Once Upon A Time... A Thousand and One Nights

As part of the BBC's 'Once Upon a Time...' week, Elizabeth Alker concludes her series of specially recorded performances of fairy tales music with works inspired by the tales of A Thousand and One Nights; and from LSO St. Luke's, lutenist Thomas Dunford is joined by Keyvan Chemirani for a fusion of Western and Middle Eastern inspired music.

Carl Nielsen
Aladdin - Oriental Festive March
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Thomas Sondergard (conductor)

Maurice Ravel
Shéhérazade
Claire Booth (soprano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ben Glassberg (conductor)

From LSO St. Luke’s - Thomas Dunford and Friends
Keyvan Chemirani
To bandégui
Thomas Dunford (lute)
Kayvan Chemirani (santoor)

Jean-Philippe Rameau
Suite from ‘Les Indes Galantes’
European Union Baroque Orchestra
Enrico Onofri (conductor)

Rimsky-Korsakov
Sheherazade, Op. 35
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Lorenzo Viognier (conductor)

From LSO St. Luke’s - Thomas Dunford and Friends
Keyvan Chemirani
Shérazade
Thomas Dunford (lute)
Keyvan Chemirani (santoor)

Robert Schumann
Bilder aus Osten (arr. string orchestra)
Festival Strings Lucerne
Daniel Dodds (violin, conductor)

From LSO St. Luke’s - Thomas Dunford and Friends:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite for cello BWV. 1007 [solo lute]
-Prelude
-Sarabande
-Menuet 1 et 2
Thomas Dunford (lute)

Jan Hanuš
Salt Above Gold, suite from the ballet, Op. 28a
Prague Symphony Orchestra
Tomáš Netopil (conductor)

The BBC’s ‘Once Upon a Time…’ week celebrates fairytales and storytelling in partnership with the British Library. On BBC Radio 3, Edith Bowman explores fairytales and fantasy in 'Sound of Cinema', actors Pearce Quigley and Lydia Wilson delve into the worlds of princesses, frogs, and spells in 'Words & Music', Sara Mohr-Pietsch charts a course to Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf in 'Music Map', and Elizabeth Alker presents music inspired by enchanted lands, magical creatures, and timeless tales, in 'Classical Live' and 'Unclassified'. Just search ‘Once Upon a Time…’ in BBC Sounds. The British Library’s major new exhibition Fairy Tales runs from 27th March – 23rd August 2026.