Dungeons and Dragons
From George and the Dragon, the Welsh dragon and Puff the Magic Dragon to dungeons in The Pilgrim's Progress, Coleridge and Emily Bront毛. With music by Mozart, Wagner and Tan Dun.
The Lambton Worm - a folk song from north east England; part of the score composed by Tan Dun for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Mozart's serpent in the opera The Magic Flute and Wagner's conjuring of the dragon Fafner in Siegfried form part of the music for today's episode inspired by the title of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. The readings evoking dark dungeons and dastardly dragons range from the dragon Smaug in Tolkien's The Hobbit, to the song Puff the Magic Dragon and the poem by Ogden Nash which inspired that song, to the Welsh dragon in The Mabinogion. For dungeons we turn to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and poems by Coleridge, Emily Bront毛, and Andrew Marvell's depiction of the soul imprisoned in the dungeon of the body in A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body. We also hear part of Jon Peterson's new book about the game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Our readers are Manjinder Virk and Colin Tierney.
The British Library is currently staging an exhibition exploring Fantasy (until 25 Feb 2024) and on the Free Thinking programme website and available on 蜜芽传媒 Sounds are many discussions of fantasy literature by Ursula Le Guin, Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, Beowulf, the Odyssey, CS Lewis.
Producer: Nick Holmes
READINGS:
J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit
U. A. Fanthorpe Not my Best Side
Siegfried Sassoon The Dragon and the Undying
William Wordsworth Even as a Dragon's Eye
John Bunyan The Pilgrim's Progress
Jon Peterson Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons
Middle Welsh trans. Lady Charlotte Guest The Mabinogion: The Story of Lludd and Llevelys
Charles Dickens The Signal-Man
Emily Bront毛 The Prisoner
Chris Wormell George and the Dragon
Andrew Marvell A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body
Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Dungeon
Matthew Gregory Lewis The Monk
Ogden Nash The Tale of Custard the Dragon
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit read by Colin Tierney
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00:01Howard Shore
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack); Smaug
Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Conrad Pope.- Decca : 00602537617043.
- 15.
U. A. Fanthorpe
Not my Best Side read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
00:08Gao Hong
Flying Dragon
Performer: Gao Hong.- INNOVA: INNOVA595.
- 3.
Siegfried Sassoon
The Dragon and the Undying read by Colin Tierney
![]()
00:11Derek Bourgeois
Red dragon
Ensemble: Ad Hoc Orchestra. Conductor: Derek Bourgeois. Conductor: Derek Bourgeois.- HAFABRA Music : 429198.
- 2.
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00:16Trad. (County Durham)
The Lambton Worm
Performer: The Mitford Family.- Mitford Music: MM09.
- 1.
William Wordsworth
Even as a Dragon聮s Eye read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
00:20Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflote; Act 1, no.1; Zu Hilfe! zu Hilfe!
Orchestra: London Classical Players. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Singer: Nancy Argenta. Singer: Eirian James. Singer: Catherine Denley. Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington.- Virgin Veritas : 48 20732.
- 2.
John Bunyan
The Pilgrim's Progress read by Colin Tierney
![]()
00:25Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonore; Prisoners' Chorus
Choir: Monteverdi Choir. Orchestra: Orchestre R茅volutionnaire et Romantique. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.- Archiv : 453461-2.
- 2.
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00:00L眉 Wencheng
Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake
Performer: Lang Lang.- DG: 477-6229.
- 5.
Jon Peterson
Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons read by Manjinder Virk
Jon Peterson
Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
00:37Merle Travis
Dark As A Dungeon
Performer: Johnny Cash.- Columbia COL 517461 2.
- 16.
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00:40Richard Wagner
Siegfried: Prelude to Act II
Orchestra: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.- TELDEC : 4509-94193 2.
- 1.
Middle Welsh trans. Lady Charlotte Guest
The Mabinogion: The Story of Lludd and Llevelys read by Manjinder Virk
Charles Dickens
The Signal-Man read by Colin Tierney
![]()
00:48Ethel Smyth
The Prison; The First Glimmer of Dawn
Orchestra: The Experiential Orchestra. Conductor: James Blachly.- CHANDOS : CHSA5279.
- 7.
Emily Bront毛
The Prisoner read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
00:51John Powell
How to Train Your Dragon; Not so Fireproof
Performer: Studio Orchestra.- Var猫se Sarabande : 00030206701203.
- 12.
Chris Wormell
George and the Dragon read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
00:54Tan Dun
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Orchestra: Shanghai National Orchestra. Performer: Yo鈥怸o Ma. Conductor: Tan Dun.- Sony Classical :SK 89249.
- 1.
Andrew Marvell
A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body read by Manjinder Virk and Colin Tierney
![]()
00:59Henry Purcell
In the black, dismal dungeon of despair
Composer: Henry Purcell. Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten. Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Performer: Graham Johnson. Performer: Graham Johnson.- CHANDOS : 67062.
- 10.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Dungeon read by Colin Tierney
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01:05Stuart Chatwood
Darkest Dungeon (Original Video Game Soundtrack)
Performer: Stuart Chatwood.- Stuart Chatwood.com : download.
- 1.
Matthew Gregory Lewis
The Monk read by Colin Tierney
Ogden Nash
The Tale of Custard the Dragon read by Manjinder Virk
![]()
01:09Peter, Paul and Mary
Puff, the Magic Dragon
- INNOVA: INNOVA595.
- 6.
Broadcasts
- Sun 28 Nov 2021 17:30蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
- Sun 10 Dec 2023 17:30蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
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