Latvian Song and Dance Festival 2023

An anthropological research on the survival of the supernatural in traditional culture. Shot in different locations in southern Italy, the documentary focuses on the link between the cult of the Madonna and ancient rites related to female fertility.

The religious traditions of a town in the province of Caserta, Italy.

A big day in the Scottish Borders is captured with astonishing clarity in this remarkable film commissioned by the local cinema.

Every year in June, the small Bulgarian village of Balgari celebrates St Constantine with a special ritual. Initiated ‘nestinari’ go into a music-induced trance and dance on bonfires in a display of religious passion.

Luminous choral music on the theme of peace, performed by one of the world’s finest choirs and recorded at Peterborough Cathedral. A hymn to tranquillity, the concert features music from across nine centuries, from the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen to Anna Clyne with a new work for choir and violin. There are also sumptuous works by John Taverner, Will Todd and Arvo Pärt in his 90th birthday year. The Sixteen is led by conductor Harry Christophers. Presented by Hannah French.

Anna "Buksa" Scemelinska (1925 - 2011) was a Latvian folksinger. She learned her song repertoire and singing style from her parents and villagers. She sang in the Rekova Church Choir in 1956, and has also been a member of the Rekava Ethnographic Ensemble from 1980. Her mother sang religious hymns ,"godzinkas", while Anna sang traditional dainas. The singing was like the rest of her life: in harmony with nature. Marked by hard work and deep religiosity, her songs are a kind of Eastern European blues or gospel. Singers like Anna Scemelinska are storytellers. Their folk songs comprise legends, history and experience from life.