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O Albion

Texts and music on the theme of England and the English, with readings by Meera Syal and Philip Franks. With Linton Kwesi Johnson, plus Ades, Elgar, Cornershop, Byrd and Purcell.

How could you resist the temptation of "a full English" with Meera Syal and Philip Franks? The star of Goodness Gracious Me joins forces with the narrator of The Rocky Horror Show to explore the meaning of England and Englishness to a score provided by Thomas Ad猫s, Edward Elgar, Cornershop, William Byrd, Fairport Convention, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Purcell amongst others.

Producer: Zahid Warley.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Thu 21 Dec 2017 16:30
麻豆约拍 Radio 3

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Thomas Ad猫s

    O Albion from Arcadiana, Op.12 (1994)

    Performer: Endellion Quartet.
    • EMI CDZ 5722712.
    • Tr14.

  • A. E. Housman

    Blue Remembered Hills, read by Philip Franks

  • 00:03

    William Byrd

    Mass For Five Voices I. Kyrie

    Performer: The Hilliard Ensemble.
    • EMI CDS7492058.
    • CD2 Tr1.

  • George Orwell

    From England your England, read by Philip Franks

  • 00:07

    Edward Elgar

    Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85, I. Adagio

    Performer: Jacqueline du Pr茅 (cello), London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli (Conductor).
    • EMI CDC7473292.
    • Tr1.

  • Daljit Nagra

    Look we have coming to Dover, read by Meera Syal

  • 00:17

    Linton Kwesi Johnson

    It Dread Inna Inglan (For George Lindo)

    Performer: Linton Kwesi Johnson.
    • Virgin ?CDFL 12.
    • Tr5.

  • Edward Litvinoff

    A Long Look Back, read by Meera Syal

  • 00:23

    Charles Hubert Parry, Herbert (arr.)

    Jerusalem

    Performer: Grimethorpe Colliery Band.
    • RCA 75605513552.
    • Tr2.

  • Basil Bunting

    Excerpt from Briggflatts, read by Meera Syal

  • 00:28

    Lennon-McCartney

    Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

    Performer: Cornershop.
    • Wiiija Records ?WIJCD 1065.
    • Tr15.

  • Thomas Hardy

    Under the Waterfall, read by Philip Franks

  • 00:33

    Traditional, Fairport Convention (arr.)

    Matty Groves

    Performer: Fairport Convention.
    • Island Records 586 9292.
    • Tr3.

  • Liz Berry

    Birmingham Roller, read by Meera Syal

  • 00:39

    Benjamin Britten

    A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41 聳 A Cradle Song. Allegretto tranquillo

    Performer: Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), 麻豆约拍 Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner (Conductor).
    • Chandos CHAN 10671.
    • Tr2.

  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    Excerpt from Frost at Midnight, read by Philip Franks

  • 00:44

    John Dowland

    Flow, my tears

    Performer: Andreas Scholl (contre-t茅nor) and Andreas Martin (Luth).
    • Harmonia Mundi HMC901603.
    • Tr13.

  • Philip Larkin

    Aubade, read by Philip Franks

  • 00:51

    Frederick Delius, Beecham (arr.)

    Summer Evening

    Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham (Conductor).
    • EMI CDS7475098.
    • CD2 Tr2.

  • John Clare

    The thunder mutters, read by Meera Syal

  • 00:58

    Eric Maschwitz, Manning Sherman

    A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

    Performer: Mike Westbrook.
    • ASC Records ? ASCCD166.
    • Tr13.

  • Gerard Manley Hopkins

    God聮s Grandeur, read by Philip Franks

  • 01:00

    The Theatre Workshop, Theatre Royal Stratford East

    Gassed last night

    Performer: Original London Cast.
    • That聮s Entertainment TER 1043.
    • Tr14.

  • Keith Douglas

    How to Kill, read by Philip Franks

  • 01:03

    Simon Holt

    St Vitus in the kettle

    Performer: Hall茅 Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (Conductor).
    • NMC D218.
    • Tr11.

  • Shakespeare

    Part of John of Gaunt聮s speech 聳 This sceptre isle from Richard II, read by Meera Syal

  • 01:10

    Henry Purcell

    Hear My Prayer, O Lord (Z 15)

    Performer: Oxford Camerata, Laurence Cummings (organ), Jeremy Summerly (Conductor).
    • Naxos 8 553129.
    • Tr9.

Producer's Note: O Albion

Whether it鈥檚 the green and pleasant land; the sight of old maids biking to Holy Communion through the autumn mists; or the transition from boy to man prompted by war and what the poet Keith Douglas called 鈥渢he mosquito death鈥� 鈥� England is a place of visions. 听Some are dreams; others nightmares.听 Some like Housman鈥檚 鈥渂lue remembered hills鈥� are a yearning for something lost; others like the deathbed speech given to John of Gaunt by Shakespeare in Richard II are a fervent prayer for a return to a world of decency and principle.听 England shimmers in the minds of those who are born here as vividly as it does in the minds of those who make their lives here. 听It鈥檚 a place of hope and tolerance as well as of anger and dismay.听 In this evening鈥檚 programme the actors, Meera Syal and Philip Franks, give voice to some of the attitudes and feelings that shape our notion of England and Englishness. 听From pigeon fanciers to courtiers, O Albion, is coloured by class and race just like England itself. The words of Daljit Nagra, Philip Larkin, Liz Berry and Basil Bunting amongst others jostle up against the music of Cornershop, Delius, Elgar and Simon Holt in a way that I hope prompts recognition but also surprise.

听

Producer: Zahid Warley

Broadcasts

  • Sun 28 May 2017 17:30
    麻豆约拍 Radio 3
  • Thu 21 Dec 2017 16:30
    麻豆约拍 Radio 3

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