Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

The Power of the Sun

Mark Tully considers the many faces of the sun from life source to sustainer of life, from fount of cosmic energy to object of worship in both a literal and a metaphorical sense.

The sun is a powerful symbol in many cultures and many faiths. In a programme that investigates what it means to humans in religious, scientific and secular contacts, Mark Tully asks what we mean by sun worship.

He talks to Lakshmi, a sadhvi - or Hindu holy woman - from an ashram in Delhi, about the rituals of sun worship. He also explores the works of physicist John Tyndall and poets Molly Fisk and Emily Bronte on their love and loathing for the sun. There is music from Haydn, Roy Ayers and Sally Beamish.

The readers are David Westhead and Polly Frame.

Presenter: Mark Tully
Producer: Frank Stirling

A 7digital production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 30 Jul 2017 23:30
大象传媒 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

The Time of Our Lives

Next

Freedom

See all episodes from Something Understood

Music Played

  • Joseph Haydn

    Die Jahreszeiten, Part 2: Der Sommer, 11. "Sie steigt herauf, die Sonne"

    Performer: Choir of the Flanders Opera, La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken.
    • Haydn : Die Jahreszeiten.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Roy Ayers

    Everybody Loves The Sunshine

    Performer: Roy Ayers.
    • The Very Best of Smooth Jazz.
    • Universal Jazz.
    • 583-4902.

  • Sally Beamish

    The Imagined Sound of Sun on Stone

    Performer: Sally Beamish.
    • Grammofon.
    • BIS-CD-1161.

  • Davi Sylvian

    Sunlight Seen Through Towering Trees

  • The Dixie Nightingales

    All I Need Is Sunshine In My Life

    • Disturb My Soul - The Stax Sessions.
    • Stax Records.
    • CDSZ086.

  • Carl Nielsen

    Helios Overture Op. 17

    Performer: Esa-Pekka Salonen, Swedish Radio Symphpny Orchestra.
    • Nielsen Symphonien No.4, op.29, Helios Overture, op.17.
    • CBS/Masterworks.
    • MK42093.

Readings

Title: Heat Considered as Mode of Motion听

Author: John Tyndall听

Published by Palala Press

听

听

Title: The North Wind and the Sun听

Author: Aesop听

听

Title: The Bright Field听

Author: R. S. Thomas听

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson

听

Title: Ah! Why? Because The Dazzling Sun听

Author: Emily Bronte听

Published by Poetry Foundation

听

Title: Winter Sun听

Author: Molly Fisk听

From her most recent book of Poetry, The More Difficult Beauty, published by Hip Pocket Press听

听

Title: My Old Village

Author: Richard Jefferies听

Published by Project Gutenberg听

Broadcasts

  • Sun 30 Jul 2017 06:05
    大象传媒 Radio 4
  • Sun 30 Jul 2017 23:30
    大象传媒 Radio 4