Front Row Folgen

It's estimated that almost three million people in the UK now belong to a choir. Kirsty Lang explores why this might be, and looks at the evidence that singing is really good for us.The Sixteen is a professional choir which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year. It's founder, Harry Christophers, and one of the sopranos, Charlotte Mobbs, talk to Kirsty about starting the choir, changing attitudes towards choral singing, their 2019 plans and their outreach programme, working in communities where arts provision is low.Ten years ago, musician Martin Trotman was approached by the Birmingham NHS Trust to set up a community choir for those with mental health issues. One choir has grown into four choirs, which welcome all members of the community with the aim of promoting mental and physical wellbeing through music and song. Martin discusses why choral singing is so beneficial, and two members of the Birmingham Wellbeing Choir talk to Kirsty about how it's helped them.M J Paranzino is a musician and vocal coach with a passion for community singing. She currently runs four choirs, one in Brighton, one in Hastings and two in London. Kirsty joined M J and members of the choirs when they sang at the V&A in London in the run up to Christmas and discovered that all of human life is in a community choir! Dr Jacques Launay is a lecturer at Brunel University and has done, and continues to do, research into music and social bonding. He explains why our bodies and minds respond so well to singing in a choir.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Rebecca Armstrong

Andrew Davies is renowned for turning literary classics into prime-time television drama, from Pride and Prejudice and Bleak House to War and Peace. He talks to Samira about his new BBC One series, a reworking of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, explaining the appeal of the 19th Century epic novel and why the stage musical version of the book didn’t influence his adaption at all. In the Bible, Matthew wrote about the Three Wise Men, Luke about the shepherds and the angels, and ever since, Christmas has provided inspiration for writers. John Milton wrote On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, Jane Austen has a Christmas scene in Persuasion, Ernest Hemingway wrote about Paris at Christmas and Helen Fielding, in Bridget Jones’s Diary, has Bridget attending a terrible yuletide family gathering. Writer Matthew Sweet, critic Arifa Akbar and Professor Stephen Regan, who has traced the history of Christmas in English literature, discuss the different ways writers have treated Christmas in their work. Sheffield-based poet Helen Mort talks about the poetry of the festive season and reads her Christmas poem written especially for Front Row.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Harry Parker

Ben Elton, creator of the iconic Elizabethan sitcom Blackadder II, talks about his fascination with Shakespeare, as Upstart Crow returns to BBC Two for a Shakespeare/Dickens mashup, A Crow Christmas Carol. He's also written the screenplay for All is True, a Shakespeare biopic starring Kenneth Branagh. Vanessa Kisuule reads her poem Describing Snow in the Aftermath, part of Radio 4's poetry day marking the winter solstice. As artist Olafur Eliasson installs melting ice blocks outside Tate Modern in order to highlight the dangers of climate change, Stig asks whether political art is becoming more of a call to action. With critics Jacky Klein, Jonathan Jones and artist Bob and Roberta Smith. And why has misery won out over cheer on Christmas TV in recent years? David Butcher investigates. Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Timothy Prosser