LIVE worship, Handel’s Messiah, and a reflection on women of the Passion feature in the BBC’s programming for Holy Week and Easter, announced on Tuesday.
On Easter Day, morning worship will be broadcast live from St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, on BBC1, and from Canterbury Cathedral on Radio 4. The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, will preach.
Llandaff Cathedral is to be the venue in which the choirmaster Gareth Malone will conduct a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. A new series, Gareth Malone’s Messiah, will follow preparation for the fund-raising concert in support of BBC Children in Need.
Three special episodes of Songs of Praise are scheduled on BBC1: Canon Kate Bottley presenting a reflection on women of the Easter story; Aled Jones presenting hymns for Easter Day from St George’s RC Cathedral, Southwark; and a celebration of gospel music introduced by Mark De-Lisser.
Also on BBC1, Urbi et Orbi is to be broadcast live from Rome.
Lent Talks on Radio 4 will explore the Nicene Creed, in the year of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.
On Palm Sunday, Radio 3 will have a series of broadcasts from across Europe: Bach’s St John Passion from Helsinki; the Liturgy of Palm Sunday from Vatican City State’s Sala Assunta, marking the 500th anniversary of Palestrina; and Arvo Pärt’s Passio in Brno, in the Czech Republic, followed by compline from St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield. On Good Friday, there will be a broadcast of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, in a recent recording by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with soloists, under Sir Simon Rattle.
On Radio 2, on Good Friday, Canon Bottley will host a reflective two-hour programme about hope after loss, “with beautiful music and inspiring guests”. She will also present a special Easter Day edition of Good Morning Sunday.
Tim Pemberton, BBC Radio’s Head of Religion and Ethics, said: “At this special time of year, BBC Radio seeks to bring people together to reflect on their faith, to hear some amazing stories and to experience the uplifting power of extraordinary music.”
Other programming includes a new series of Pilgrimage on BBC2, in which seven personalities of differing faiths and beliefs make a 300km journey from Innsbruck on the Jakobsweg, the Austrian Camino, to Lake Zurich, in Switzerland.
Daisy Scalchi, BBC Television’s Head of Commissioning, Religion and Ethics, said: “This is the fifth annual Faith and Hope season and once again I’m incredibly excited by the range of programmes we have on offer this Spring. Whether audiences are religious or not, there is content here that will move, inspire and delight.”