David Starkey was interviewed on radio 2 yesterday afternoon and I thought then that it sounded like a fascinating series. Another one for the recorder. Steve -----Original Message----- From: ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ebooktalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of June Horne Sent: 04 July 2013 11:26 To: ebooktalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ebooktalk] Music and the Monarchy Thought some of you might be interested in this new audio book to complement a forthcoming tv series with david Starkey. Copied from Audible website. June Tying-in with a four-part BBC TV series presented by David Starkey, this audiobook offers a new history of Britain through music, showing how the Royal Court shaped the musical landscape of Britain. Many of our current musical symbols of nationhood - from the Last Night of the Proms to football terraces erupting in song - have their origins in the way the Crown deliberately shaped the national soundtrack. This is a story of song and power, exploring how Henry VIII subverted the Reformation he started by protecting a sacred choral tradition he loved; how Henry Purcell's music was designed to help make Charles II more palatable to his subjects; how opera in Georgian London is a story of political infighting between the King and his son; and how the coronation of Elizabeth II, and the music of Vaughan Williams, represented the last dramatic moment of church and state coming together in all its grandeur.