Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Temperatures Rising

Hot landscapes of past, present and future. Raad Rawi and Pearl Chanda evoke summer idylls, parched deserts and dystopian visions through the words of John Clare and Kamala Das.

From John Clare鈥檚 white woolsack clouds to the daydreaming figure under Meleager鈥檚 plane tree, summer days have long been a time for writers to wander into fantasies and idylls.

But summer can be a time for extreme weather too - cathartic storms and raging wildfires burst forth in the music of Vivaldi and the epic accounts of Imru鈥� al-Qais and Cassius Dio. And the fierce sun inspires a particular vividness in the African desert of H Rider Haggard and the noontime scene in southern India that Kamala Das conjures.

These extremes may have had an exotic appeal in the past; but now, they hint at what is likely to become far more familiar, as temperatures rise.

Pack your sunscreen and join readers Raad Rawi and Pearl Chanda in the hot landscapes of past, present and future, with music by Debussy, Orff and Jobim.

Readings:
Sonnet - John Clare
Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt
Still Life with Sea Pinks and High Tide - Maura Dooley
King Solomon鈥檚 Mines - H. Rider Haggard
Wasteland - T. S. Eliot
A Hot Noon in Malabar - Kamala Das
A Something In a Summer鈥檚 Day - Emily Dickinson
The Day-dream - Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Epigram 196 - Meleager
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan - Isabella Bird
On the Idle Hill of Summer - A. E Housman
Hyperobjects - Timothy Morton
A Mancunian Taxi-driver Foresees His Death - Michael Symmons Roberts
Sonnet - Antonio Vivaldi
Ode - Imru鈥� al-Qais
Roman History - Cassius Dio
In A Dark Time - Theodore Roethke

Produced by Chris Elcombe.
A Reduced Listening production for 大象传媒 Radio 3.

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 7 Nov 2021 17:30
大象传媒 Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

Fly Me to the Moon

Next

West Country Dreaming

See all episodes from Words and Music

Music Played

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

  • John Clare - Sonnet

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:01

    Claude Debussy

    Syrinx

    Performer: Emmanuel Pahud.
  • 00:01

    Claude Debussy

    Syrinx

    Performer: Emmanuel Pahud.
    • Sonates & Trio.
    • Erato.
    • 0190295773960.
    • 4.

  • Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting (Opening)

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:05

    Carlos Ni帽o

    Gongs, Cymbals and Bells (excerpt)

    • SpringrainFlight.
    • Leaving Records.
    • LR121.
    • 1.

  • Maura Dooley - Still Life with Sea Pinks and High Tide, from 'The Slivering' (Bloodaxe Books, 2016)

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:07

    Alemu Aga

    The Sacred Names of the Begenna

  • 00:07

    Al猫mu Aga

    The Sacred Names of the Begenna

    • The Begenna of Elders.
    • Laika.
    • 1.

  • H Rider Haggard - King Solomon鈥檚 Mines (excerpt from Chapter 5)

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:12

    Modest Mussorgsky

    The Catacombs (Pictures at an Exhibition)

    Music Arranger: Maurice Ravel. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
  • 00:12

    Modest Mussorgsky

    Pictures at an Exhibition VIII: The Catacombs (Sepulchrum Romanum)

    Orchestrator: Maurice Ravel. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker.
    • Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition - Borodin: Symphony No. 2.
    • EMI.
    • EMI 5 17582 2.

  • TS Eliot - The Wasteland (excerpt)

    Read by Pearl Chanda and T.S. Eliot

  • 00:15

    Ant么nio Carlos Jobim

    God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun

  • 00:15

    Ant么nio Carlos Jobim

    God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun

    • Stone Flower.
    • CTI.
    • 051742.
    • 8.

  • Kamala Das - A Hot Noon in Malabar

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:19

    Isaac Alb茅niz

    El Corpus en Sevilla (Iberia)

    Performer: Alicia de Larrocha.
  • 00:19

    Isaac Alb茅niz

    Ib茅ria Book 3: El Corpus Christi En Sevilla

    Performer: Alicia de Larrocha.
    • Iberia - Navarra - Suite Espa艌ola.
    • Decca 鈥�.
    • 78 0388.
    • 3.

  • Emily Dickinson - A Something in a Summer's Day

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:30

    Anonymous

    Greensleeves to a Ground

    Ensemble: Hesp猫rion XXI. Conductor: Jordi Savall.
  • 00:30

    Hesp猫rion XXI

    Greensleeves to a Ground

    Performer: Jordi Savall.
    • Ostinato.
    • Alia Vox 鈥�.
    • AV9820.
    • 2.

  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Day-dream

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:34

    Edvard Grieg

    Erotikon (Lyric Pieces)

    Performer: Edvard Grieg.
  • 00:34

    Edvard Grieg

    鈥楨rotikon鈥� from 6 Lyric Pieces

    • Recording with Edvard Grieg (piano).
    • 2L.
    • 2L60SABD.
    • 4.
  • 00:37

    Steven Feld

    keafo, morning

    • Rainforest Soundwalks: Ambiences of Bosavi, Papua New Guinea.
    • EarthEar.
    • (696208010622).
    • 2.

  • Meleager, trans. Charles Abraham Elton - Epigram 196

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:38

    John Cage

    Quartet for four percussionists (2nd mvt: Very slow)

    Ensemble: Percussion Ensemble Mainz.
  • 00:38

    John Cage

    Quartet for Four Percussionists, II: Very Slow

    Ensemble: Percussion Ensemble Mainz.
    • Music For Percussion Quartet.
    • Markus Hauke Percussion Projects 鈥�.
    • WWE 1CD 20015.
    • 3.

  • Isabella Bird - Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (excerpt)

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:44

    Miles Davis

    Saeta (Sketches of Spain)

  • 00:44

    Miles Davis

    Saeta

    • Sketches Of Spain.
    • Columbia.
    • 88875111931.
    • 1.

  • Housman - On The Idle Hill of Summer

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:48

    Carlos Ni帽o

    Gongs, cymbals and bells

  • 00:49

    Carlos Ni帽o

    Gongs, Cymbals and Bells (excerpt)

    • SpringrainFlight.
    • Leaving Records.
    • 1.

  • Morton - Hyperobjects (excerpt)

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • Michael Symmons Roberts - A Mancunian Taxi-driver Foresees his Death

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 00:53

    Ennio Morricone

    Harmonica (Once upon a time in the West)

    Performer: Soundtrack.
  • 00:53

    Ennio Morricone

    Harmonica

    • Once Upon a Time in the West - (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
    • RCA.
    • 6.

  • Antonio Vivaldi - Sonnet for 鈥楽ummer鈥� from the Four Seasons

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:55

    Antonio Vivaldi

    Summer (The Four Seasons)

    Performer: Fabio Biondi. Ensemble: Europa Galante.
  • 00:55

    Antonio Vivaldi

    Four Seasons: 鈥楽ummer鈥�, 2nd movt

    Performer: Fabio Biondi. Ensemble: Europa Galante.
    • The Four Seasons.
    • Virgin Veritas.
    • 7243 5 45565 2 4.
    • 2.

  • Antonio Vivaldi - Sonnet for 鈥楽ummer鈥� from the Four Seasons Part 2

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 00:58

    Antonio Vivaldi

    Four Seasons: 鈥楽ummer鈥�, 3rd movt

    Performer: Fabio Biondi. Ensemble: Europa Galante.
    • The Four Seasons.
    • Virgin Veritas.
    • 7243 5 45565 2 4.
    • 3.

  • Imru鈥� al-Qais - Ode (final section)

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 01:02

    Aboud Abdel Aal

    Alal Rimal

  • 01:02

    Aboud Abdel Aal

    Alal Rimal

    • Authentic Instrumental Music by the most famous Arab artists.
    • Orient Records.
    • LPO133.
    • 1.

  • Cassius Dio, trans. Earnest Cary - Roman History (translation): LXII : 17

    Read by Pearl Chanda

  • 01:05

    Carl Orff

    Olim lacus colueram (Carmina Burana)

    Choir: Collegium Vocale Gent. Conductor: Jos van Immerseel.
  • 01:05

    Carl Orff

    鈥極lim lacus colueram鈥� from Carmina Burana

    Choir: Collegium Vocale Gent. Conductor: Jos van Immerseel.
    • Carl Orff: Carmina Burana.
    • Zigzag.
    • ZZT353.
    • 12.
  • 01:09

    Maria Rossi & Kelly Jayne Jones

    Whispering Blackbird/The River Tib

  • 01:09

    Maria Rossi, Kelly Jayne Jones and Sam McLoughlin

    whispering blackbird / the river Tib, Manchester鈥檚 dark CPU

    • Recorded in session for Late Junction.

  • Theodore Roethke - In A Dark Time

    Read by Raad Rawi

  • 01:11

    John Lurie

    What do you know about music, you're not a lawyer

  • 01:11

    John Lurie

    What do you know about music, you鈥檙e not a lawyer

    • Down by Law and Variety.
    • Made To Measure.
    • MTM 14.
    • 1.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 4 Aug 2019 18:15
    大象传媒 Radio 3
  • Sun 7 Nov 2021 17:30
    大象传媒 Radio 3

Featured in...

  • Arts

    Creativity, performance, debate

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.