chris cundy
cundychristopher@gmail.com
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​ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE EAR season 2.
presented by musician and composer Chris Cundy and featuring poet Adam Horovitz who explore a selection of prehistoric objects on display at Corinium Museum in Cirencester.

in partnership with Corinium Museum and Resonance 104.4FM
supported by Help Musicians and Arts Council England

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| episode 1 (season 2) A LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS
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n this episode we talk to Corinium Museum director Katharine Walker about a Lower Paleolithic handaxe, and archaeologist Timothy Darvill shows us a Neolithic arc pendant. Botonist Mike Ward ventures back into the landscape where these objects were found, and we meet up with Boss Morris, an all female traditional Morris dancing side to talk about what this landscape means to them.

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| episode 2 (season 2) THE EARLIEST KNOWN FAMILY TREE IN THE WORLD
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In this episode we talk to archaeologist Timothy Darvill about the fascinating finds and grave goods on display at Corinium Museum from Hazleton North, an early Neolithic tomb in the Central Cotswolds. I take a hike up there with Brendan Barrymore Bayliss who remembers being on the original dig team when he was just fifteen. And archaeologist Chris Fowler talks about a recent DNA study that has revealed the earliest known family tree in the world.

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| episode 3 (season 2) BENEATH THE BARROW
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In this episode museum director Katharine Walker shows us a selection of tiny harpoons and blade-lets made by Mesolithic hunter gatherers. Archaeologist Timothy Darvill tells us about a house that was discovered beneath the Neolithic long barrow at Hazleton North. And we visit Matt Grimmitt at Winchcombe Pottery to talk about a six thousand year old soup bowl.

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| episode 4 (season 2) AN EARLY HISTORY OF MONEY
In this episode we take a prehistoric leap forwards into the Iron Age. We visit an unassuming village called Bagendon where, two thousand years ago, the Dubonnian tribe discovered a flair for taming wild horses and where they minted Britain's first ever coinage. And Corinium Museum’s Emma Stuart talks to us about the early history of money.

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| episode 5 (season 2) WOLF UNDER GLASS
In this episode we talk to Corinium Museum's James Harris about our enduring relationship with animals and we follow the footprints of an Iron Age hunting dog. All female Morris dancing side Boss Morris talk about wearing papier mache beast heads, and archaeologist Timothy Darvill contemplates a Neolithic animal totem at Hazleton North long barrow. We also hear from archaeologist Chris Fowler who talks about the symbology of animals in the ancient world.

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE EAR season 1.
LISTENING TO HISTORIC PLACES
a series of hour length listening programmes exploring historic places and artefacts that have sonorous and musical stories to tell

supported by Help Musicians and Arts Council England
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"I was really knocked out by this, terrific!" - PETER KENNARD

"a unique series of programmes" - ANNEA LOCKWOOD


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​| episode 5 THE WHISPERING GALLERY
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Accompanied by archivist Rebecca Phillips, Chris Cundy returns to Gloucester Cathedral in the South West of England to look for a whispering gallery amongst its labyrinth of medieval staircases and passageways. We follow a story about how its unusual acoustics inspired Daphne Oram’s vision behind the BBC Radiophonic Workshop established in the 1950’s to popularise electronic music. Narratives by Ladan Hussein (aka Cold Specks) and Adam Horovitz
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| episode 4 THE WINDOW
​Chris Cundy meets pioneering composer and sound artist Annea Lockwood to talk about her innovative work with glass during the 1960’s, and we return to Gloucester Cathedral to look at its breathtaking medieval east window. We visit glass expert Leonie Seliger at her studios in Canterbury, and hear from historian Dr Helen Lacey ​about how the window reveals a clue about one of the most tumultuous events in English history. Including narratives read by the poet and writer Adam Horovitz
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| episode 3 THE POSTCARD
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Chris Cundy goes to Gloucester Cathedral in the South West of England to meet archivist Rebecca Phillips. We follow a story of a postcard that solved a puzzle of how to put a 72ft high window back together after it had been taken apart during WWII. Political campaigner and photo montage artist Peter Kennard talks about the social currency of postcards, and singer and performance artist Anna Homler divulges about her fascination with all things small and postcard sized
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| episode 2 THE TREE
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In this episode Chris Cundy looks at an illustration of a speaking tree that changes sex from male to female during the night in the pages of the Shahnameh, the ancient Persian Book of Kings. We also talk to musician, songwriter and former tree surgeon Baby Dee about her relationship to trees and their recurring theme in her own songwriting. Plus singer and songwriter Ladan Hussein (aka Cold Specks) reads a short text describing the magnetic sound of trees


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​| episode 1 THE BEE
We hear from Cambridgeshire beekeeper and sound recordist Richard Youell about his experiences of listening to bees, and contemplate the ancient cave paintings of the Iberian peninsula which show the very earliest depictions of a swarm. We hear from banjo player Baby Copperhead and there's a polyphonic setting by viola player Benedict Taylor. Narratives are read by Somali-Canadian singer Ladan Hussein (aka Cold Specks) and Mike Ward of Longstone 


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| pilot episode THE POTTERY
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In this pilot episode Chris Cundy goes to Winchcombe Pottery in Gloucestershire where the experimental composer Cornelius Cardew was born in 1936. We discover a cider jar that sheds light on Cardew's own past and reveals something about his approach to historic and mythological text in his music. Interviews are with potter Matt Grimmitt and singer and recording artist Gwenno Saunders. Narratives by poet and writer ​Adam Horovitz.

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