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A Silver Sea

Readings by Julian Glover and Eleanor Tomlinson range from a plaque on Rockall and Under Milkwood to the Cornish coast. The music includes Britten, Ethel Smyth and Julie Fowlis.

"I must down to the seas again" - the opening words of John Masefield's poem Sea Fever published in 1902. Today's Words and Music follows his suggestion, with readings by Julian Glover and Eleanor Tomlinson, which range from Gerard Manley Hopkins's poem Wreck of the Deutschland, a ship which foundered off the Kent coast in 1875 and Matthew Arnold's On Dover Beach, to Joseph Conrad's autobiographical book The Mirror of the Sea, to Kathleen Jamie's poem The Glass-hulled Boat. The music includes Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave, Flanders and Swann's Rockall, folk tunes by Julie Fowlis and Debussy's La Mer, which the composer wrote whilst staying at Eastbourne. The 大象传媒 Radio 3 Breakfast programme is currently asking listeners for suggestions of music inspired by the coastline of Britain to play each morning.

Producer: Tom Alban

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Jun 2021 17:30
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    John Ireland

    Sea Fever

    Performer: Thomas Allen, Roger Vignoles.
    • Hyperion 66165.
    • Tr1.

  • Frances Fyfield

    From the novel 聭Gold Digger聮 read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:01

    Claude Debussy

    La Mer - II Jeux De Vagues

    Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas.
    • CBS Records MDK 44645.
    • Tr2.

  • John Keats

    From the poem 聭On the Sea聮 - read by Julian Glover

  • Gerard Manley Hopkins

    From 聭The Wreck of the Deutschland聮 - read by Julian Glover and Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:05

    Benjamin Britten

    Four Sea Interludes, Op.33a: IV. Storm

    Performer: London Symphony Orchestra, Steuart Bedford.
    • Naxos.
    • Tr3.

  • Joseph Conrad

    From 聭The Mirror of the Sea聮 - Memories and Impressions, read by Julian Glover.

  • 00:10

    Benjamin Britten

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

    Performer: London Symphony Orchestra, Steuart Bedford.
    • Naxos.
    • Tr2.

  • Inshore Waters - Part 1/4

    An anti-clockwise list of British Inshore waters read by Eleanor Tomlinson and Julian Glover

  • Christina Rossetti

    Poem 聭By the Sea聮 read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:14

    Scottish Pipe tune arr. Julie Fowlis

    Tha mo ghaol air aird a聮 chuain / My Love聮s on the High Seas

    Performer: Julie Fowlis.
    • SKYE SKYECD33.
    • Tr2.

  • My Love聮s on the High Seas

    Verses 1 & 4 of My Love鈥檚 on the High Seas by Julie Fowlis read by Eleanor Tomlinson.

  • 00:17

    Peter Maxwell Davies

    Farewell to Stromness

    Performer: Peter Maxwell Davies.
    • Unicorn-Kanchana DKP(CD)9070.
    • Tr13.

  • Slate, Sea and Sky

    Poem by Norman Bissell read by Julian Glover

  • 00:20

    Michael Tippett

    Over the Sea to Skye - from Choral Images

    Performer: 大象传媒 Singers - 1956 Premier.
    • Signum Classics SIGCD092.
    • Tr11.

  • Kathleen Jamie - 聭The Glass聮hulled Boat聮

    Poem by Kathleen Jamie read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:24

    Felix Mendelssohn

    Overture 聭The Hebrides聮 or Fingal聮s Cave

    Performer: L聮Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Charles Dutoit.
    • DECCA 417 541-2.
    • Tr6.

  • Inshore Waters - Part 2/4

    An anti-clockwise list of British Inshore waters read by Eleanor Tomlinson and Julian Glover

  • Nursery Rhyme - A Sailor went to sea, sea, sea!

    Nursery Rhyme read by Julian Glover and Eleanor Tomlinson.

  • 00:34

    Michael Flanders and Donald Swann

    Rockall - Verse 1

    Performer: The King鈥檚 Singers.
    • EMI EMC 3196.
    • Tr4.

  • Writing on a Plaque on the Island of Rockall

    Plaque read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:35

    Michael Flanders and Donald Swann

    Rockall - Verse 2

    Performer: The King鈥檚 Singers.
    • EMI EMC 3196.
    • Tr4.

  • Comment by Lord Kennet in 1971

    Read by Julian Glover

  • 00:36

    Folk

    R貌in is M铆olta M贸ra (Seals and Whales)

    Performer: Mary Ann Kennedy, Ruth Keggin, Eoghan 脫 Ceannabh谩in.
    • Watercolour Music WCMCD059.
    • Tr2.

  • Inshore Waters - Part 3/4

    An anti-clockwise list of British Inshore waters read by Eleanor Tomlinson and Julian Glover

  • 00:38

    Francis Pott

    Sonata for Viola and Piano (Tooryn Vannin - The Towers of Man)

    Performer: Yuko Inoue, Francis Pott.
    • EM Records EMR CD028.
    • 3.

  • Norman Nicholson - 聭Seat to the West聮

    Poem by Norman Nicholson read by Julian Glover.

  • 00:46

    Mansell Thomas,

    Y M么r'/ The Sea

    Performer: Bryn Terfel, Annette Bryn Parri.
    • Sain SCD9099.
    • Tr8.

  • Night and Morning by R.S.Thomas

    Poem read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 00:48

    John Rutter

    Suite for Strings - O Waly, Waly

    Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, John Rutter.
    • Universal Classics.
    • Tr9.

  • Dylan Thomas - Under Milkwood

    Extract with Captain Cat and Rosie Probert, read by EleanorTomlinson and Julian Glover.

  • 00:53

    Charles Villiers Stanford

    Songs of the Sea, Op.91 No 4 Homeward Bound

    Performer: Gerarld Finley, 大象传媒 National Chorus of Wales, 大象传媒 National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox..
    • Chandos.
    • Tr15.

  • Reasons at Trefusis Point by Julian May

    Poem read by Eleanor Tomlinson

  • 01:01

    Ethel Smyth

    Overture 聭The Wreckers聮

    Performer: Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson.
    • EMI.
    • Tr1.

  • Inshore Waters - Part 4/4

    An anti-clockwise list of British Inshore waters read by Eleanor Tomlinson and Julian Glover.

  • From 聭Moonfleet聮 by J.Meade Falkner

    Extract from Chapter 18 聭In the Bay聮

  • From 聭On Dover Beach聮 by Matthew Arnold

    Extract from Poem read by Eleanor Tomlinson.

  • 01:08

    Henry Wood

    From 聭Fantasia on British Sea Songs聮

    Performer: 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra, James Loughran.
    • 大象传媒 Rado Classics 1565691912.
    • Tr17.
  • 01:10

    Folk song

    Blow the Wind Southerly, British Songs

    Performer: Kathleen Ferrier.
    • DECCA.
    • Tr3.

  • From 聭Sea Fever聮 by John Masefield

    Extract 聭Sea Fever聮 read by Julian Glover and Eleanor Tomlinson.

  • 01:13

    John Ireland

    Sea Fever

    Performer: Thomas Allen, Roger Vignoles.
    • Hyperion 66165.
    • Tr1.

A Silver Sea or a circumnavigation of British inshore waters from Deal to Dover by way of the Highlands and Islands.

The seas that surround the British Isles have been a rich inspiration for composers and writers alike.聽 The variation in their moods from stormy to dazzling calm often provide ways into, or backdrop setting for, reflection and story.聽

The idea of a journey or voyage isn鈥檛 a new one for 鈥榃ords and Music鈥�.聽 If this edition differs it is in the precision of the nautical ambition, to chart and describe a particular geographical route.

It begins, after John Masefield and John Ireland have invited us to take to the water, with a feisty Frances Fyfield heroine being lured to the sea to swim.聽 Her exhilaration and 鈥榝reedom to scream鈥� is picked up by Debussy in the second movement of La Mer 鈥楯eux De Vagues鈥� which he finished while staying at Eastbourne.聽聽 John Keats鈥� invitation to 鈥榝east on the Sea鈥� isn鈥檛 map specific but now, with the accompaniment of Benjamin Britten鈥檚 Storm from his Sea Interludes we regain our course finding ourselves 鈥楧ead to the Kentish Knock鈥� in Gerard Manley Hopkins dramatic sprung rhythm verse evocation of the 鈥榃reck of the Deutschland鈥�.聽 From playful waves to powerful, hurling force, this is the fickle sea that surrounds us and there鈥檚 no-one who captures that shift and change better than Britten.

聽Away from wreck and ravage Joseph Conrad takes us into his world of onboard life in a passage from his autobiographical work 鈥楾he Mirror of the Sea鈥�.聽聽 Conrad finds in the sea, and perhaps more importantly in the ship, the attraction of routine picked up again by another of Britten鈥檚 Sea Interludes, this time 鈥楽unday Morning鈥�.

聽To help navigation I鈥檝e used an anti-clockwise list of the Inshore Sea areas starting from North Foreland and ending the journey with Selsey Bill and North Foreland once again.聽 Now we鈥檙e in the North Sea and Christina Rossetti ponders the 鈥榮heer miracles of loveliness鈥� which include, in a very Rossetti twist, salt.聽 It was tempting to dwell at the mouth of the Tyne or Tees, Wear or Tweed but our next music is a Scottish folksong by Julie Fowlis.聽 Providing a limited translation of the Gaelic breaks all sorts of rules but I wanted to include some of the gentle imagery as well as indulging in the beauty and clarity of the voice and song.

聽Northward we go to the Isles beginning with Orkney and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies playing his own Farewell to Stromness.聽 I鈥檝e heard it described as the portrait of the ferry and it certainly has a wonderful sense of effort and steady sea-bound progress while never losing its lilt.聽聽 Norman Bissell鈥檚 鈥楽late, Sea and Sky鈥� is as much and as little as needs to be said of these places on the rim of the world where 鈥榣ight changes everything鈥�.

聽Hard a port and round to Sir Michael Tippett鈥檚 arrangement of 鈥極ver the Sea to Skye鈥�.聽 The composer never lets us forget that a Sea journey is rarely tranquil, but Kathleen Jamie鈥檚 鈥楾he Glass-hulled Boat鈥� is a moment of calm looking deep and directly down at the lost internal organs that are jellyfish.

聽We鈥檙e heading south now although Mendelssohn was probably heading north on his journey to Staffa and Fingal鈥檚 Cave.聽 The manuscript of this music is held in the Bodleian Library along with records he took while on his journey to Scotland.聽 They suggest that the main theme was inspired more by the boat taking him than the Cave and causeway itself.

聽Those of a nautical bent will be agonisingly aware that we veer horribly off course in heading, at this point, for Rockall.聽 I couldn鈥檛 resist.聽聽 Here it is celebrated in all its Gannet-infested splendour by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann with the help of the King鈥檚 Singers.聽 The reading is from a Plaque fixed to the rock and the grim observation of this desolate place was made by Lord Kennet.

聽Back we come, squeezing between the coast of Northern Ireland and Cumbria, hearing, in a brand new recording, the voices of 鈥楽eals and Whales鈥� by Mary Ann Kennedy, Ruth Keggin, Eoghan 脫 Ceannabh谩in.聽 The song is new but emerges from the Scots Gaelic tradition and is intended to be a haunting call from the Sea by those creatures threatened most by man.

聽The Isle of Man provides another freshly minted piece, this time from the composer Francis Pott.聽 It鈥檚 the third movement of his Viola Sonata played here by the composer himself and Yuko Inoue. The first two movements were inspired by two towers on the Island but this, the last, in the words of the composer himself, 鈥榓dmits of no specific connection to a single place, and accordingly has no subtitle; but its primary content suggested itself during an afternoon walk in perfect weather to the coastal point opposite the so-called Calf of Man.鈥櫬� Surely the feverish rhythms and syncopations speak of wind, sea and spray.

Over on the Cumbrian mainland Norman Nicholson looks out at the dazzle of the sea as the sun sets and wishes it to stay with him in the dark.聽 And then we鈥檙e down to the Welsh coast and a young Bryn Terfel singing 鈥榊 Mor鈥� by Mansell Thomas, the reflections of a beachcomber and observer of the seas 鈥榝ar horizons鈥�.

聽鈥楴ight and Morning鈥� by R.S.Thomas once again has the sea moving from one tempest torn extreme to sun slumbering other.聽 The water, as the following folksong tells us, is wide and things tend not to remain as stable as we might wish. 聽The version of 鈥極 Waly, Waly鈥� here is by John Rutter from his Suite for Strings.

聽And so to the seas sailed by blind Captain Cat, the lynchpin of Dylan Thomas鈥� Llareggub town in Under Milk Wood.聽 Here he鈥檚 beguiled by his one true love, Rosie Probert, who wants him to remember that she saw the very best of him.聽 For all its Welshness I invited Eleanor, fresh from her role as Demelza Carne in Poldark, to give her Rosie a Cornish accent, the better to entice Captain Cat to remember and then forget.聽

聽The turn is now homeward and 鈥楬omeward Bound鈥� from Charles Villiers Stanford鈥檚 songs of the Sea captures that mood to perfection.

聽鈥楻easons at Trefusis Point鈥� brings us to the Cornish coast and Julian May, now a 大象传媒 Radio Producer, playfully remembers his young self at the water鈥檚 edge and a brief confusion between the creatures of the land and the deep, ending with the beautiful image of a seal bounding away like a Labrador.

The Cornish theme continues with Ethel Smyth鈥檚 overture to her opera 鈥楾he Wreckers鈥�.聽 Again the sea is everywhere in its huge variety and her writing and subject invites the second shipwreck of our voyage, this time from the children鈥檚 novel 鈥楳oonfleet鈥�.

聽Rather than fetching up on Moonfleet beach, it鈥檚 to Dover we go and the words of Matthew Arnold hearing in the sea the steady and eternal notes of sadness.聽 The Proms very own humming chorus from Sir Henry Wood鈥檚 Fantasia on British Sea Songs and the very best of Kathleen Ferrier calling for a Southerly wind bring us to shore and an echo and end of John Masefield鈥檚 Sea Fever.聽 The Fever has now worked itself out and the long, and I hope enjoyable, circumnavigational trick is over.

聽Tom Alban

Broadcasts

  • Sun 22 Mar 2015 17:30
    大象传媒 Radio 3
  • Sun 27 Jun 2021 17:30
    大象传媒 Radio 3

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