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Rising high

As the musical scale climbs higher, readings by Robert Glenister and Maggie Service reveal the hubris of man, surging passion and soaring birds.

We are rising high this week, scaling the heights of skyscrapers and bell towers, and reaching to the heavens. As the musical scale glides upwards, birds soar, men overreach, and passions transcend.

The tower of Babel is brought low and a rising balloon signals disaster in the opening of Ian McEwan鈥檚 Enduring Love. The mounting hubris of man is captured by William Golding and Mary Shelley, while Ayn Rand鈥檚 hero stands aloft, above the New York skyline. But there鈥檚 the quicksilver of Gerald Manley Hopkins鈥� windhover and Percy Bysshe Shelley鈥檚 skylark. And the pure joy of bounding magical clouds for Tove Jansson鈥檚 Moomintroll and friends.

George Frideric Handel and Gregorio Allegri sing their praises to God above, while Vincenzo Bellini鈥檚 soaring soprano Norma prays to the moon goddess. There are otherworldly airs from Judith Weir, Miles Davis, and Igor Stravinsky. And the group Franz Ferdinand play with the musical conundrum, the Shepard scale illusion in Always Ascending.

The readers are Robert Glenister and Maggie Service.

Producer: Katy Hickman

READINGS:
John Gillespie Magee Jr - High flight
Carol Ann Duffy - Rapture
King James Bible - Genesis
Emily Dickinson 鈥� We never know
William Golding - The Spire
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Ayn Rand - The Fountainhead
John Dos Passos - Manhattan Transfer
Stephen Spender - The Pylons
Imtiaz Dharker - Ringing the Changes
Irving Stone - Agony + Ecstasy
Baysan, U. and Macpherson, F - Shepard Tone Illusion
Ian McEwan - Enduring Love
Langston Hughes - Mother to Son
JG Ballard - High Rise
Seamus Heaney - The Skylight
Nicola Lamb - Sift: The Elements of Great Baking
Tove Jansson - Finn Family Moomintroll
Gerald Manley Hopkins - The Windhover
Percy Bysshe Shelley - To a Skylark (excerpt)

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Sep 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

    Richard Strauss

    Also Sprach Zarathustra

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Karl B枚hm.
    • Richard Strauss: Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Bohm: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30.
    • Deutsche Grammophon 423 4882.
    • Tr1.

  • John Gillespie Magee Jr

    High flight, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:03

    Igor Stravinsky

    Fireworks Op.4

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Antal Dor谩ti. Conductor: Antal Dor谩ti.
    • Stravinsky: Orchestra Works.
    • Mercury Living Presence 4320122.
    • Tr1.

  • Carol Ann Duffy

    Rapture, read by Maggie Service

  • King James Bible

    Extract from Genesis 11, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:08

    George Frideric Handel

    Messiah: No.42, Hallelujah chorus

    Polyphony (choir), Britten Sinfonia, Stephen Layton (cond)

    • Messiah: No 42, Hallelujah chorus.
    • Hyperion CDA67800.
    • Tr21.

  • Mary Shelley

    Extract from Frankenstein, read by Maggie Service

  • 00:12

    Johannes Brahms

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: I. Allegro non troppo

    Performer: Simon Trpceski. Orchestra: WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. Conductor: Cristian M膬celaru.
    • Brahms:Piano Concertos.
    • Linn Records CKD 732.
    • S2 T1.

  • Ayn Rand

    Extract from The Fountainhead, read by Maggie Service

  • 00:18

    Shirley Bassey

    I'm Shooting High

    • Shirley.
    • EMI 7243 8 56474 2 0.
    • S1 Tr11.

  • William Golding

    Extract from The Spire, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:20

    Gregorio Allegri

    Miserere mei Deus (psalm 51) for 9 voices

    Choir: Tallis Scholars. Conductor: Peter Phillips.
    • Allegri: Miserere.
    • Gimell CDGIM639.
    • Tr1.

  • Emily Dickinson

    We never know how high we are, read by Maggie Service

  • 00:23

    Hannah Peel

    Sunrise Through The Dusty Nebula

    Performer: Tubular Brass, Hannah Peel (synthesisers).
    • Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia.
    • My Own Pleasure MOP08CD.
    • Tr2.

  • John Dos Passos

    Extract from Manhattan Transfer, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:25

    Judith Weir

    Airs From Another Planet

    Performer: Hebrides Ensemble.
    • Airs from Another Planet: Chamber Music and Songs by Judith Weir.
    • Delphian Records DCD34228.
    • Tr16.

  • Stephen Spender

    The Pylons, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:28

    Judith Weir

    Airs from Another Planet

    Ensemble: Hebrides Ensemble.
    • Airs from Another Planet: Chamber Music and Songs by Judith Weir.
    • Delphian Records.
    • 16-19.

  • Imtiaz Dharker

    Ringing the Changes, read by Maggie Service

  • 00:31

    Claude Debussy

    La Cathedrale engloutie (Preludes Book 1)

    Performer: Claude Debussy.
    • Debussy: The Complete Works.
    • Warner Classics 9029573675.
    • Tr4 CD33.

  • Irving Stone

    Extract from The Agony and The Ecstasy, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:37

    Vincenzo Bellini

    Norma Act 1: Casta Diva

    Singer: Ren茅e Fleming. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • The Art of Renee Fleming.
    • Decca 4784446,.
    • T2.

  • Baysan, U. and Macpherson, F. (Eds)

    Extract from The Illusions Index, The Shepard Tone Illusion, (July 2017) read by Maggie Service

  • 00:44

    Franz Ferdinand

    Always Ascending

    Performer: Franz Ferdinand.
    • Always Ascending.
    • Domino Recording Co WIGCD408.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:44

    Franz Ferdinand

    Always Ascending

    • Always Ascending.
    • Domino Records.
    • 1.
  • 00:45

    Heitor Villa鈥怢obos

    As Tres Marias: suite for piano

    Performer: Cristina Ortiz.
    • Villa-Lobos: Piano music: Cristina Ortiz.
    • Decca 4176502.
    • Tr15.

  • Ian McEwan

    Extract from Enduring Love, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:47

    Francis Poulenc

    Flute Sonata arr. for orchestra

    Performer: Katherine Bryan. Music Arranger: Lennox Berkeley. Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Conductor: Paul Daniel. Conductor: Paul Daniel. Conductor: Paul Daniel.
    • Liebermann: Flute Concerto.
    • LINN Records CKD367.
    • Tr5.

  • Langston Hughes

    Mother to Son, read by Maggie Service

  • JG Ballard

    Extract from High Rise, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:53

    Miles Davis

    Julien Dans L鈥檃scenseur, from the soundtrack of Lift to the Scaffold

    Performer: Miles Davis.
    • Jazz Track.
    • JAZZBEAT 254.
    • S1 Tr4.

  • Seamus Heaney

    The Skylight, read by Robert Glenister

  • 00:55

    Seckou Keita, Catrin Finch

    Dual Rising

    Performer: Seckou Keita (kora), Catrin Finch (harp).
    • Echo.
    • Bendigedig BEND19.
    • Tr4.

  • Nicola Lamb

    Extract from Yeasts and Ferments, read by Maggie Service

  • 00:59

    Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k

    Symphony No.9 In E Minor, Op.95 'From The New World': II. Largo

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
    • Symphony No.9 In E Minor, Op.95 'From The New World'.
    • Deutsche Gramophone 00028943900928.
    • Tr2.

  • Tove Jansson, translated by Elizabeth Portch

    Extract from The Finn Family Moomintroll, read by Maggie Service

  • 01:04

    Richard M Sherman, Robert B Sherman

    Let鈥檚 Go Fly A Kite

    Performer: David Tomlinson, Dick van Dyke.
    • Mary Poppins (original soundtrack).
    • Walt Disney Records 60615-7.
    • Tr17.
  • 01:06

    Sally Beamish

    The Naming of Birds: no3, Carduelis Cannabina, Emberiza Calendra

    Performer: Lumas Winds.
    • The Naming of Birds.
    • Chaps Hill Records CHRCD170.
    • Tr20.

  • Gerald Manley Hopkins

    The Windhover, read by Robert Glenister

  • 01:08

    Ralph Vaughan Williams

    The Lark Ascending

    Performer: Nicola Benedetti. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Litton.
    • Fantasie.
    • Deutsche Grammophon 4763399.
    • Tr2.

  • Percy Bysshe Shelley

    To a skylark, read by Maggie Service

Broadcast

  • Sun 21 Sep 2025 18:00
    蜜芽传媒 Radio 3

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