1415: War, Pestilence and Sweet Sounds

On 25 October 1415 – St Crispin’s Day – the armies of England and France meet on a rain‑soaked field near Agincourt. Henry V’s outnumbered forces achieve a stunning victory in the middle of the Hundred Years War. But the impact of Henry's victory will be outstripped by a different kind of conquest, as the unique harmony that has been developing in Britain since the time of the Vikings starts to spread through France and beyond.

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
Anonymous: Agincourt Carol
Alamire
David Skinner (conductor)

Anonymous: Sumer is icumen in
Huelgas Ensemble
Paul van Nevel (conductor)

Anonymous: Beata viscera (Worcester Fragments)
Orlando Consort

Anonymous: Hymn to St Magnus
La Reverdie

John Dunstable: Quam pulchra es
BBC Singers
Owain Park (conductor)

Guillaume de Machaut: De fortune me doi pleindre et loer
Ensemble Musica Nova
Lucien Kandel (conductor)

Guillaume de Machaut: Sans cuer dolens
BBC Singers
Owain Park, conductor

Gherardello da Firenze / Caitríona O’Leary: Io son sì vaga della mia bellezza
Caitríona O’Leary (soprano)
Anakronos

Anonymous: Istampitta Tre fontane
The Early Music Consort of London
David Munrow (conductor)

John Dunstable: Credo (da gaudiorum premia)
Tonus Peregrinus
Anthony Pitts (conductor)

John Dunstable: O rosa bella
Ensemble Nova Alta

Gilles Binchois: Dueil angoisseux
Gothic Voices

Guillaume Dufay: Ave Maris Stella
BBC Singers
Owain Park (conductor)