audio icon
History & The Arts
Inuit Throat Singing
In many cultures, song is perhaps one of the most important traditions. What is extraordinary about the Inuit musical tradition is the way they create their songs - with notes originating from their throats. The song isn't interrupted even when a breath has to be taken. The 6 tracks in this album focus on Tanya Tagaq, who describes the amazing...
audio icon
History & The Arts
In conversation with Terry Waite
How was Terry Waite able to build rapport with an Islamic extremist group? After being held captive for nearly four years, the former hostage has spent his life reconciling for peace. He talks to Open University Professor John Wolffe about how his incarceration in Beirut profoundly influenced his view that conflict resolution is rooted in ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Heritage, whose heritage?
How should Stonehenge be conserved for the future? The modernisation of the Visitors' Centre at Stonehenge has been a battleground, exposing conflicting interests, and revealing the challenges that can lie behind the preservation of heritage sites. This album explores how different values and perceptions of heritage affect how the past is ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
The Arts Past and Present: Diva
How do you get to be one of the great operatic divas? Catherine Rogers might just have what it takes to be a famous opera singer, but she still has lots of work to do. This album gives us an insight into the immense effort it requires to become a musical performer. As well as singing, acting, language, and stage skills all need to be honed. ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Thought and Experience
This album contains fascinating and engrossing interviews with several leading philosophers concerning, primarily, the exploration of four topics: emotion; thought and language; imagination and creativity; consciousness. The interviews contain lively debates from differing philosophical viewpoints, discussions about theoretical thought ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
The Italian Cantastorie
Italians are world renowned as passionate people, and their passion feeds through to their music and story telling. This album explores the tradition of the Cantastorie - the Italian Storyteller. Cantastorie Mauro Geraci explains the intricacies of the music, the paintings, the instruments and the drama of the performance. This material is ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Voice of Indian Song
Traditional Indian singing is intoxicating - but what is it about singing, and listening to others sing, that makes it so significant? In this album, Sudokshina Chatterjee breaks down the unique Indian style, and explains the emotions and meaning behind the songs of her culture. This material is drawn from The Open University course AA317 Words ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Indian Raga Music
The music of North India is mesmerising, and shrouded in tradition and culture. There, raga is the art of life - it is the music of the mind. The tracks in this album focus on three instruments - the tabla, the alap and the voice - all central to the existence of Raga. Each instrument is broken down into the individual sounds that make up the ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Norma Waterson: English Folk Singing
Song, in its many forms, surrounds us - and may have been a feature of life since the very beginnings of human history. It is practiced in every society in the world, its importance undiminished in modern times. The tracks on this album focus on English Folk singing, the traditions behind the songs, and the stories behind the traditions. ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Ethics Bites
Ethics Bites is a fascinating and absorbing series of interviews covering topics such as animal rights, euthanasia, censorship and fertility treatment. The interviews are introduced by David Edmonds, while Open University philosopher and best-selling author, Nigel Warburton, puts the questions, rooting every subject in everyday dilemmas about ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Brass Instruments
Technology and music have been closely associated since the very first musical instruments were constructed, and in the 19th century an explosion of invention revolutionised the way brass instruments could be played. The 14 video tracks on this album introduce the basic acoustical principles of brass instruments and how technical developments ...
audio icon
History & The Arts
Music in Code
Today, listening to music is easy - we have CDs, MP3s, radio, television and the internet. But around a hundred years ago life was very different - either you had to play music yourself or have someone else play it for you. The 15 video tracks in this album demonstrate various ways to play music by mechanical means, with the ingenious use of ...