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The Silver Swan

Texts and music on the theme of swans, with readers Anthony Calf and Louise Jameson. Including Yeats, Rilke and Tennyson, plus Saint-Saens, Villa-Lobos, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.

Graceful swans, magical swans, migrating swans; swans loyal and, on occasion, cynical; swans living and dying. A miscellany of poetry and prose by WB Yeats, Hans Christian Andersen, Louise Gl眉ck, Gillian Clarke, Rilke, Tennyson and "Banjo" Paterson floats above music that includes works by Saint-Sa毛ns, Villa-Lobos, Tchaikovsky, Rautavaara (complete with the sounds of arctic swans) and Sibelius, whose 5th Symphony was inspired by the sight of sixteen swans - "One of the great experiences of my life!" he wrote, " God, how beautiful."

The readers are Anthony Calf and Louise Jameson.

Readings:
W B Yeats: The Wild Swans at Coole
Gillian Clarke: Migrations
Hans Christian Anderson trans. M R James: The Ugly Duckling
Trad: The Children of Lir
Lawrence Durrell: Swans
Humbert Wolfe: Love is a Keeper of Swans
Rainer Maria Rilke trans Susan Ranson and Marielle Sutherland: The Swan
Keats: To Charles Cowden Clarke
Aesop trans Willliam Ellery Leonard: The Swan and the Goose
Louise Gl眉ck: Parable of the Swans
Randall Jarrell: The Black Swan
Tennyson: The Dying Swan
Edna St Vincent Millay: Wild Swans
A.B. 鈥楤anjo鈥� Peterson: Black Swans
Edward Plunkett (Lord Dunsany): The Return of Song

Producer: Elizabeth Funning

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Christmas Day 2019 18:15
蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Ralph Vaughan Williams

    The Lake in the mountains

    Performer: Ian Brown (piano).
    • Hyperion CDA67313.
    • Tr 1.

  • W B Yeats

    The Wild Swans at Coole, read by Anthony Calf

  • 00:03

    Einojuhani Rautavaara

    Cantus Arcticus (Concerto for birds and orchestra) Op.61 (3rd movement)

    Performer: Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vanska (conductor).
    • BIS-CD-1038.
    • Tr 11.

  • Gillian Clarke

    Migrations, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:09

    Tom Rigney

    The Swan

    Performer: Tom Rigney.
    • Takoma ?聳 D2-72707.
    • Tr 10.

  • Hans Christian Anderson trans. M R James

    The Ugly Duckling, read by Anthony Calf

  • 00:14

    Sir Hamilton Harty

    An Irish Symphony - III. In the Antrim Hills - Lento ma non troppo

    Performer: Ulster Orchestra, Bryden Thomson (conductor).
    • CHAN10194X.

  • Trad

    The Children of Lir, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:22

    Catriona McKay

    The Swan 'LK 243' arr. for guitar quartet

    Performer: Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.
    • CHAN10609.
    • Tr 15.

  • Lawrence Durrell

    Swans, read by Anthony Calf

  • 00:27

    Edward Cowie

    Mute Swan from String Quartet No. 5 Birdsong Bagatelles

    Performer: Kreutzer Quartet.
    • NMC D222.
    • Tr 7.
  • 00:28

    罢谤盲诲

    Ton Alarch (The Swan Song) (excerpt)

    Performer: Robin Huw Bowen (Welsh triple harp).
    • Flying Fish FF70610.
    • Tr 13.

  • Humbert Wolfe

    Love is a Keeper of Swans, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:30

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Swan Lake: Scene - Swan Theme

    Performer: Berlin Philharmonic, Mstislav Rostropovich (conductor).
    • DG 4290972.

  • Rainer Maria Rilke trans Susan Ranson and Marielle Sutherland

    The Swan, read by Anthony Calf

  • 00:34

    Ravel

    Jeux d'Eaux

    Performer: Martha Argerich (piano).
    • DG 447 430 2.
    • Tr 5.

  • Keats

    To Charles Cowden Clarke (excerpt), read by Louise Jameson

  • Aesop trans Willliam Ellery Leonard

    The Swan and the Goose, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:40

    Carl Orff

    Olim lacus colueram 'The Roasted Swan sings' (Carmina Burana)

    Performer: Gerhard Stolze (tenor), Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, Eugen Jochum (cond).
    • DG 423 886-2.
    • Tr 12.
  • 00:43

    Elena Kats鈥怌hernin

    Wild swans - concert suite arr. for violin and piano ..., no.2; Eliza's aria

    Performer: Daniel Hope (violin), Jacques Ammon (piano).
    • DG 4790571.
    • Tr 7.

  • Louise Gl眉ck

    Parable of the Swans, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:46

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Variations on Swan Lake

    Music Arranger: Igor Ponomarenko. Performer: Terem Quartet.
    • Real World Records ?聳 92130-2.
    • Tr 6.
  • 00:48

    B. Merrill, J. Styne

    The Swan (Funny Girl)

    Performer: Barbra Streisand.
    • Columbia - Original Soundtrack Recording.
    • Tr 11.
  • 00:50

    Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns

    The Swan (The Carnival of the Animals)

    Performer: Steven Isserlis (cello), Dudley Moore (piano), Michael Tilson Thomas (piano).
    • RCA 09026 68928 2.
    • Tr 7.
  • 00:53

    Heitor Villa鈥怢obos

    Song of the Black Swan (O Canto do Cysne Negro)

    Performer: Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), John Lenehan (piano).
    • Philips 4349172.
    • Tr 1.

  • Randall Jarrell

    The Black Swan, read by Louise Jameson

  • 00:56

    Schoenberg

    Five Orchestral Pieces Op.16, "Summer Morning by a Lake" (excerpt)

    Performer: Sinfonieorchester des Sudwestfunks, Baden-Baden, Hans Rosbaud (conductor).
    • Wergo 286403-2.
    • Tr 3.
  • 00:58

    Gerald Finzi arr Harvey Brough

    Clear and Gentle Stream from Seven Part Songs op 17

    Performer: Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor).
    • Decca 478-9357.
    • Tr 7.

  • Tennyson

    The Dying Swan, read by Anthony Calf

  • 01:03

    Orlando Gibbons

    The Silver Swan

    Performer: The King鈥檚 Singers.
    • SIgnum SIGCD307.
    • Tr 7.
  • 01:04

    Sibelius

    Symphony no. 5 (Op.82) in E flat major, 3rd movement; Allegro molto

    Performer: Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle (conductor).
    • Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings BPHR 150071.
    • Tr 3.

  • Edna St Vincent Millay

    Wild Swans, read by Louise Jameson

  • A.B. 聯Banjo聰 Peterson

    Black Swans (excerpt), read by Anthony Calf

  • Edward Plunkett (Lord Dunsany)

    The Return of Song, read by Louise Jameson

Producer's Note

Mesmerising and mystical, swans are an enduring subject of myth and poetry. This programme drifts serenely and meditatively along rivers and lakes of verse and music. Opening with W B Yeats鈥� 鈥淲ild Swans at Coole鈥� , 鈥渕ysterious, beautiful鈥�, we merge into Rautavaara鈥檚 鈥淐antus Arcticus (Concerto for birds and orchestra)鈥� , which incorporates the calls of wild arctic swans, taking us to Gillian Clarke鈥檚 powerful poem of migration, both avian and human.

Hans Christian Anderson鈥檚 Ugly Duckling is possibly the world鈥檚 most famous cygnet , but we also hear the tragic tale of the Children of Lir 鈥� turned into swans, but with human voices, for 900 years, the story set against a musical picture of the Antrim hills by composer Hamilton Harty.

Owen Sheers鈥� beautiful poem 鈥淲inter Swans鈥� reminds us that swans tend to mate for life, and 聽Lawrence Durrell fleetingly recalls famous swans of poetry and legend - before giving in to the desire to just 聽鈥渋nhale鈥� their beauty 鈥� with a little dose of reality as 聽Edward Cowie鈥檚 music 鈥淢ute Swans鈥� impersonates the jarringly harsh sound of the swan鈥檚 actual voice. The Welsh triple harp gives us 鈥淭on Alarch鈥� 鈥� the swan song, as we 聽hear Humbert Wolfe鈥檚 ecstatic 鈥淟ove is a keeper of swans鈥�. And then we arrive at Tchaikovsky鈥�

A meditation by Rilke on the transition of the swan鈥檚 movement from awkward waddling to serene swimming gives place to a spray of sparkling water droplets 鈥� in verse from Keats and in music from Ravel. Then a bizarre little interlude as we hear the song of the roasting swan from 鈥淐armina Burana鈥� 鈥� swan meat being considered a delicacy in medieval times.Bearing in mind the mating for life for which swans are so famous, Louise Gl眉ck鈥檚 鈥淧arable of the Swans鈥� digs a little deeper into how that long standing relationship may or may not play out, and after an energetic reworking of more of Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Swan Lake from the Russian folk ensemble the Terem Quartet, 聽there鈥檚 a 聽taste of Barbra Streisand, and her prima ballerina vignette in 鈥淔unny Girl鈥�.

This programme couldn鈥檛 ignore Saint-Saens鈥� swan from 鈥淐arnival of the Animals鈥�, one of the best loved cello pieces in the repertoire, here swimming together with Villa-Lobos鈥� 鈥淪ong of the Black Swan鈥� 鈥� also for cello.

More mystery and melancholy in Randall Jerrell鈥檚 poem 鈥淭he Black Swan鈥� takes us on to Tennyson鈥檚 鈥淒ying Swan鈥� set against Finzi鈥檚 music 鈥淐lear and Gentle Stream鈥�. 聽Then comes Orlando Gibbons鈥� famous vocal miniature 鈥淭he Silver Swan鈥� and the idea that a dying swan sings beautifully (if somewhat scornfully in this case) 聽at the last.

The finale of this edition of Words and Music takes the last movement of Sibelius鈥� 5th Symphony which was inspired by the sight of sixteen swans - "One of the great experiences of my life!" he wrote in his diary. 鈥淕od, how beautiful." The rustle of the music accompanies the flight of Edna St Vincent Millay鈥檚 wild swans, the Australian poet 鈥淏anjo鈥� Paterson鈥檚 聽black swans, 聽and finally, an epic ending of a world, where the flying swans return the gift of song to the gods鈥β�

Elizabeth Funning

Broadcasts

  • Sun 5 Feb 2017 17:30
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
  • Christmas Day 2019 18:15
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

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