All Clear: Favourite Wartime Songs

• Humor, irony and superb musicianship abound in these lovingly restored recordings from a century ago. Iconic artists such as John McCormack and Al Jolson kept the home fires burning in both England and the United States. Many of the songs are well-known to this day and in these restored originals they can speak to us again as they must have done 100 years ago.

Read by Margaret Howard. Subtle, clever, witty and deeply profound, Shakespeare's sonnets have captured the imagination of readers for generations. Here they are brought to life, with suitable musical interludes, by broadcaster Margaret Howard and Bernard Palmer.

Music for William Shakespeare. Music from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries composed for Shakespeare's plays or to celebrate his work. A wide range of instrumental sounds and some splendid singing create a fascinating programme of dynamic and cheerful English music, performed by one of Britain's leading ensembles.

Victorian carols and music. An old fashioned programme of Christmas songs and carols that children will love to listen to. From the story of 'Cock Robin' to well known Christmas carols, with a fascinating mix of sounds - bells, music boxes, accordions and piano.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy contains a wide variety of music from World War II. Music during the time of World War II was often spirited and fun, and was composed to lift peoples’ spirits. An emphasis in these tracks is on the end of the war and the celebrations that followed. Tracks include numbers by well known artists such as Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, and Vera Lynn.

Beautiful piano music to excite, inspire and encourage, composed with children in mind, from Mozart's variations on 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star' and evocative children's pieces by Debussy, Schumann and others, to minuets and other simple pieces which children often learn to play.

A collection of hymns and music which many will remember from Sunday school days. An album of warm, favourite songs of thoughtfulness and meditation from a more innocent age. Perfect to introduce the young to (or to remind the young at heart of) good quality music from the past.

The 1720 William Smith harpsichord; the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, Oxford.

Orchestral Music (English) - WOOD, A. / TORCH, S. / COATES,

A selection of hymns for the church's year, from Advent to Trinity, recorded in the churches and chapels of the city of Oxford. A glorious celebration of an English tradition, with reminders of old favourites from times past, and some familiar and heart-warming tunes and words.

Songs and dances for children. Traditional songs and dances for children to complement our very successful nursery rhyme album, 'Jack and Jill and all their friends' (CD507). Old English music from the past - famous songs, good rhythms and fine instrumental playing to get those young feet tapping!

Orchestral Music (English) - WOOD, H. / WALTON, W. / VAUGHAN

Music for the Sherborne Missal. A meditative album of music linked to the Sherborne missal, an important manuscript associated with Sherborne Abbey which celebrated it's 1300th anniversary in 2005. Sung by Magdala, Oxford's leading mixed-voice choir, it contains both gentle plainchant and magnificent full-bodied choral music.

Music for quiet contemplation Haunting and evocative words and music that bring US echoes from the world of the monks of Lindisfarne, the Saxon monastery on Holy Island off Northumbria, with early English church music and Northumbrian pipes.