Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Recipes

Texts and music about food and drink, with readings by Ben Miles and Emily Joyce. With Dickens, Enid Blyton and Fannie Flagg, plus Martinu, Bernstein and Rodrigo.

A celebration of all things culinary and mixological, from an ancient recipe for chocolate to James Bond's iconic 'Vesper' Martini. Texts come from Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton and Fannie Flagg, while music includes morsels by Martinu, Bernstein and Rodrigo. Recipes, factual and fictional, basic and outlandish, read by Ben Miles and Emily Joyce.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 Aug 2014 17:55

Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Martinu

    La revue de cuisine: Tango

    Performer: St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood.
    • Decca 4336602.
    • 4.
  • Bible

    Verses from Deuteronomy, Luke and Genesis, read by Ben Miles and Emily Joyce

  • 00:03

    Thoman Newman

    Fried Green Tomatoes (soundtrack): Ghost Train

    Performer: Orchester Thomas Newman.
    • MCA MCD10461.
    • 10.
  • Fannie Flagg

    Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:08

    Martinu

    La revue de cuisine: Charleston

    Performer: St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood.
    • Decca 4336602.
    • 6.
  • James Hamilton-Paterson

    Cooking with Fernet Branca, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:14

    Jean鈥怣ichel Jarre

    Lawrence of Arabia (soundtrack): First Entrance to the Desert

    Performer: Philharmonia, Tony Bremner.
    • Silva Screen FILMCD036.
    • 3.
  • Shararazod Eboli

    Recipe for Stuffed Camel, read by Emily Joyce

  • 00:16

    Jean鈥怣ichel Jarre

    Lawrence of Arabia (soundtrack): First Entrance to the Desert

    Performer: Philharmonia, Tony Bremner.
    • Silva Screen FILMCD036.
    • 3.
  • Francois Marin

    Les Dons de Comus (1758), read by Emily Joyce

  • 00:19

    Leonard Bernstein

    La bonne cuisine

    Performer: Roberta Alexander, Tan Crone.
    • Etcetera KTC1037.
    • 10-13.
  • Elizabeth David

    Italian Cooking, read by Emily Joyce

  • Leader Scott

    Tuscan Scenes and Sketches (1888), read by Emily Joyce

  • 00:25

    Benjamin Britten

    Paul Bunyan: Cooks聮 Duet

    Performer: Francis Egerton (Sam), Graeme Broadbent (Ben); Royal Opera, Richard Hickox.
    • Virgin.
    • 7.
  • 00:27

    Carey Blyton

    A Little Frog Music

    Performer: Richard Deering.
    • Apollo Sound.
    • 24.
  • Enid Blyton

    The Magic Faraway Tree, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:30

    Carey Blyton

    Overture: The Hobbit

    Performer: Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Gavin Sutherland.
    • White Line CDWHL2140.
    • 2.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien

    The Two Towers, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:35

    Monty Norman

    James Bond Theme

    Performer: John Barry and His Orchestra.
    • Capitol 72435405542.
    • 1.
  • Ian Fleming

    Casino Royale, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:38

    Shirley Bassey

    Diamonds Are Forever

    • Capitol 72435405542.
    • 17.
  • Charles Dickens

    Recipe for Christmas Punch, read by Ben Miles

  • 00:43

    Bedrich Smetana

    Macbeth and The Witches

    Performer: Radoslav Kvapil.
    • Unicorn-Kanchana DKPCD9152.
    • 1.
  • William Shakespeare

    Macbeth, read by Emily Joyce

  • 00:49

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Macbeth: 聯Finche appelli...聰

    Performer: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, LPO, Lamberto Gardelli.
    • Decca 4218892.
    • 7.
  • 00:56

    Joaqu铆n Rodrigo

    Fantasia para un Gentilhombre

    Performer: John Williams, ECO, Charles Groves.
    • CBS MYK42542.
    • 4.
  • Antonio Colmenero

    A Curious Treatise of the Nature and Quality of Chocolate, read by Emily Joyce

  • 00:58

    Joaqu铆n Rodrigo

    Fantasia para un Gentilhombre

    Performer: John Williams, ECO, Charles Groves.
    • CBS MYK42542.
    • 4.
  • Laura Esquivel

    Like Water For Chocolate, read by Emily Joyce

  • 01:06

    Martinu

    La revue de cuisine: Tango

    Performer: St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood.
    • Decca 4336602.
    • 5.
  • Emily Dickinson

    Recipe for Gingerbread, read by Emily Joyce

  • 01:10

    Bolcom

    Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise

    Performer: Jody Karin Applebaum (sop), Marc-Andre Hamelin.
    • Music & Arts CD729.
    • 25.

Producer Note

If music be the food of love, read on: Words and Music heads to the kitchen (and the cocktail cabinet!)聽


Savoury dishes range from the basic to the outlandish.聽 Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes (which inspired a feature film with a fine soundtrack by Thomas Newman) could not be simpler or more delicious, while one suspects few will be tempted to try James Hamilton-Paterson鈥檚 Otter with Lobster Sauce or a traditional Arabic stuffed camel feast at home!聽 Elizabeth David introduced the very idea of Mediterranean cooking to this country: her evocation of uccelletti, the Italian delicacy of roasted songbirds, feeds on an earlier description from the 19th century.


Enid Blyton meets J.R.R. Tolkien by way of her nephew, composer Carey Blyton: his spiky Little Frog Music gives way to an overture based on Tolkien鈥檚 The Hobbit.聽聽 Further liquid refreshment of the literary sort comes from Ian Fleming鈥檚 iconic 鈥榁esper鈥 martini, concocted in Casino Royale by James Bond himself.聽 There鈥檚 Charles Dickens鈥 own recipe for Christmas Punch, while the Witches鈥 brew from Shakespeare鈥檚 Macbeth is evoked by the music of Smetana and Verdi.


Throughout, Martinu鈥檚 perky jazz ballet La revue de cuisine makes its presence felt, along with Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 La bonne cuisine which sets recipes by Emile Dutoit in Bernstein鈥檚 own witty translations.聽 Along the way, we also hear Maurice Jarre鈥檚 suitably epic soundtrack for David Lean鈥檚 Lawrence of Arabia, Rodrigo鈥檚 Fantasia para un Gentilhombre and the battle of opposing cooks in Britten鈥檚 Paul Bunyan arguing the benefits of soup versus beans.


And for dessert鈥?聽 I hope you left room for some of William Bolcom鈥檚 Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise鈥!

Broadcast

  • Sun 31 Aug 2014 17:55

The hidden history of plant-based diets

The hidden history of plant-based diets

Forget social media influencers - the meat-free movement started with the Victorians.

Books website

Get closer to books with in-depth articles, quizzes and our picks from radio & TV.

Gallery