The Story of the King James Bible on BBC Radio 4

I worked on this series with producer Rosie Dawson but unlike most documentaries I work on, where I usually do the editing and mixing, with this series I was also involved in the recording too. This was because the whole series was recorded on location, no studio content at all, not even the presenters links, and so Rosie didn't want to have to worry about being the sound recordist as well as the producer as the recording schedule was going to be tight.

The series of 3 programmes are going out today, tomorrow, and Wednesday at 9am with a shortened repeat at 9:30pm. Do try and catch the longer version either live or via iPlayer. Even the podcast seems to be the shorter version of the programmes. The first programme "The Commission" went out today...

The King James, or Authorised, Version of the Bible remains the most widely published text in the English language. It has been called the "noblest monument of English prose" and has been recognised for centuries as both a religious and literary classic.
In the first of three programmes marking the 400th anniversary of its publication, James Naughtie tells the story of how and why King James VI of Scotland and I of England decided on a new translation of the Bible. The programme is recorded at Hampton Court Palace. A conference here in early 1604 led to the commissioning of the King James Version. The Chief Curator at the palace, Lucy Worsley, and James Naughtie walk the palace grounds, scene of so much Tudor and Stuart frivolity, and a refuge from the plague. Before the earnestness of the January conference there had been masques and feasting and Shakespearean drama. England was still revelling in its new monarch after the stultifying later years of Elizabeth's reign and breathing a sigh of relief that the accession had been a smooth one.

We recorded in the quad by the gates, having to wait for the crews to stop building the ice rink that was set up outside Hampton Court. Then on into the Chapel Royal, the Great Watching Chamber, then through the palace and into the King's state apartments. In the main banqueting hall we had a very 21st century problem with an electrical buzz that we couldn't find the source of, but were able to find a spot where it was quiet and then modern technology removed the rest. We were also plagued by another 21st century challenge on the night we were recording, Heathrow's flight path was right over Hampton Court so we kept having to stop as a plane went over head.

Tomorrow's programme "The Translation".....

The programme opens in the main quadrangle of the Bodleian library. A statue of King James stands high over the courtyard, books in hand. The King loved the Bodleian. In a visit there in 1605 he said that he would love to spend his life chained alongside the library's chained books. The translators in London, Cambridge and Oxford drew on several earlier translations of the Bible as they went about their work. In the chapel at Hertford college, Oxford, Jim sees a stained glass window of William Tyndale, the first man to translate the Bible into English directly from Hebrew and Greek. The translators drew heavily on his work. Many of the phrases that come to mind when we think of the King James Bible are in fact those of Tyndale. The translators had several other Bible translations at their disposal too. Each had their own agenda; the Great Bible with its frontispiece depicting the idea of Royal Supremacy; the Puritans' Geneva Bible which challenged that very idea.

The Stationers Hall

We recorded this programme in both Oxford both inside and outside Bodleian library, in the Tower room at Corpus Christi college and a lovely moment there where we went into the chapel and interrupted a choir rehearsal to have a look at some pictures there, as well as The Stationers Hall in London, all on the same day!

James is shown two extraordinary documents which reveal how the translators worked. One, a 1602 copy of the Bishops Bible, contains annotations made by the scholars suggesting alternative translations. The other is a copy of notes made by one which reveals the mind of the revision committee which met to review the translations of all the companies.

The final programme in the series on Wednesday is called "The Legacy"...

He begins in the pub. James meets linguist and Renaissance scholar Gordon Campbell, the Jamaican poet Kei Miller and Rachel Holmes from the Southbank Centre to discuss the surprising and unusual places we hear of the King James today. "Salt of the earth", "skin of their teeth", "Apple of his eye" are all phrases that have come into the English language through the King James Bible, but do any of the drinkers in the pub know this? The King James Bible became part of our everyday speech because of the role that Christian belief and practise has played in our national story. Jim will meet Giles Fraser at St. Paul's Cathedral to discuss the central place of the Bible and Christianity within British culture. For 300 years the King James Bible reigned supreme. Nearly everyone went to church and the King James Bible was the only translation to be used. Preachers would draw crowds of over a thousand and the words of the King James gradually worked their way into the blood stream of all those in the country.

We started recording in St Paul's before it got too busy before moving on to the pub and ending up in the South Bank Centre where we were troubled by trains coming in and out over The Thames.

Then before Christmas, Rosie did a rough edit to get the content in the right order and choose the best versions of the answers and then I worked my magic to mould it all together with some readings, music and the soundscapes I also had recorded on location.

All in all it has been a challenging and rewarding series to work on. I do hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I have enjoyed being involved in making it.