Our Choices The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites

Oliver Condy Editor

Salisbury Cathedral’s magnificent four-manual 1860 Willis organ has just been restored, but coronavirus has robbed it of any celebrations. One quiet evening in September, however, thanks to the generosity of assistant director of music John Challenger, I got the chance to play it, bashing my way through Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue while John gamely pulled the stops, taking me through the instrument’s ravishing palette. Jeremy Pound Deputy editor

Sometimes, a little misery goes a long way. Such as in the recital given by tenor James Gilchrist and members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales broadcast on Radio 3 on a chilly, damp autumn evening. Alongside Warlock, Judith Bingham and Britten, the deliciously downbeat programme included three songs by the

‘always miserable’ John Dowland, heard here in Gilchrist’s own arrangements for small ensemble.

Alice Pearson Cover CD editor

Inspired by a dramatic poem of Inca origin, Ginastera’s Ollantay is a richly coloured piece that really fires up the imagination. It depicts the confrontation of the sons of the Earth, commanded by Ollantay, and the Sun, commanded by Inca. As with much of Ginastera’s earlier work, the music is tinged with folk song, along with melodies and rhythms of South America. It’s a piece as dramatic and exciting as the subject matter suggests. Michael Beek Reviews editor A recent retune of our TV saw the appearance of the Sky Arts channel. I happened upon one of the live English National Opera ‘Drive In’ operas recently – Puccini’s La bohème, with its contemporary English libretto, camper vans, inflatables and street dance, was quite the eye-opener. Natalya Romaniw, as Mimí, was brilliant, nor will I forget the sight of Martyn Brabbins conducting from atop a scissor lift. Freya Parr Editorial assistant

As we all retreat inside again for the winter months, I’ve been finding solace in the sounds of nature in music, particularly Wake Up Calls, an album of music by Cosmo Sheldrake using sampled birdsong. Cuckoo Song, the album’s midpoint, is a piece originally composed by Britten, and here, accompanying the singing, it features the sound of a cuckoo above the composer’s grave in Aldeburgh, recorded by a soundscape ecologist. It’s a great example of how innovative Sheldrake is with his use of field recordings.