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The 1940s

Texts and music inspired by the 1940s, with readings by David Haig and Deborah Findlay. Includes Cecil Day-Lewis, Betjeman and Auden, plus Prokofiev, Vaughan Williams and Britten.

David Haig and Deborah Findlay read poetry and prose inspired by the 1940s, including work by C Day Lewis, John Betjeman, WH Auden, Dannie Abse, Simone de Beauvoir, Louis Aragon and Freya Stark, with music by Prokofiev, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Django Reinhardt and Peggy Lee.

Producer: Lisa Davis.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Sun 3 Apr 2011 22:15
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Michael Tippett

    A Child of our Time

    Performer: Cynthia Haymon, Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

    • Chandos 9123.

  • Cecil Day Lewis

    Where are the War Poets? read by David Haig

  • Ilya Ehrenburg, translated from the Russian by Gordon McVay

    Retribution, read by Deborah Findlay

  • 00:03

    Darius Milhaud

    Suite française: Bretagne

    Performer: Georges Prêtre, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo

    • Brilliant Classics 9007.

  • Louis Aragon, translated from the French by Louis MacNeice

    The Lilacs and the Roses, read by David Haig

  • 00:10

    Django Reinhardt

    Manoir de Mes Rêves

    Performer: Django Reinhardt, Quintette du Hot Club de France

    • EMI CDP 7905602.
  • 00:13

    Richard Strauss

    Horn Concerto No.2 in E flat major

    Performer: David Pyatt, Nicholas Daniel, Nicholas Cleobury, The Britten Sinfonia

    • EMI Eminence CDEMX 2238.

  • Stephen Spender

    Air Raid, read by Deborah Findlay

  • 00:22

    Benjamin Britten

    Who are these children?

    Performer: Mark Padmore, Roger Vignoles

    • Hyperion CDA 67459.
  • 00:25

    George Gershwin

    How Long Has This Been Going On?

    Performer: Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman Orchestra

    • Decca 5316884.

  • Alun Lewis

    Goodbye, read by David Haig

  • 00:30

    Richard Strauss

    Four Last Songs

    Performer: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, George Szell, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

    • EMI CDC 7472762.

  • Freya Stark

    The Doodlebug, read by Deborah Findlay

  • 00:36

    Leonard Bernstein

    Symphony No.1 "Jeremiah"

    Performer: Christa Ludwig, Leonard Bernstein, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

    • Deutsche Grammophon 4577572.

  • William Stafford

    At the Bomb Testing Site, read by David Haig

  • 00:43

    John Cage

    And the Earth Shall Bear Again

    Performer: Steffen Schleiermacher

    • MDG 61307812.
  • 00:47

    Kurt Weill

    Like Things Be Like They Always Was

    Performer: Richard Van Allan, Carl Davis, Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera

    • TER Classics 21185.

  • George Orwell

    Animal Farm, read by David Haig

  • 00:52

    Igor Stravinsky

    Symphony in Three Movements

    Performer: Pierre Boulez, Berliner Philharmoniker

    • Deutsche Grammophon 4576162.

  • WH Auden

    Partition, read by David Haig

  • 01:00

    Samuel Barber

    Medea, Op.23

    Performer: Samuel Barber, New Symphony Orchestra of London

    • NAXOS 8111358.

  • Simone de Beauvoir

    The Second Sex, read by Deborah Findlay

  • 01:04

    Charles Williams

    Dream of Olwen

    Performer: Arthur Dulay, Charles Williams and His Concert Orchestra

    • HMV CDHMV6.

  • John Betjeman

    Beside the Seaside, read by David Haig

  • 01:09

    Aaron Copland

    Corral Nocturne

    Performer: Antal Dorati, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

    • DECCA 4482612.

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