1501: The Printed Composer

Available for 36 days

Venice, 1501. In a canal-side workshop, Ottaviano Petrucci and his assistant are working at a bulky wooden machine: a printing press. They cover a set of small metal objects with a thin layer of ink before sliding a sheet of freshly lined paper into the machine. They pull hard on the press: paper meets ink, and history is made. Petrucci’s first printed collection of multi-voiced works marks a huge turning point in music. It dramatically changes who can access music, who can make money from it, how it can travel – even what a piece of music actually is. Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the first eight programmes, historian Michael Wood is in the chair, as together they explore the bold new sound worlds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Producer: David Fay Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford Story Consultant: Kate Leys Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan. MUSIC DETAILS Josquin des Prez: Adieu, mes amours Fretwork Johannes Ockeghem: Ma bouche rit BBC Singers Owain Park (conductor) Guillaume Dufay: Nuper Rosarum Flores Pomerium Alexander Blachly (conductor) Josquin des Prez: Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae (Kyrie) The Tallis Scholars Peter Phillips (conductor) Jacob Obrecht: Tandernaken Les Flamboyants Jean Japart: Je cuide se ce temps Les Flamboyants Josquin des Prez: La Bernadina La Pifarescha Josquin des Prez: Bergerette Savoisienne Thélème Ludovic Van Hellemont (Ondes Martenot) Josquin des Prez: Ave Maria … Virgo Serena BBC Singers Owain Park (conductor) Marchetto Cara: Oimè il cor aime la testa Barbara Zanichelli (soprano) Luca Pianca (lute) Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag Dick Hyman (piano)