Born To Sing

Born To Sing is a six part series which explores why and how we sing, through people who sing alone or in company, as amateurs or professionals. It's the most basic musical instrument of them all: the human voice.  We sing in the bath, in church, at parties.  We sing to celebrate, we sing to lament, we sing when we're in love.  Human beings, it seems, are born to sing.

In this new six part series, Bernadette Comerford explores why and how we sing.  She meets people who sing alone or in company, as professionals and amateurs.  Among them are the inspiring Ethna Barror.  Now 87, she still conducts the weekly rehearsal of her choir The Lindsay Singers, who have won every choral award on the island of Ireland, and many abroad. Sister's Tríona and Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill talk about the special magic that is created by the voices of siblings, and about the way their songs link them to the unbroken tradition of Donegal song.   One of our most distinguished tenors, Emmanuel Lawlor, gives a singing lesson.  And Tom Wilson, a voice consultant who in another life was an ENT surgeon, explains how the singing voice is produced, how things can go wrong, and how they can be put right.

Over the six programmes, we'll be meeting many more people who love to sing, and hearing some of the wonderful sounds created by the human voice. 

Listen to the series

Audio links and information on all the programmes.