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Bring some focus to your morning with gentle melodies

Calming classical music to inspire focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Calming classical music to help you focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Featuring energising, and restorative music from Sally Beamish, William Byrd, and Schubert. Sian takes time to explore some moss when out to Take a Breath, and Professor Catherine Loveday explains why music can mean different things to people from different cultures.

3 hours

Music Played

  • Edward Elgar

    Rosemary

    Conductor: John Wilson. Orchestra: 麻豆社 Concert Orchestra.
    • SOMM.
  • Teresa Carre?o

    Reverie-Impromptu, Op 3

    Performer: Alexandra Oehler.
    • GRAND PIANO.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Sonata No 2 in A minor, BWV 1004 (3rd mvt)

    Music Arranger: Leopold Stokowski. Conductor: Matthias Bamert. Orchestra: 麻豆社 Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Come Heavy Sleep

    Composer: John Dowland. Performer: Craig Ogden.
    • NIMBUS.
  • Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges

    Symphonie Concertante in A major, No 2 Op 9 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Yury Revich. Performer: Libor Je?ek. Conductor: Michael Halász. Orchestra: ?eská Komorní Filharmonie.
    • NAXOS.
  • Beata Moon

    Prelude

    Performer: Beata Moon.
    • ALBANY.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Flute Concerto No 2 in D major, K314 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Patrick Gallois. Performer: Roderick Shaw. Conductor: Katarina Andreasson. Orchestra: Swedish Chamber Orchestra.
    • NAXOS.
  • Sally Beamish

    Suite for Cello and Orchestra (4th mvt, 'Nocturne' after Nuit d'etoiles)

    Composer: Claude Debussy. Performer: Steven Isserlis. Conductor: Gábor Takács‐Nagy. Orchestra: Tapiola Sinfonietta.
    • BIS.
  • Franz Danzi

    Sonata in B flat major for Clarinet and Piano, Op 47 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Aldo Botta. Performer: Giuseppe Galiano.
    • AULICUS CLASSICS.
  • William Byrd

    Mass for Five Voices (Agnus Dei)

    Choir: Tallis Scholars. Conductor: Peter Phillips.
    • GIMMEL.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Cello Concerto No 2 in D major, Op 101, Hob VIIb:2 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Alisa Weilerstein. Ensemble: TrondheimSolistene.
    • PENTATONE.
  • 桥本国彦

    Symphony No 1 in D major (III Tema con variazioni e fuga: Var VII)

    Conductor: Ryūsuke Numajiri. Orchestra: Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
    • NAXOS.
  • Mel Bonis

    The Little One Falls Asleep (arr for brass ensemble)

    Performer: Tine Thing Helseth. Music Arranger: Jarle Storl?kken. Ensemble: tenThing.
    • LAWO.
  • Edvard Grieg

    Peer Gynt Suite No 1 Op 46 (2nd mvt, 'The Death of ?se')

    Conductor: Jerzy Maksymiuk. Orchestra: 麻豆社 Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
    • NAXOS.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Trio No 2 in G major, No 2 Op 1 (2nd mvt)

    Ensemble: Sitkovetsky Trio.
    • BIS.
  • Fergus McCreadie

    Forest Floor

    Ensemble: Fergus McCreadie and Friends.
    • EDITION.
  • Jennifer Higdon

    Trumpet Songs (3rd mvt, 'In Our Quiet')

    Performer: Scott Meredith. Performer: Rubia Santos.
    • ALBANY.
  • Tan Dun

    Love in Distance

    Performer: Itzhak Perlman. Ensemble: Kodō. Ensemble: China Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • SONY.
  • Rachel Portman

    Moment in Time

    Performer: Niklas Liepe. Performer: Rachel Portman.
    • SONY.
  • Nigel Westlake

    Spirit Of The Wild (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Diana Doherty. Conductor: Nigel Westlake. Orchestra: Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
    • ABC CLASSICS.
  • Franz Schubert

    String Quintet in C, D 956 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Mstislav Rostropovich.
    • THE CLASSICAL LABEL.
  • William Grant Still

    Wood Notes (3rd mvt, 'Moon Dusk')

    Conductor: John Jeter. Orchestra: Fort Smith Symphony.
    • NAXOS.
  • Kate Bush

    Running Up That Hill

    Performer: Lara Somogyi.
    • UNIVERSAL.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No 7 in C major, 'Le Midi' (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Giovanni Antonini. Orchestra: Il Giardino Armonico.
    • ALPHA.
  • Jean Sibelius

    Swanwhite Suite, Op 54 (4th mvt, 'Listen, the Robin Sings')

    Conductor: Nicholas Collon. Orchestra: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
    • ONDINE.
  • Frédéric Chopin

    ?tude No 11 in E flat major, 'Arpeggio' (12 ?tudes, Op 10)

    Performer: Yunchan Lim.
    • DECCA.
  • Antonín Dvo?ák

    Songs My Mother Taught Me, No 4 Op 55

    Performer: Joshua Bell. Music Arranger: Michael Stern. Conductor: Craig Ogden. Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
    • SONY.
  • Hubert Parry

    There is an old belief (Songs of Farewell)

    Choir: Tenebrae. Director: Nigel Short.
    • SIGNUM.
  • Emil Szymon M?ynarski

    Violin Concerto No 2 in D major, Op 16 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Eugene Ugorski. Conductor: Micha? Dworzyński. Orchestra: 麻豆社 Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
    • HYPERION.
  • Frederick Delius

    Hassan (Intermezzo)

    Music Arranger: Thomas Beecham. Conductor: David Stanhope. Orchestra: Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
    • ABC Classics.

Broadcasts

  • Mon 27 Oct 2025 09:00
  • Sat 22 Nov 2025 09:00
  • Fri 9 Jan 2026 09:00