark and the Netherlands. Wilhelm Furtwängler conducts the group, as - in the next few years - do Herbert von Karajan and Bruno Walter.




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