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Portraits of Suffolk

Readings by Michael Maloney and Miranda Raison from works including Ronald Blythe's Akenfield and novels by Esther Freud and Melissa Harrison, music from Britten to Brian Eno.

Benjamin Britten founded the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts in 1948 and each June the concert halls and exhibition venues at Snape Maltings and local churches host performers and artists.
Words and Music takes as its theme the county of Suffolk. The items are all linked to Suffolk and the Festival with music featured in the very first concert, compositions about the county or by musicians associated with it; and prose and poetry, old and new, describe Suffolk life and landscape from writers born or resident there.

Musically the prime mover behind the Festival, Lowestoft-born Benjamin Britten, of course looms large but there are also other Suffolk composers like the eighteenth century Joseph Gibbs and the contemporary Magnus Fiennes, Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian and Alan Bullard. Plus Michael Tippett, who composed the music for Peter Hall's 1974 film based on the book Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village by Ronald Blythe. Traditional Suffolk folk songs and tunes sit alongside modern pop performers like Ed Sheeran and Nik Kershaw and Brian Eno鈥檚 ambient sounds reflect the county of his birth.

The rivers, coast and even Sizewell鈥檚 nuclear power station have inspired poets like Stevie Smith, John Betjeman, Blake Morrison and Deryn Rees-Jones while prose writers including Brendan Behan, Esther Freud and Melissa Harrison have explored the lives of the people of Suffolk.

The readings are by Orford鈥檚 Miranda Raison and Bury St Edmunds鈥� Michael Maloney.

Producer: Harry Parker

You can find a series of evening concerts recorded at this year's Aldeburgh Festival being broadcast on Radio 3 from Monday to Thursday next week (June 23rd to 26th) and then available on 蜜芽传媒 Sounds. These feature the 蜜芽传媒 Symphony Orchestra, 蜜芽传媒 Singers and a piano trio.

READINGS:
Alun Lewis Dawn on the East Coast
Stevie Smith The River Deben
W G Sebald Benacre Broad from The Rings of Saturn
Esther Freud from The Sea House
Ronald Blythe William Russ, Gravedigger from Akenfield
Deryn Rees-Jones Midnight Beach at Sizewell B
George Crabbe Peter Grimes from The Borough Letter XXII
Bernard Barton Dunwich
Edward Thomas Dunwich January 15th 1908 from a letter to Gordon Bottomley
Melissa Harrison from All Among the Barley
Trad. Black Shuck (Bungay)
Brendan Behan from Borstal Boy
John Impit Lushington (Quill) Gleaning Time in Suffolk
Emily Howes from The Painter鈥檚 Daughters
John Betjeman Felixstowe or The Last of Her Order
Jean Ingelow The Waveney
Maggie Hemingway from The Bridge
Blake Morrison Covehithe

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 22 Jun 2025 18:00
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

  • 00:01

    Benjamin Britten

    Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a: II. Sunday Morning

    Orchestra: Ulster Orchestra. Conductor: Vernon Handley.
    • Chandos.

  • Dawn on the East Coast

    Alun Lewis Read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:04

    Magnus Fiennes

    Hymn

    Performer: BOND.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..

  • Stevie Smith

    The River Deben, read by Miranda Raison

  • 00:09

    Tom Rogerson & Brian Eno

    Idea of Order at Kyson Point

    • Dead Oceans.
  • 00:11

    Ed Sheeran

    Castle On The Hill

    • Atlantic Records UK.
  • 00:12

    2CELLOS

    Castle on the Hill

    • Dedicated (Extended Edition).
    • Masterworks.
    • 4.

  • W G Sebald

    Benacre Broad from The Rings of Saturn, read by Michael Maloney

  • Esther Freud

    from The Sea House, read by Miranda Raison

  • 00:16

    Michael Tippett

    Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..

  • Ronald Blythe

    William Russ, Gravedigger from Akenfield, read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:22

    Benjamin Britten

    Four Sea Interludes Op. 33a: I. Dawn

    Performer: Anna Lapwood.
    • Signum Records.

  • Deryn Rees-Jones

    Midnight Beach at Sizewell B, read by Miranda Raison

  • George Crabbe

    Peter Grimes from The Borough (Letter XXII) read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:26

    Brian Eno

    Dunwich Beach, Autumn, 1960 (Remastered 2004)

    • EMI Marketing.

  • Bernard Barton

    Dunwich, read by Michael Maloney

  • Edward Thomas

    Dunwich January 15th 1908 from a letter to Gordon Bottomley, read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:29

    George Frideric Handel

    Organ Concerto in D Minor, Op 7, No. 4

    Performer: Karl Richter.
    • Sunday Club Records.

  • Melissa Harrison

    from All Among the Barley, read by Miranda Raison

  • 00:33

    Benjamin Britten

    Billy Budd, Op. 50, Act II Scene 4: Interlude

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
    • Chandos 842623 Tr 17.

  • Trad.

    Black Shuck (Bungay), read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:34

    Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian

    A Dancing Place (Scherzo)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fran莽ois鈥怷avier Roth.
    • The Panufnik Legacies III Tr 3.
    • LSO Live LSO5092.
  • 00:38

    Alice Russell

    Humankind

    • Humankind Tr 1.
    • Tru Thoughts 5060205151797.

  • Brendan Behan

    from Borstal Boy, read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:41

    Oscar Woods

    Oh Joe! The Boat Is Going Over

    • Hidden English Tr 16.
    • Topic TSCD 600.
  • 00:44

    Fred Whiting

    Who Owns The Game?

    • Who Owns The Game? Tr 20.
    • Veteran VT130CD.
  • 00:47

    Joseph Gibbs

    Sonata in D minor Op1 No1 Aria Andante

    Performer: The Locatelli Trio.
    • English 18th-Century Violin Sonatas (English Orpheus 13) Tr 12.
    • Hyperion 00602458155006.

  • Emily Howes

    from The Painter鈥檚 Daughters, read by Miranda Raison

  • John Betjeman

    Felixstowe or The Last of Her Order, read by Michael Maloney

  • 00:54

    Nicholas Kershaw

    So Quiet

    Performer: Nik Kershaw.
    • The Riddle (Extended Version) S2 Tr 6.
    • UMC CMCREP2024.
  • 00:57

    Henry Purcell

    Chacony in G minor Z 730

    Performer: Emerson String Quartet.
    • Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell Tr 1.
    • UMC - Decca Gold 00028948152285.

  • Jean Ingelow

    The Waveney, read by Miranda Raison

  • Maggie Hemingway

    from The Bridge Read by Miranda Raison

  • 01:03

    Alan Bullard & Joanna Borrett

    Reflections on the River Stour

    • From his YouTube channel: Counterpoint@bullardmusic.

  • Blake Morrison

    Covehithe, read by Michael Maloney

  • 01:07

    Benjamin Britten

    Saint Nicolas, Op. 42 - Nicolas and the Pickled Boys

    Singer: Peter Pears. Performer: Ralph Downes. Choir: Aldeburgh Festival Choir. Choir: Boys From The Choir Of St. Mary-Le-Tower, Ipswich. Orchestra: Aldeburgh Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
    • Britten: St.Nicolas, Op.42 Tr 7.
    • Decca 4756156.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 16 Jun 2024 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
  • Sun 22 Jun 2025 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

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