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Out of the mouths of babes

Lindsey Marshal and Richard Harrington are the readers in a programme that explores the mysterious link between wisdom and innocence.

Lindsey Marshal and Richard Harrington are the readers in a programme that explores the mysterious link between wisdom and innocence. As well as often making us smile with what they say, children sometimes come out with surprisingly perceptive comments that can elude even the most intelligent adults. It is as if, in some way, there were a relationship between wisdom and innocence. This relationship has been explored at length in literary and televisual/cinematic narratives where children outwit the grown-ups, usually in a comic manner, but occasionally it also presents itself in extraordinary real-life characters, such as Anne Frank.

Lindsey Marshal has performed leading roles in many theatre productions, including alongside James McAvoy in the 2009 West End production Three Days of Rain, and in Greenland at the National Theatre. She also appeared in The Hours, Â鶹ԼÅÄ period drama Garrow's Law, and most recently in the TV series Trauma. Richard Harrington has had starring roles in Hinterland, Bleak House, Jimmy McGovern's Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, and Gavin Claxton's comedy feature film The All Together.

Producer’s note (Dominic Wells)

Earlier this year my life was turned upside down with the arrival of my son, whose voice opens this edition of Words and Music: Out of the Mouths of Babes. This phrase (biblical in origin) refers to surprisingly insightful words of wisdom uttered by the young, and while I can’t pretend my son’s brief contribution offers anything especially wise, it seemed like a good way to start. Thomas Traherne’s depiction of the infant Christ coming into the world provides a rather more profound statement, as does the child Christ, who appears to the Selfish Giant in Oscar Wilde’s children’s story, promising solace to the reformed character. On a lighter note there’s Arthur Weir’s amusing account of how a baby, simply by gurgling and giggling, can outwit a supposedly clever, powerful, magical creature. The magic continues courtesy of the trio of spirit children in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, guiding various characters along the right path. Similarly, in the TV series Stranger Things, it is invariably the kids who demonstrate greater wisdom than the grown-ups. But the relationship between wisdom and innocence is not limited to children, and we momentarily consider its adult counterparts through two historical archetypes: the Wise Fool (a favourite Shakespearean character) and the Wise Virgin, who finds voice in the music of the extraordinary 12th-century composer, poet and mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. The final reading and music ties all three of these elements together with an excerpt from the very last entry in the diary of Anne Frank, whose level of perception – not only about others, but also about herself – reflects a wisdom far beyond her years.

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Tue 3 Jan 2023 18:15
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Johannes Brahms

    Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4

    Performer: Truls Mork (cello), Juhani Lagerspetz (piano).
    • VIRGIN VC5450522.
    • Tr9.

  • Thomas Traherne

    Wonder (first 4 verses), read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:00

    Gerald Finzi

    Dies Natalis: The Rapture (Danza)

    Performer: Wilfred Brown (tenor), English Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Finzi (conductor).
    • EMI CDM7633722.
    • Tr7.

  • Arthur Weir

    A Greater than He, read by Lyndsey Marshal

  • 00:00

    Bobby McFerrin

    Baby

    Performer: Bobby McFerrin (singer).
    • EMI USA CDP 79 2048 2.
    • Tr2.

  • Leo Tolstoy

    The Wisdom of Children: ‘The State’, read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:00

    Mozart

    The Magic Flute: Act II “Bald prangt… du bist…”

    Performer: Andreas Dietrich (treble); Florian Woller (treble); Jan Andreas Mendel (treble); Christiane Oelze (soprano); English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner (conductor).
    • ARCHIV 449 166-2           .
    • CD2 Tr22.

  • Oscar Wilde

    The Selfish Giant (conclusion), read by Lyndsey Marshal

  • 00:00

    James MacMillan

    Seven Last Words from the Cross: III. Verily, I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in Paradise

    Performer: Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton (conductor).
    • HYPERION SACDA67460 .
    • Tr3.

  • Anon.

    Life on earth, read by Lyndsey Marshal

  • 00:00

    Kyle Dixon/Michael Stein

    Stranger Things: Kids

    Performer: Kyle Dixon (instrumentalist); Michael Stein (instrumentalist).
    • INVADA RECORDS INV 176CD.
    • Tr2.

  • William Shakespeare

    King Lear, Act II sc. 4 (excerpt), read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:00

    Richard Wagner

    Parsifal: Prelude to Act I

    Performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim (conductor).
    • TELDEC 3984242242.
    • Tr2.

  • John Donne

    Sermon CXVII (excerpt), read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:00

    Thomas Adès

    FoolsÂ’ Rhymes

    Performer: Polyphony; Tom Poster (piano); Christopher Bowers-Broadbent (organ); Hugh Webb (harp); Richard Benjafield (percussion); Stephen Layton (conductor).
    • EMI 5576102.
    • Tr4-5.
  • 00:00

    Anon. Turkish

    Makam Uzal Sakil ‘Turna’

    Performer: Hesperion XXI; Jordi Savall (director).
    • ALIA VOX AVSA9863A+B.
    • CD2 Tr6.

  • Anon.

    Goha and his Donkey, read by Lyndsey Marshal

  • Willard Austin Wattles

    Solomon, read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:00

    George Frideric Handel

    Solomon: “Ev’ry joy that wisdom knows”

    Performer: Susan Gritton (soprano); Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor); Gabrieli Players; Paul McCreesh (conductor).
    • ARCHIV 459 688-2 .
    • Tr21.

  • Christopher Smart

    From: Parable XV ‘The Ten Virgins’ (from Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), read by Lyndsey Marshal

  • 00:01

    William Walton

    The Wise Virgins: Sheep may safely graze

    Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Louis Fremaux (conductor).
    • WARNER 0947082.
    • CD2 Tr11.

  • Hildegard of Bingen

    Ave generosa, read by Richard Harrington

  • 00:01

    Hildegard von Bingen

    O virtus sapientiae

    Performer: Sequentia.
    • DEUTSCHE HARMONIA MUNDI GD77020.
    • Tr8.
  • 00:01

    John Williams

    Theme from SchindlerÂ’s List: Reprise

    Performer: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: John Williams.
    • MCA MCD10969 .
    • Tr14.

  • Anne Frank

    The Diary of Anne Frank (final letter), read by Lyndsey Marshal

Broadcasts

  • Sun 16 Sep 2018 17:30
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3
  • Tue 3 Jan 2023 18:15
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3

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