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James Aldred, cameraman and writer

Michael Berkeley's guest is the cameraman and writer James Aldred.

James Aldred is an Emmy award-winning documentary wildlife cameraman and filmmaker who has collaborated with David Attenborough on projects such Planet Earth, The Life of Mammals and Our Planet. He often finds himself suspended from ropes or on platforms high up in the rainforest canopy, capturing shots of rarely-seen animals and birds, including orangutans, gibbons and eagles.

He recalled some of his treetop adventures - and the many dangers he鈥檚 faced - in his first book, The Man Who Climbs Trees. His second, Goshawk Summer, detailed his experience of filming a family of goshawks in the New Forest during lockdown. It went on to win the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. His most recent book, A Wagon in the Woods, returns to the New Forest and is about his painstaking restoration of an old horse-drawn wagon he once played in as a child.

James picks music by Borodin, Wagner, Mahler, Bach and John Barry.

26 days left to listen

1 hour, 26 minutes

Music Played

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Cello Suite no.1 in G major BWV.1007 (Prelude)

    Performer: Yo鈥怸o Ma.
    • The Cello Suites, Inspired by Bach.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 1.
  • Richard Wagner

    Siegfried's Funeral March (Gotterdammerung)

    Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Conductor: Andris Nelsons.
    • Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 / Wagner: Siegfried's Funeral March.
    • DG.
    • 1.
  • Alexander Borodin

    Polovtsian dances

    Orchestra: Budapest Festival Orchestra. Choir: Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno. Conductor: Iv谩n Fischer.
    • Tchaikovsky/Borodin - Symphony No. 6/ Polovtsian Dances.
    • Channel Classics.
    • 05.
  • John Williams

    Jurassic Park (main theme)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: John Williams.
    • Jurassic Park - Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
    • MCA Records.
    • 2.
  • John Barry

    Flying Over Africa (Out of Africa)

    Orchestra: Studio orchestra. Conductor: John Barry.
    • Out Of Africa (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack).
    • MCA Records.
    • 7.
  • Trad.

    Flowers of the Forest

    Ensemble: The Regimental Band. Ensemble: Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
    • The Flower Of Scotland.
    • EMI.
    • 20.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no.5 in C sharp minor (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Semyon Bychkov.
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor.
    • PentaTone.
    • 4.
  • Daniel Hart

    Aiganz O Kulzphazur (The Green Knight)

    Singer: Emma Tring. Ensemble: BLOCK4. Orchestra: Orchestrate. Conductor: Daniel Hart.
    • The Green Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
    • Milan.
    • 16.
  • Trad.

    She Moves Through The Fair

    Singer: Mary Black.
    • Collected.
    • Gifthorse Records.
    • 5.
  • John Powell

    Test Drive (How to Train Your Dragon)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gavin Greenaway.
    • How To Train Your Dragon (Music From The Motion Picture).
    • Varese Sarabande.
    • 11.

Broadcast

  • Sunday 12:00

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