This episode of “Why Words Matter” explores the importance of words in music – whether libretti, song texts, or the language we use to instruct and analyse. Hosted by writer and opera producer Max Parfitt, the episode features two writers and two musicians: playwright (and more recently libretto translator) Siofra Dromgoole; neuroscientist and lyricist Anjali Bhat; conductor, orchestrator, and cellist Orlando Jopling; and jazz and contemporary pianist John-Paul Muir.

What comes first, the music or the text? And can one exist without the other?

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