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Walter Scott

Sophia McLean and Denis Lawson read from Scott's prose and poetry, and from other writers influenced by his sense of history and the gothic, plus music on these themes.

Walter Scott (1771-1832) was so renowned that a vast monument built to his memory still towers over Princes Street in Edinburgh, a full 30 feet taller than Nelson’s Column in London. A pioneer of the historical novel and of the gothic, Scott’s output of poetry and prose was colossal with works including Waverley, the Bride of Lammermoor, Rob Roy and Ivanhoe. But he also found time to more or else invent the modern idea of Scottishness, when he devised an elaborate pageant to welcome George IV to Scotland in 1822. Sophia McLean and Denis Lawson read extracts not only from Scott’s work, but also from other Scottish authors and poets whose writing reflects some of his sensibilities, including Margaret Oliphant, Iain Banks, Jean Guthrie Smith and Robin Jenkins. The music includes Rossini’s La Donna del Lago, one of many operas adapted from a Scott novel and Haydn’s arrangement of Lizae Baillie – the kind of traditional ballad that Scott drew inspiration from. There are also offerings from Hector Berlioz, Thea Musgrave, Tiny Grimes, Eddi Reader and Simon Thoumire.

READINGS:
Sir Walter Scott - The Lay of the Last Minstrel - Canto II – Melrose Abbey
Sir Walter Scott - The Lay of the Last Minstrel - Canto I – Introduction
Sir Walter Scott - Ivanhoe
Charles W Chessnut - The House Behind the Cedars
Margaret Oliphant - The Library Window
Robin Jenkins - The Cone Gatherers
Jean Guthrie Smith - The Black Belt
Robert Louis Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory
JG Lockhart - Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott - My Aunt Margaret's Mirror
Sir Walter Scott - Lochinvar

Producer: Torquil MacLeod

A Free Thinking episode exploring the writing of Walter Scott's novel Waverley is available now on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds and as an Arts and Ideas podcast /programmes/p04dr39q

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Tue 27 Dec 2022 18:15
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:01

    John Blackwood McEwan

    On Southern Hills: II. Drifting Clouds

    Performer: Murray McLachlan.
    • Divine Art DDA25003.
    • Tr19.

  • Sir Walter Scott

    The Lay of the Last Minstrel Β– Canto II Β– Melrose Abbey, read by Sophia McLean

  • Sir Walter Scott

    The Lay of the Last Minstrel - Canto I Β– Introduction, read by Denis Lawson

  • 00:04

    Trad.

    Lizae Baillie

    Music Arranger: Joseph Haydn. Performer: The Poker Club Band.
    • BIS-2471.
    • Tr16.

  • Sir Walter Scott

    Ivanhoe, read by Sophia McLean

  • 00:08

    Oliver Searle

    Technophonia

    Performer: Drake Music Project Scotland.
    • NMC Recordings NMCDL2012-12.
    • Tr1.

  • Charles W Chessnut

    The House Behind the Cedars, read by Denis Lawson

  • 00:15

    Gioachino Rossini

    La Donna del Lago, Act 2: Tanti affetti in tal momento

    Singer: Agnes Baltsa. Orchestra: Munich Radio Orchestra. Conductor: Heinz Wallberg.
    • Orfeo C200021.
    • CD1 Tr2.
  • 00:20

    Belorusia

    Forevea

    Performer: Belorusia.
    • Bandcamp.
    • Tr1.

  • Margaret Oliphant

    The Library Window, read by Sophia McLean

  • 00:23

    Thea Musgrave

    Memento vitae

    Orchestra: ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Jac van Steen.
    • NMC Recordings NMCD074.
    • Tr1.

  • Robin Jenkins

    The Cone Gatherers, read by Denis Lawson

  • 00:31

    Max Bruch

    Scottish Fantasy, Op.46: I. Adagio cantabile

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: JesΓΊs LΓ³pez Cobos.
    • Warner Classics.
    • Tr2.

  • Jean Guthrie Smith

    The Black Belt, read by Sophia McLean

  • 00:38

    Trad.

    Leezie Lindsay

    Lyricist: Robert Burns. Composer: Eddi Reader. Composer: Boo Hewerdine. Performer: Eddi Reader.
    • Rough Trade.
    • Tr10.

  • Robert Louis Stevenson

    The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, read by Denis Lawson

  • 00:45

    Franz Schubert

    Erlkonig, Op. 1, D328

    Music Arranger: Max Reger. Singer: Rainer Trost. Orchestra: Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland‐Pfalz. Conductor: Gregor BΓΌhl.
    • Cappricio C5275.
    • Tr24.
  • 00:49

    Barry Burns

    EliΒ’s Theme

    Performer: Mogwai.
    • Rock Action Records.
    • Tr1.

  • Iain Banks

    The Wasp Factory, read by Sophia McLean

  • 00:51

    Fergus MacKenzie

    Totally Tropical

    Composer: Simon Thoumire. Performer: Fergus MacKenzie. Performer: Fergus MacKenzie. Performer: Fergus MacKenzie. Performer: Simon Thoumire. Performer: Simon Thoumire. Performer: Simon Thoumire.
    • Nascente Β– NSCD 056.
    • Tr10.

  • JG Lockhart

    Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, read by Denis Lawson

  • 00:58

    Hector Berlioz

    Overture: Waverley, Op. 1

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
    • LSO Live LSO0257D.
    • Tr6.

  • Sir Walter Scott

    My Aunt Margaret's Mirror, read by Sophia McLean

  • 01:05

    Tiny Grimes

    Annie Laurie

    Performer: Tiny Grimes.
    • Warner Music UK.
    • Tr2.

  • Sir Walter Scott

    Lochinvar, read by Denis Lawson

  • 01:11

    Helen Hopekirk

    5 Scottish Folksongs: No. 1, Land oΒ’ the Leal

    Performer: Gary Steigerwalt.
    • Toccata Classics TOCC0430.
    • Tr7.

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