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Fly Me to the Moon

Take a trip to the moon. Zawe Ashton and Peter Marinker read transportive poetry from Alice Oswald and Archibald MacLeish.

On 20 July 1969, humans landed on the moon for the very first time. Or was it in fact the first time? Some say that adventurers and inventors have been making the trip to the moon for centuries. Just ask Edgar Allen Poe, who documented Hans Phall鈥檚 journey by hot air balloon. Or listen to Leo拧 Jan谩膷ek, with his opera celebrating Mr Brou膷ek, who made it all the way on a drunken dream. Or read Italo Calvino, whose classic character Qfwfq climbs up there to harvest lunar milk.

The German astronomer Johannes Kepler was born on 27 December 1571. 450 years later Words and Music looks at space exploration.

In this edition of Words and Music you can experience the sensation of ascending to the moon and taking a moonwalk, beholding all the wonders lying in wait on the dark side. Your companions for the expedition are today鈥檚 readers: Zawe Ashton and Peter Marinker.

Readings:
Orlando Furioso - Ludovico Ariosto
Stoned Moon Drawing - Robert Rauschenberg
Moon Palace - Paul Auster
Night - Etel Adnan
The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Phall - Edgar Allen Poe
I am the moon, and you are the man on me - Claire Askew
A True Story - Lucian of Samosata
The Man In The Moone - Francis Godwin
Thirteen Haiku - Yosa Buson
Lady Chatterley鈥檚 Lover - DH Lawrence
There鈥檚 a moon inside my body - Kabir
Letter - CS Lewis
Voyage To The Moon - Archibald MacLeish
Various Portents - Alice Oswald
Aniara - Harry Martinson
Moonset - Carl Sandburg
Bad Moon - Claire Askew

Produced by Jack Howson.
A Reduced Listening production for 大象传媒 Radio 3.

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Mon 27 Dec 2021 18:15
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Genesis

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Music Played

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

  • 00:01

    John Barry

    Moonraker (Flight Into Space)

    Orchestra: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Nic Raine.
    • James Bond Collection.
    • Primetime 鈥�.
    • TVPMCD 808.
    • 3.

  • Ludovico Ariosto translated by William Stewart Rose - Orlando Furioso

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • Robert Rauschenberg - Stoned Moon Drawing

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:04

    Igor Stravinsky

    The Firebird Suite: The Firebird and her Dance

    Orchestra: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Paavo J盲rvi.
    • Petrouchka / The Firebird Suite / Scherzo A La Russe.
    • Telarc.
    • CD-80587.
    • 2.
  • 00:05

    Igor Stravinsky

    The Firebird Suite: Variation of the Firebird

    Orchestra: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Paavo J盲rvi.
    • Petrouchka / The Firebird Suite / Scherzo A La Russe.
    • Telarc.
    • CD-80587.
    • 2.
  • 00:06

    Bobby Womack

    Fly Me To The Moon

    • The Midnight Mover.
    • EMI USA.
    • E2-27673.
    • 12.

  • Paul Auster - Moon Palace

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 00:09

    Leos Jan谩膷ek

    The Excursions of Mr Brou膷ek: II. Moon Waltz

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.
    • Janacek: The Eternal Gospel, Etc / Volkov, Jeffers, Et Al.
    • Hyperion.
    • 67517.
    • 4.

  • Etel Adnan - Night

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 00:15

    Johnny Mercer

    Out Of This World

    Composer: Harold Arlen. Performer: Ran Blake. Performer: Jeanne Lee.
    • The Newest Sound You Never Heard.
    • A-Side Records.
    • 700261470535.
    • 20.

  • Edgar Allan Poe - The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Phall

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:18

    E虅riks Es虒envalds

    Stars

    Ensemble: VOCES8. Conductor: Barnaby Smith.
    • LUX: Voces8.
    • Decca.
    • 4788053.
    • 7.

  • Eudora Welty - One Writer鈥檚 Beginnings

    Read by author (大象传媒, 1987)

  • 00:22

    Rued Langgaard

    Music of the Spheres, BVN 128: VII - IX

    Performer: Inger Dam-Jensen. Ensemble: Danish National Choir. Orchestra: Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Thomas Dausgaard.
    • Langgaard: Music of the Spheres.
    • Dacapo Records 鈥�.
    • 6.220535.
    • 7.

  • Claire Askew - I am the moon, and you are the man on me

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:26

    Ivan Kr谩l

    Perfect Moon

    Performer: Patti Smith. Performer: John Cale.
    • Nostalgia.
    • Ariola.
    • 74321 28525 2.
    • 1.
  • 00:27

    Jacques Offenbach

    Le voyage dans la lune (version for piano)

    Performer: Marco Sollini.
    • Offenbach, J.: Piano Music, Vol. 3.
    • Chandos.
    • 777371-2.
    • 9.

  • Edgar Allan Poe - The Unparalleled Adventure Of One Hans Phall

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 00:33

    Hannah Peel

    Andromeda M31

    Ensemble: Tubular Brass. Conductor: Sandy Smith.
    • Journey To Cassiopeia.
    • My Own Pleasure 鈥�.
    • MOP08CD.
    • 4.
  • 00:35

    Todd Matshikizia

    Back Of The Moon

    Composer: Patrick Williams. Performer: Miriam Makeba.
    • South Africa's Skylark.
    • Nascente 鈥�.
    • NSDCD018.
    • 7.

  • Lucian of Samosata translated by A.M. Harmon - A True Story

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:38

    Paul Lincke

    Frau Luna: Castles In The Air

    Performer: Richard Crooks.
    • Neapolitan Love Song (1924-1933).
    • Naxos.
    • 8120639.

  • Francis Godwin - The Man in the Moone

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • Space Kids CIC, Jessie Lawson (producer)

    A Kid鈥檚 Best Friend

  • 00:41

    George Crumb

    Night of the Four Moons - based on fragments from Federico Garc铆a Lorca: I. La luna est谩 muerta, muerta ...

    Ensemble: Aeolian Chamber Players. Performer: Jan DeGaetani. Performer: Lewis Kaplan. Performer: Paul Tobias. Performer: Erich Graf.
    • Crumb: Voice of the Whale, Night of the Four Moons & Makrokosmos, Vol. 2.
    • Sony Classical.
    • G010002999243Q.
    • 2.

  • Yosa Buson translated by Cheryl A. Crowley - Thirteen Haiku

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:44

    Okkyung Lee

    Dahl鈥�-鈥婽ah鈥�-鈥婫hi = Moon Gliding

    • 顿补丑濒鈥�-鈥婽补丑鈥�-鈥婫丑颈.
    • Pica Disk 鈥�.
    • PICA043.
    • 1.

  • DH Lawrence - Lady Chatterley鈥檚 Lover

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • Kabir translated by Rabindranath Tagore - There鈥檚 a moon inside my body

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • CS Lewis - Letter to sister Penelope (21 October 1946)

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 00:47

    Super Furry Animals

    Colonise the Moon

    • Lazer Beam.
    • Epic.
    • 676011 1.
    • 3.

  • Archibald MacLeish - Voyage To The Moon

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 00:49

    Terry Riley

    One Earth, One People, One Love (from Sun Rings)

    Ensemble: Kronos Quartet. Performer: Sunny Yang.
    • Sunrise Of The Planetary Dream Collector.
    • Nonesuch.
    • 549523-2.
    • 2.
  • 00:53

    Gil Scott鈥怘eron

    Whitey On the Moon

    • The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
    • Bluebird.
    • NL 86994.
    • 3.
  • 00:54

    Nick Ryan

    MACHINE9_161116_SAMPLE_A

  • 00:54

    Sun Ra

    Walking On The Moon

    Orchestra: The Astro Infinity Arkestra.
    • My Brother The Wind, Vol II.
    • Saturn Research.
    • SRA 2000.
    • 4.

  • Italo Calvino - The Distance Of The Moon

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 00:57

    Nigel Clarke

    Gagarin: III. Homecoming

    Orchestra: University Of St. Thomas Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Conductor: Matthew George.
    • Road To The Stars.
    • Innova.
    • 651.
    • 15.

  • Alice Oswald - Various Portents

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 01:02

    Philip Glass

    EOB: Spaceship

    Ensemble: Philip Glass Ensemble. Director: Michael Riesman.
    • A Retrospective.
    • Orange Mountain Music.
    • 0067.
    • 5.

  • Harry Martinson translated by Stephen Klass and Leif Sj枚berg - Aniara

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • 01:04

    This Is the Kit

    Moon

    • Wriggle Out The Restless.
    • Dreamboat Records 鈥�.
    • drmbt 020.
    • 11.

  • Carl Sandburg - Moonset

    Read by Peter Marinker

  • Claire Askew - Bad Moon

    Read by Zawe Ashton

  • 01:08

    Arthur Russell

    This Is How We Walk On The Moon

    • Another Thought.
    • Arc Light Editions 鈥�.
    • ALE 001.
    • 1.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 21 Jul 2019 17:30
    大象传媒 Radio 3
  • Mon 27 Dec 2021 18:15
    大象传媒 Radio 3

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