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The Circus

Clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists, elephants and monkeys and the sound of brass bands, organs and orchestras come together in our poems, prose and music evoking the circus.

Roll up roll up, it鈥檚 time for the Circus. This week鈥檚 Words and Music brings us the thrill of the Big Top. Readers Luke Treadaway and Phoebe Campbell take us through Angela Carter's encounter between a pig Sybil, a strong man and a tiger in Nights at the Circus, via evocations from Dickens, Kakfa and the Goncourt Brothers to the "rapture and admiration" of Just William watching them put up the tent. We'll hear an extract from Seventy Years a Showman by 鈥楲ord鈥� Gorge Sanger and poems celebrating the circus coming to town, with "the monkey and its bear" and "the lion in its lair"; and the "red and white clown." And we experience the thrill of a trapeze artist from Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal.
With music from Khachaturian鈥檚 Masquerade Suite, Les Toreadors from Bizet's Carmen and the haunting Jugglers with Torches by Svein Hundsnes, we also hear Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, the Beatles' song which was inspired by a poster for Pablo Fanque's circuses, as well as Willkommen from Kander & Ebb鈥檚 musical Cabaret and Send in the Clowns sung by Judy Collins.

Producer: Belinda Naylor

Readings:

Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The Circus by Eleanor Farjeon
Margate Circus Poster
After the Circus by Raymond Holden
Amores III by Ovid
The Zemganno Brothers by Edmond de Goncourt
When the Circus Comes to Town by E. Richard Shipp
Billy Smart鈥檚 Circus Poster
Up in the Gallery by Franz Kafka
Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
My Future by Robert William Service
The Museum Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Seventy Years a Showman by 鈥楲ord鈥� George Sanger
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
William Again by Richmal Crompton
The Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan
The Springboard Jump from Odes funambulesques by Th茅odore Banville
The Circus by C J Dennis
Bigtop Circus (Triolet) by Robert Paul Chaney

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Jul 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

    Aram Khachaturian

    Masquerade Suite: V. Galop

    Orchestra: Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko.
    • Oehms Classics OC471, Tr7.
    • Tr 7.

  • Charles Dickens

    Extract from Hard Times read by Luke Treadaway

  • 00:04

    Karl King

    Barnum & Bailey's Favourite

    Ensemble: South Shore Concert Band. Conductor: Richard Whitmarsh.
    • Whitmarsh Recordings SOTC 201, Tr9.

  • Eleanor Farjeon

    The Circus read by Phoebe Campbell

  • Circus Poster

    Margate Circus read by Richard Woska

  • 00:08

    Stephen Deazley

    The Circus

    Choir: NYCoS National Girls Choir. Conductor: Christopher Bell.
    • Signum Classics SIGCD440, Tr19.

  • Raymond Holden

    After the Circus read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:12

    Georges Bizet

    Carmen Suite No. 1 (Arr. E. Guiraud): I. Pr茅lude

    Orchestra: Slovensk谩 filharm贸nia. Conductor: Anthony Bramall.
    • Naxos of America 8.558144, Tr12.

  • Ovid

    Amores (III) read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:15

    John Corigliano

    Symphony No. 3 for Wind Ensemble "Circus Maximus": II. Screen / Siren

    Performer: University of Texas Wind Ensemble.
    • Naxos of America 8.559601, Tr4.

  • Edmond de Goncourt

    The Zemganno Brothers read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:19

    Ken Nordine

    Circus, from Stories for Ways and Means

    • Waxploitation Records.

  • E. Richard Shipp

    When the Circus Comes to Town read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:24

    Sergey Prokofiev

    The Love for Three Oranges Suite, Op. 33b: I. The Clowns

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Litton.
    • Bis BIS-2594, CD4 Tr9.

  • Circus Poster

    Billy Smart鈥檚 Circus read by Richard Woska

  • Franz Kafka

    Up in the Gallery read by Luke Treadaway

  • 00:29

    Sergey Akhunov

    Jazz: The Nightmare of the Elephant

    Performer: Julia Igonina. Performer: Maxim Emelyanychev.
    • Apart茅 AP329. Tr8.

  • Elizabeth Macneal

    Circus of Wonders read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:32

    Igor Stravinsky

    Circus Polka

    Orchestra: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Conductor: Neeme J盲rvi.
    • CHANDOS.
  • 00:37

    Svein Hundsnes

    Shades of Light: I. Jugglers with Torches

    Performer: Laura Mikkola.
    • Grand Piano GP843, TR10.

  • Robert William Service

    My Future Written read by Luke Treadaway

  • 00:39

    Svein Hundsnes

    Shades of Light: I. Jugglers with Torches

    Performer: Laura Mikkola.
    • Grand Piano.

  • Alice Hoffman

    The Museum Extraordinary Things read by Pheobe Campbell

  • 鈥楲ord鈥� George Sanger.

    Seventy Years a Showman read by Luke Treadaway

  • 00:41

    Jehannot de Lescurel

    Double pipes - Virelai (Gracieusette)

    Ensemble: Early Music Consort of London. Director: David Munrow.
    • Warner Classics.
  • 00:42

    Irving Berlin

    Annie Get Your Gun, Act I: Circus Dance ('Ballyhoo')

    Conductor: John McGlinn. Conductor: John McCarthy. Choir: Ambrosian Singers. Orchestra: London Sinfonietta.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Angela Carter

    Nights at the Circus read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:48

    John Lennon, Paul McCartney

    Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!

    Performer: Django Bates, Frankfurt Radio Big Band.
    • Edition Records EDN1094, Tr7.

  • Richmal Crompton

    William Again read by Luke Treadaway

  • 00:51

    Claude Debussy

    Pr茅ludes, Book 1, L. 117: No. 12, Minstrels

    Performer: Hee-Young Lim. Performer: Chuhui Liang.
    • Orchid Classics.

  • Julie Owen Moylan

    The Circus of Mirrors read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 00:55

    John Kander

    Cabaret: Wilkommen

    Composer: Fred Ebb. Performer: Joel Grey. Performer: Harold Hastings. Choir: Cabaret Original Broadway Cast. Ensemble: Cabaret Orchestra.
    • Columbia Broadway Masterworks.

  • Th茅odore Banville

    The Springboard Jump from Odes funambulesques read by Luke Treadaway

  • 01:03

    Claude Debussy

    Preludes,Book II, VI. "General Lavigne" Eccentric. Dnas le style de

    Performer: Alexander Melnikov. Performer: Olga Pashchenko.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
  • 01:05

    Charles Dibdin

    The Warwickshire Lad

    Singer: Jamie MacDougall. Ensemble: English Serenata.
    • Meridian Records.

  • C J Dennis

    The Circus read by Luke Treadaway

  • Robert Paul Chaney

    Bigtop Circus (Triolet) read by Phoebe Campbell

  • 01:09

    Judy Collins

    Send in the Clowns

    • Elektra.
  • 01:10

    Stephen Sondheim

    Send in the Clowns

    Performer: Judy Collins.
    • Elektra K52019, Tr6.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 13 Oct 2024 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
  • Sun 27 Jul 2025 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

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