An uplifting interview with Peter about how singing saved his life. I'm a 70-something pensioner who has rediscovered singing since retiring. I'm in a choir and dabble in solo jazz singing. I sang as a child in a primary school choir, and as a teenager when learning the guitar. But then no singing to speak of until retirement: I was looking for things I had been too busy to do but which I liked the sound of. Peter is a member of the Wrablers Acapella Choir https://wrablers.co.uk/

Singing Saved My Life: Peter

Uplifting interviews with Annette, Andrew and Terry from Coin Street Community Singers about how singing has saved their lives. "We're very non-judgemental and we share." Andrew. Terry, "Good for the soul, good for the spirit...You can forget about your disability." Annette, "Even if you're going through a lot of stress, it's a way to help you cope."

Singing Saved My Life: Coin Street Community Singers

Singing Saved My Life Podcast: Introduction for Waterloo Festival 2021

Enjoy the beautiful voice of Annie Dehaney Steven and discover how singing saved her life.

Singing Saved My Life: Annie Dehaney Steven (with music)

SONETO XIII

Thalia Female Choir, dir. Natalia Carrasco Vargas
18.05.2018, St. Mary-at-Hill (London)

Artwork: Seb Tanti Burlo (27.10.2017 - The Bay Laurel Tree)

____________________________
‘Soneto XIII’ is a piece for female voices. It is based on a sonnet by Spanish Renaissance poet Garcilaso de la Vega (c. 1501 – 1536). The poem takes as its main character Daphne, a naiad from Greek mythology, who was transformed into a laurel tree as to escape the advances of Apollo. Over centuries, the laurel wreath became a symbol of courage and strength.

This work is dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese anti-corruption campaigner and investigative journalist, who died in car bomb on the 16 October 2017 in Malta. A few days after the assassination, Daphne's sons sent laurel leaves from their mother's garden to a group of women organising a four-day vigil for justice in front of the Prime Minister's office. Daphne's work lives on through 'The Daphne Project', a global consortium of 45 journalists from The Guardian, The New York Times, La Repubblica, Le Monde and other newspapers.

A Dafne ya los brazos le crecían
y en luengos ramos vueltos se mostraban;
en verdes hojas vi que se tornaban
los cabellos qu'el oro escurecían;

de áspera corteza se cubrían
los tiernos miembros que aun bullendo 'staban;
los blancos pies en tierra se hincaban
y en torcidas raíces se volvían.

Aquel que fue la causa de tal daño,
a fuerza de llorar, crecer hacía
este árbol, que con lágrimas regaba.

¡Oh miserable estado, oh mal tamaño,
que con llorarla crezca cada día
la causa y la razón por que lloraba!

____________________________
translation (John Dent-Young)

Daphne’s arms were growing: now they were seen
taking on the appearance of slim branches;
those tresses, which discountenanced gold’s brightness,
were, as I watched, turning to leaves of green;

the delicate limbs still quivering with life
became scarfed over with a rough skin of bark,
the white feet to the ground were fi rmly stuck,
changed into twisted roots, which gripped the earth.

He who was the cause of this great evil
so wildly wept the tree began to grow,
because with his tears he watered it himself.

O wretched state, o monumental ill,
that the tears he weeps should cause each day to grow
that which is cause and motive for his grief.

Soneto XIII

Switchboard is the UK’s leading LGBT+ helpline, providing information and lending a reassuring ear to anyone who calls. Living with the Light On: Switchboard in the 70s is an exploration of the early history of the charity. Consisting of interviews, original music and archive material, the piece attempts to challenge the linear perception of LGBT+ history by exploring the revolutionary mood of the period before the HIV/AIDS epidemic came to dominate Switchboard’s work.

Composition and sound design: Tom Foskett-Barnes 
Producer: Chisenhale Gallery
Interviewees: Lisa Power and Julian Hows 
Vocals: Maya Britto
Actor: Jonathan Dryden Taylor

This work was produced for New Creatives, supported by Arts Council England and BBC Arts.

Living With The Light On: Switchboard Since The 70s - Tom Foskett-Barnes

Patrick Haggerty talks about Lavender Country, the world's first gay country music album.

Produced by Thomas Curry, Lauren Eisen and Sofie Strøbeck.

Short Cuts production team: Andrea Rangecroft and Alia Cassam

Short Cuts series producer: Eleanor McDowall

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000824d

A BBC Radio 4 "Pick Of The Week"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008b2w

A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts: Lavender Country

Having recently been enjoying the excellent audiobook of Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle,  I decided to play Alexei's classic 1984 hit Ullo John Got A New Motor on my Saturday night show on 6 Music. When I floated the idea on Twitter loads of people were keen to hear it on air and started quoting lines from the song at me.

But it seems the regular 7" single mix has vanished off the face of the bloody planet. The BBC no longer have a copy in their library, you can't buy a download on iTunes or a CD on Play or Amazon. The only video versions on YouTube are absolutely awful quality. But what you can find on iTunes is loads of Karaoke versions because it's such a well-loved classic

In the end my Twitter friend Drew Tabori sent me an audio file of the sweary 12" version, so we finally did get to play it on Saturday 3rd February 2013, although (as you can hear) it was severely edited down for BBC compliance purposes....

Check out that audiobook by the way: www.audible.co.uk/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B004EW5PSW

ALEXEI SAYLE - Ullo John Got A New Motor - on 6 Music

Uplifting interview with Bethany about how singing saved her life. “What was once just a band aid, I just need to get better so I can sing, kinda thing, actually has been an underlying sustaining force the whole time.”
Bethany moved to London from the US almost 4 years ago and has loved building community here through singing. Currently, she teaches a community singing group for seniors at Coin Street Community Builders as well as a group at Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest for people building resilience and overcoming mental health problems. Bethany knows first-hand the healing power of singing and loves being able to share that power with others. When she is not teaching, she enjoys going for long walks around the city and hanging out with her rescue cat Arwen.

Singing Saved My Life: Bethany

Abigail Tripp

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