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Merlin Sheldrake

Michael Berkeley meets the fungi expert Merlin Sheldrake.

Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist and writer with a mission: to make us look at and understand fungi. While we鈥檙e familiar with mushrooms, truffles and toadstools, there are millions of varieties of fungi all around us; in the soil, in our bodies, in the air we breathe - and only 6% of them have been identified.
Merlin鈥檚 book 鈥淓ntangled Life: how fungi make our worlds, change our minds and shape our futures鈥, was an international best-seller. It caught the eye of the Icelandic singer and musician Bjork, who recently released an IMAX film with Merlin, which she narrates. It鈥檚 called Fungi: the web of life, and follows Merlin to the Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania, on a quest to find an incredibly precious blue mushroom.
Merlin's choices include works by Chopin, Tallis, Bach and Purcell.

Available now

36 minutes

Last on

Sun 14 Jan 2024 12:00

Music Played

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Kommt ihr T枚chter helft mir klagen (St. Matthew Passion)

    Choir: Choir of King鈥檚 College, Cambridge. Choir: King's College School Choir. Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music. Conductor: Stephen Cleobury.
    • Bach: St. Matthew Passion.
    • Kings College Cambridge.
    • 101.
  • Fr茅d茅ric Chopin

    Nocturne in G major, Op 37 No 2

    Performer: Nelson Freire.
    • Nelson Freire: Chopin, The Nocturnes.
    • Decca.
    • 2.
  • Thomas Tallis

    Miserere nostri

    Choir: The Rodolfus Choir. Conductor: Ralph Allwood.
    • Time and Its Passing.
    • Signum Records.
    • 16.
  • The Babenz茅l茅 people of The Central African Republic

    Women gathering mushrooms

    • The Extraordinary Music of the Babenz茅l茅 Pygmies.
    • Ellipsis Arts.
    • 1.
  • Bill Evans & Jim Hall

    My Funny Valentine

    • Undercurrent.
    • Green Corner.
    • 1.
  • Henry Purcell

    Music for a while (Oedipus)

    Singer: Alfred Deller. Performer: William Christie. Performer: Wieland Kuijken.
    • Purcell: Music for a While.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.
    • 12.

Broadcast

  • Sun 14 Jan 2024 12:00

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