Past Programs
Soul - 2008
Days of Awe and Mystery
10/10/2008
This week, Jewish music and prayer for Yamim Nora'im, the Days of Awe (also known as the Days of Repentance), the ten days between Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). And some soulful singing from Australia's Tina Harrod as she tackles a Nick Drake song, River Man, full of mystery and prophecy.
We'll hear the opening prayer of the evening service of Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre, which means 'all our vows'. It's set to a haunting melody which we'll hear twice, played once on a harp and then sung by the Singers of the Amsterdam Synagogue. One of Australia's finest singers, Tina Harrod, brings a jazz inflection to a classic Nick Drake song. And to finish, Byzantine chant from cantor Petros Kyriacou and a male choir chanting in Hebrew from the Book of Genesis. These chants are part of a choral work called Prayer Bells or Pentekostarion, for 3 solo cantors in Hebrew, Greek and Latin and 8 male voices, composed by Con Koukias of Tasmania's Ihos Music Theatre and Opera.
The Staple Singers
07/03/2008
For almost fifty years the Staple Singers were God's greatest hitmakers. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, the family led by their father Roebuck 'Pops' Staples joined the Great Migration to Chicago and in the late 1940s began performing gospel music in local churches. Pops and his children - daughters Cleotha, Yvonne and Mavis, and son Pervis - landed a record deal in the early 50s and cut their first hit single in 1956, 'Uncloudy Day'. The song showcased the family's strengths - Southern gospel quartet harmonies, Pop's reverbed Delta-blues guitar playing and Mavis' rich contralto voice. We'll hear the first family of gospel, with some of their hits from the 1950s to the 1970s and up to today, including a track from Mavis Staples' latest album, We'll Never Turn Back.
After establishing themselves as a gospel force, the Staple Singers became active members of the Civil Rights movement in America during the 1960s, recording protest standards and their own classic 'Why (Am I Treated So Bad)'. Released in 1967 it marked a new direction for the group - gritty message-songs strongly influenced by southern soul music.
In the 1970s after moving to Stax Records the Staples recorded some of their biggest hits including 'Respect Yourself' in 1971 and a year later the #1 hit 'I'll Take You There'. Pops Staples died in 2000 and the band effectively ceased, but Mavis continues to perform and to record fine albums of gospel-inspired music, including 2007's stunning collection of Civil Rights era songs, 'We'll Never Turn Back'. Mavis Staples will be touring Australia in March 2008.
Amazing Grace
18/01/2008
It's one of the world's most popular hymns, and one of the most recorded songs in history. Written in 1772 by a former slave trader who found God during a storm on the high seas, Amazing Grace has endured to become a classic, in the church and on the pop charts. So this week, some remarkable versions of Amazing Grace, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rod Stewart and an ecstatic live performance by Aretha Franklin.
First broadcast 23 March 2007.
