Coventry Carol

12/25/19 • 27 min

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Performed as part of the mystery plays, the 'Coventry Carol' is from the Pageant of the Shearman and Taylors and tells the story of the Slaughter of The Innocents.

A copy of the manuscript survived a fire in Birmingham Library in 1879 by sheer chance. Musician Ian Pittaway describes seeing the play in the ruins of Coventry cathedral in the 1980s - the drama was so powerful it still moves him to tears.

The carol was sung on Christmas Day in 1940 in a live broadcast to the Empire just six weeks after the bombing of Coventry that destroyed the city's cathedral.

Journalist Donna Marmestein tells of how the carol transformed how she felt about loss in her family.

Composer and performer Tori Amos describes what inspired her cover version of the song. Amy Hanson from the Small Steps Charity talks about how much her mother loved the carol. The children from the school her charity supports in Kenya sing their version of the song.

Roxanne Burroughs explains about how her daughter Kaitlyn came to have the carol sung at her funeral.

The soloist is Samantha Lewis; early music is from The Night Watch; Reading Phoenix choir and Southern Voices sing the carol and the children's choir is from the Rehabilitation centre Immanuel Afrika in Nairobi, Kenya.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Sara Conkey

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day 2019.

Performed as part of the mystery plays, the 'Coventry Carol' is from the Pageant of the Shearman and Taylors and tells the story of the Slaughter of The Innocents.

The carol was sung on Christmas Day in 1940 in a live broadcast to the Empire just six weeks after the bombing of Coventry that destroyed the city's cathedral.

Journalist Donna Marmestein tells of how the carol transformed how she felt about loss in her family.

Roxanne Burroughs explains about how her daughter Kaitlyn came to have the carol sung at her funeral.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Sara Conkey

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day 2019.

Previous Episode

We Are Family

We Are Family written by Nile Rodgers and performed by the Sledge Sisters Kathy, Kim, Debbie and Joni was released in 1978 at the height of disco's popularity.

Kim Sledge says it has become the anthem for diverse groups of people around the world who come together on the dance floor to form a family.

Professor Tim Lawrence says disco at its best was an inclusive music movement that welcomed people of all races and genders, unlike rock music which in the early 1970s appealed to a predominantly white male audience.

We Are Family epitomised dance music's appeal to traditionally marginalised groups in the USA - African Americans, Latinos, women and gay men.

Listen to the stories of some of the people for whom the song is linked with some of the most significant experiences of their lives.

Produced by Maggie Ayre.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019.

Next Episode

Toto's Africa

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Released in 1982, Toto's soft-rock anthem has become an unlikely viral smash-hit.

Africa is a song that has changed lives, helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity and provided an unexpected musical cornerstone in a critically acclaimed play.

Ralf Schmidt is the Artistic Director of Ndlovu Youth Choir which is made up of young people from the poorest parts of South Africa. Incredibly, the choir made it to the final of America's Got Talent, one of the biggest entertainment shows in the world. Ralf's exuberant, irresistible and uniquely African arrangement of Toto's Africa was their stand-out performance. (Brief extract of AGT (c) Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment)

Michael Savage (aka DJ Michael Vinyl) of Prime Cuts record shop in Bristol, staged what could be considered a night of torture when he played Africa non-stop for twelve hours at a club. As Mike and Olivia Perry recall, this was to raise money for the Bristol based charity, Temwa, which operates in Malawi. They expected a handful of people to turn up, but the event had worldwide attention and was a huge success.

Mike Massé's life was completely changed following his release on YouTube of what many consider to be one of the best Africa cover-versions ever recorded. The main photo is of Mike Massé (photo credit: Jim Mimna).

David Greig is the Artistic Director of the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh; an esteemed playwright with intellectual clout. So, why did he include Africa in one of his plays? Well, he nearly didn't, but then he saw the light.

And, Abigail Gardner, a reader in music at the University of Gloucestershire, explains why Africa - originally a US No. 1 for just a week in 1982 - has recently undergone a strange modern rebirth, making it one of the most streamed songs on the internet.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Karen Gregor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2020.