Classic FM

...consistent station happened to be Classic FM. After a few days on the job, I was hooked. So from the point of view of an enthusiastic newbie, I put my case.

There are a couple of overnight shows which I'm not familiar with so, I cant comment on those but I'm sure that the standard matches the daytime broadcasts which I will be concentrating on. I first pick the station up on my 15-minute drive to work. In the company of Simon Bates ...
...slot. Every day on the classic fm website 30 pieces are posted for the listeners to chose from. The top ten selections are then played and in a parallel show at the weekend the top ten of the week is given an airing. The selection is right across the board; a quick look at the selection at time of writing gives us the likes of Purcell at one historical end to Elgar and Debussey in more modern times. The obscure sits cheek by jowl with the big names, ... more

For many years I was forced to listen to Radio One. When I say forced, that is to say that it was constantly playing over the PA system at work and was therefore impossible to ignore. I'm sure there was a time when Radio One would have catered for part of my tastes but as I've got older and more detached from the latest releases, it has become an unfamiliar world of rappers and revamped cover versions; talent it would seem is no longer a requirement in the music industry. After a morning listening to "The Great Gutsby" Chris Moyles and his sycophantic sidekicks and the lovely, but ultimately bland and pointless, Jo Whiley, I was ready to chew my own arm off. Then I changed jobs, found myself master of my own domain and free to shape my working environment without needing to bow down to others. Due to the poor reception in the location I now found myself, choice of listening was limited and the most consistent station happened to be Classic FM. After a few days on the job, I was hooked. So from the point of view of an enthusiastic newbie, I put my case.

There are a couple of overnight shows which I'm not familiar with so, I cant comment on those but I'm sure that the standard matches the daytime broadcasts which I will be concentrating on. I first pick the station up on my 15-minute drive to work. In the company of Simon Bates I take a steady drive over the edge of the Marlborough Downs to the small village that I earn my living in. The scenery seems to enhance the musical experience whether it's a clear, sharp, cold morning or a blanket of brooding clouds delivering a heavy shower. Even being stuck behind the stone lorries that slow the traffic to a crawl cease to be frustrating, and that's coming from someone who suffers from road sarcasm. (Road sarcasm is a mild form of road rage, which manifests itself in comments like "no I like sitting at this junction all day" muttered under the breath). The breakfast show gets turned on once in work and the dulcet tones of Classical music's rich heritage issues forth all day. It's almost become the cultural corner of the work place and much good-natured ribbing is levelled against my oasis. Philistines!

Before launching into the personalities and programs, what is classical music? It's a broad category really, 400 years of music on a wide-ranging scale and we use a catchall vague term for it. Think of all of the categories that rock and pop has been broken down into in the mere 50 years of its existence. Classical contains as much diversity as popular contemporary artists. For example Strauss and his waltz style can be seen as the dance music of its day, to Wagner's pomp and thunder the Heavy Metal equivalent. The genre is broken down both in style and historical terms, which are as follows.

Although music is an ancient concept, it is only written down and lasted from the end of the medieval period. This is where the first category begins.

Renaissance 1450-1600
The age of great church music, and composers such as Palestrina, Allegri, Tallis and Josquin

Baroque 1600-1750
Musical instruments get more advanced and so music becomes more ornate and florid. The first great age of instrumental music. Composers such as Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Monteverdi and Purcell

Classical 1750-1820
Poise, elegance and charm were the order of the day in music from the classical era. Composers include Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven

Romantic 1820-1910
Personal expression, nationalism and the power of music as a descriptive tool. Late Beethoven, Chopin, Wagner

Modern 1910-1960
Cinema, motor cars, electricity, railways - a new type of music for this brave, new world. Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy, Bernstein
Contemporary 1960-present

Music for today's world, written by people who experience life in the same way as we do. Steve Reich, John Adams, Einaudi and John Tavener

It may seem like an odd concept to say that Classical music is an ongoing product even in the modern age, but we are all a lot more familiar with it than we realise. Film sound tracks are a big contributor to what can be regarded as contemporary classical music. Gladiator and Lord of the Rings even Star Wars and Superman all contribute to the genre, so you may find that its not all as alien and unfamiliar to you as you first thought.

Simon Bates seems like an unlikely choice for a Classical compare, always regarded as the cheesy end of popular radio, a jump to Classical seems unlikely. However he does seem to have a good delivery, which has come from a lifetime of radio work, and because his slot is the more populist end of the genre he is not really pushed out of his depth. Many people may find him a bit smarmy for a station that probably appeals to a more serious and committed listener, and whilst he is not the best presenter (merely the best known) he gets you loosened up for a day of cultural "art attack".

At eleven Jane Jones hosts the Most Wanted slot. Every day on the classic fm website 30 pieces are posted for the listeners to chose from. The top ten selections are then played and in a parallel show at the weekend the top ten of the week is given an airing. The selection is right across the board; a quick look at the selection at time of writing gives us the likes of Purcell at one historical end to Elgar and Debussey in more modern times. The obscure sits cheek by jowl with the big names, choral pieces jostle against full orchestral pieces and it's a good way of getting to hear pieces that you may not have encountered before, because they are pre-selected by an expert team.

The afternoon is welcomed in with the Lunchtime request show, as with most viewer selections it does feature the better known pieces, but for a newbie like myself, its all fairly new and fresh, so I have no problem with it. As the most listener-friendly show it is also the one that contains most advertising, which you may think that you had escaped somewhat by moving away from the mainstream stations. However even the adverts seem to be in keeping with the overall style of the station. Many contain classical music and references and are a million miles away from the in-your-face nature of most modern advertising.

Relaxing Classics at 2 follows and this acts as a nice little wind down. Launch is sitting heavily and the energy level is at a low and although in my case being at work I'm not allowed to slow down (well as long as the boss is around) but at least my mind can take a bit of a breather. Still covering the range of composers but this time a chilled out edge takes over and soothing strings, haunting harps and alluring pianos take over from the brasher numbers.

On the way home its Drive Time with Mark Forrest, again a popular show with lots of chat and better known music and very often a slot of music from the movies which will be familiar to even those who think they don't know any classical music. Like the breakfast show on the way in the drive is more relaxed than in my pre-classical days.
The Evening Concert can feature anything from the powerful and long symphonic pieces to shorter more immediate pieces and from standards that have been played for the last few hundred years to debut performances of contemporary works, Whatever you are given it is all a worth while listen.

There are a number of other shows of a more informative nature, especially at the weekends. Composers Notes with John Suchett is one great example of this which each week takes a well-known composer and studies not only his life and music but more specifically how they made their living. Alongside these shows the usual trappings of a radio stations business can also be found, news, travel, weather, events etc. At the end of the day though more than anything else it's all about the music. From the grandiose sounds of Beethoven's most energetic moments to the pastoral piano of Debussy, from the religious overtones of the Tallis and Purcell to the smooth strings of Vivaldi there is something for everyone and as a mood enhancing background, which is how I use it, there is none better. Granted Classical music does feature on the likes of Radio three but here I think the selection is better and less preaching to the converted and genuinely aimed at spreading the word. Classical music has long been an apparently elitist category, guarded by people that view it as requiring a certain breed or intellect to appreciate. All you need is a receptive ear and a soul that can be moved by the beauty in the world, so tune in to 100-102 fm and let the music do the rest. If an oik like me can be turned on to such joyous music, then there is hope for everyone.

 

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