This uniquely cross-sectional approach to culture combines great art with great music, and examines the connections between the two. Each piece of music from the carefully chosen selection takes on a new dimension and provides a musical context to the work of leading painters and sculptors. This fascinating series, with a colour booklet including a chronology of the principal artistic and political developments of the period, broadens our view of the music itself.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is our prototype for the universal genius: painter, architect, military engineer, and anatomist, his far-ranging scientific curiosity placed him centuries ahead of his time. On this audio, the world of da Vinci is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of the day. In the booklet, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment.

As soon as we discover that the nature of sound was something that absorbed the interest of Leonardo da Vinci for many years, and that, according to Vasari, he 'sang divinely, improvising his own accompaniment on the lira', we begin to realise the importance of music in his life. Exploring the music written during his lifetime forms a fascinating backdrop to his paintings, several of which are illustrated within the booklet.