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Hay Festival 2017

In a special edition recorded at 2017's Hay Festival, Tom Service is joined by composer Richard Sisson and poet Gillian Clarke to discuss the art of setting words to music.

In a special edition of The Listening Service recorded live at this year's Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, Tom is joined by the composer Richard Sisson (at the piano), and poet Gillian Clarke to discuss the art of setting words to music. From the thwarted romance of Lieder to the game-changing musicals of Stephen Sondheim and the era-defining pop songs of Jarvis Cocker, finding the perfect synergy between written word and musical note is an elusive art. Tom and his guests explore just how it's done and by the end of the show they'll have created their own setting live in front of the eyes and ears of the Hay audience.

Part of Radio 3's week-long residency at Hay Festival, with Lunchtime Concert, In Tune, Free Thinking, The Verb and The Listening Service all broadcasting from the festival.

Available now

41 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 Jun 2017 17:00

Music Played

  • Richard Rodgers

    'Oh, what a beautiful mornin' (Oklahoma!)

    Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II. Singer: Bryn Terfel. Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North. Conductor: Paul Daniel.
    • Something Wonderful.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 1.
  • Hubert Parry

    Jerusalem

    Choir: 大象传媒 Singers. Choir: 大象传媒 Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis.
    • TELDEC.
  • Woody Guthrie

    Riding in my Car (Car Song)

    Performer: Woody Guthrie.
    • This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1.
    • Smithsonian Folkways.
    • 2.
  • Dizzee Rascal

    Fix Up Look Sharp

    Performer: Dizzee Rascal.
    • Fix Up, Look Sharp.
    • XL Recordings.
    • 1.
  • Leonard Bernstein

    'America', from West Side Story

    Performer: Rita Moreno. Performer: George Chakiris. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Johnny Green.
    • CBS.
  • George Frideric Handel

    "All we like sheep [have gone astray]" (Messiah, Part II)

    Choir: Chicago Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Georg Solti.
    • Decca.
  • Nina Simone

    I wish I knew (how it would feel to be free)

    Composer: William Taylor. Composer: Richard Lamb. Performer: Nina Simone.
    • The Very Best Of Nina Simone.
    • Sony.
    • 8.
  • Arthur Sullivan

    'With cat-like tread' (from Pirates of Penzance)

    Librettist: William Gilbert. Choir: D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus. Orchestra: D'Oyly Carte Opera Orchestra. Conductor: John Pryce-Jones.
    • THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.
  • Henry Purcell

    What pow'r art thou (King Arthur Z.628)

    Singer: Andreas Scholl. Orchestra: Accademia Bizantina. Conductor: Stefano Montanari.
    • Henry Purcell, O Solitude: Andreas Scholl/Accademia Bizantina.
    • Decca.
    • 6.
  • Franz Schubert

    Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D.774

    Performer: Julius Drake. Singer: Ian Bostridge.
    • Schubert: Lieder.
    • EMI.
    • 14.
  • Leonard Cohen

    Famous Blue Raincoat

    Performer: Leonard Cohen.
    • Closing Time.
    • Columbia.
    • 3.

Broadcast

  • Sun 4 Jun 2017 17:00

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