Subversive Souverne

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations.

Written and presented by Robert Hughes, one of the world’s most prominent art commentators, this program explores the life and work of Francisco Goya—focusing on the painter’s subversive, often gruesome outlook. The video provides in-depth visual and intellectual analysis of dark Goya masterpieces, including The Dream of Reason, Witches in the Air, and The Third of May, as well as examples of his portraiture and early work—such as The Duchess of Alba, both Majas, and a gratuitously violent tapestry painting. Links between Goya’s work, deafness, and political stance are explored in detail, while observations from painter Leon Golub highlight Goya’s continuing relevance.

Actor, broadcaster and comedian Alexander Armstrong stars as narrator in this irresistible album of world premiere recordings, which revels in the magical colours of childhood memories. Not Now, Bernard is an all-time classic story by David McKee, set to music by Bernard Hughes (b.1974) with melodic charm and a subversive sense of fun. Alexander Armstrong recounts it along with companion piece Isabel's Noisy Tummy as well as Hughes's The Knight Who Took All Day, which challenges chivalric convention with its subversive story of female empowerment. Conductor Tom Hammond and members of the Orchestra of the Swan shape compelling interpretations, enriched by Armstrongs gleeful narration. They also raise a riot of sound in Malcolm Arnolds Toy Symphony (1957), complete with quail cuckoo, guards whistle and gloriously irritating toy trumpets. The albums mood darkens in John Irelands haunting melodrama Annabel Lee, a spine-tingling setting of Edgar Allan Poes final poem presented here in Bernard Hughess specially arranged chamber version, before Armstrong breezes through Judith Weirs brilliant Thread! (1981), an early work inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry's cartoonish images.