Mathematical Institute Bulletin: Song of the Week

It was tempting to include the whole of Prokoviev's symphonic tale for children based on a Russian folktale, but there's things to do, so I won't keep you children. David Bowie is our rather good narrator here alongside the The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Chopin wrote 21 Nocturnes for solo piano and while he wasn't the first to do so, he set the standard which composers have spent nearly 200 years trying to match. The pianist is Angela Hewitt.

A pale imitation of its former glories, MTV will no doubt claim a large chapter in music  history. At its peak in the 90s and early 00s, you got the impression that writing a song was an excuse for making a video. 

Some songs, such as this one, are perhaps better known for the video than the song itself. Which would be a shame as this is one of Blur's best as Graham Coxon's lyrics chart his recovery from alcoholism and how, after giving up drinking, he would relax by watching television, drinking coffee and writing songs.

Btw, it is one of those ones that gets in your head...

It's twenty years since a bunch of kids from Sheffield sang about being kids in Sheffield in the accents and vocabulary of a bunch kids from Sheffield. Mardy Bum (meaning 'grumpy' to us northerners) is about adolescent relationship problems. The song is simple, but combined with the lyrics it just works.

'You've got the face on'.

They weren't brothers and none of them were called Walker, but when Scott 'Walker' utters that first word, 'loneliness', you know something big is coming your way and it may not be good news. 

Scott was a reclusive, often troubled guy whose solo work, especially in later years, was very left field and avant-garde. If you are feeling brave, check it out.

Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) was a prolific composer of secular music - she produced very little sacred music. She also had to navigate a world of men and musical patronage (or lack of it in her case). As the song say, 'What Can One Do'?

German soprano Simone Kermes is the vocalist.

Award-winning and much in-demand, the Kanneh-Masons are seven brothers and sisters - Isata, Jeneba, Braimah, Konya, Aminata, Sheku and Mariatu - all of whom play either violin, piano or cello. Here is their take on Bob Marley's 'Redemption Song'.

Black Box Recorder made three albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s and then went off 'do other things'. Then social media got interested when Billie Eilish posted videos of herself listening to their first song, 'Child Psychology'. So Black Box have decided to reform. Smart move.

This song captures their deadbeat feel. Their collection of 'B' sides was called 'the Worst of Black Box Recorder'. You get the picture.

Hungarian composer György Kurtág was 100 years old last month. But he isn't taking it easy having just had his second opera premiered.

Kurtág started Játékok (Games) in 1973 with the idea of capturing the spirit of a child's play. He has been playing ever since - there are ten volumes.

One of the great blues singers whose mix of blues and gospel is in full force here.

'What's that you say Bobby?' 

'When you got a heartache there ain't nothing you can do.'

Short Stories 2, addendum

The critics say this is the beginning of the Stones' decline. Some decline.

They can't say we never tried.

Time to dance with André 3000 who together with Big Boi formed Outkast. Hip hop goes pop.

This is 23 years old now. Jeez.

'Garage' was a largely American phenomenon in the 1960s (presumably they had more garages per capita). It was 'amateur', guitar based and largely commercially unsuccessful though there was a lot of it, in every garage, so to speak. 

It was mainly male, but there were also female groups such as the Pleasure Seekers (featuring a young Suzi Quatro) and The Debutantes, both from Detroit and two of the first all female rock bands, as opposed to 'girl groups' who sang but didn't play the instruments.

Check out that guitar sound - more from the garages in coming weeks.

This song, written by Ray Davies of the Kinks, was never properly recorded by the band - this is Davies' demo version. There have been plenty of covers, notably by the Pretenders whose lead singer Chrissie Hynde was dating Davies at the time.

But there's something about demos.

The key lesson from the digital age is don't leave the best bit of your song or film until the end. In which case the Stone Roses would have had no chance. Standing Here is far from their best song (it was a B-Side) but the outro from 3.07 turns it in to gold. Skip the first 3.06 if you wish though it ain't so bad.

Mah Na Mah Na

One to kick off the new year in high spirits. Apparently it cost about £100 to make and sold millions.

A bonus track for those of you who like carols. Here is the daddy of modern carols, the great John Rutter. Music critics have said he overdoes 'tunes'. Yep, he does. Thankfully.

A Christmas classic...

Written for the Russian film Lieutenant Kijé in 1934, it has become synonymous with the festive season, though in fact it depicts a cart being pulled by horses in the summer. Christmas wasn't big in the Soviet Union.

You often hear it without the first, slower 30 seconds or so, but here it is in full. Well worth the wait.

You know those songs from your early childhood that you liked at the time, but suspect were probably a bit rubbish. So after years of silence you nervously play them again and..

Turns out they were actually a bit fab. This video is from a Dutch tv show.

Roy Wood is best known for Wizard's I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday, as well as being a member of the Move and ELO - and for being very underrated (it turns out).

What's that sound? Yes, it's Christmas waiting round the corner. So here is an early taster from one of Tchaikovsky's three ballet score masterpieces.

Joe is probably best known for this pop song and It's Different for Girls but in fact he has spent much of his career in the world of jazz and classical music. Then again Paul McCartney got the idea for the trumpet in Penny Lane from Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No.2.

Full Song of the Week list

One of music's most honourable traditions is getting your own back on the ex who is ghosting you. Over to David and Bernard.

Great live version here as well.

Happy Halloween

The great man theory of history is back in vogue: the idea that it is individuals not wider forces that shape the world, both by their own actions and the way they influence others. In music, Beethoven has long been a member of the club. Here's why (it starts very quietly).

Conducted by Paavo Järvi with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Full list of Songs of the Week