A Christmas Menagerie
From 'a partridge in a pear tree' to Dylan Thomas鈥檚 cats, UA Fanthorpe鈥檚 donkey, Scrooge鈥檚 turkey and Bach鈥檚 Sheep May Safely Grace to Sheep sung about in the film White Christmas.
Robert Lindsay and Shiloh Coke perform prose and poetry alongside music depicting a range of animals and birds: from 鈥渁 partridge in a pear tree鈥� to Dylan Thomas鈥檚 cats, UA Fanthorpe鈥檚 donkey to Scrooge鈥檚 turkey, Bach鈥檚 Cantata Sheep May Safely Grace to Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep from the film White Christmas, Chuck Berry鈥檚 Run Rudolph Run, to Haydn鈥檚 symphony No. 83, 'The Hen'.
Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo
Free Thinking broadcast a discussion about Bestiaries and animals which you can find on 大象传媒 Sounds and available to download as an Arts and Ideas podcast.
Readings
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
Christmas Every Day and Other Stories, by William Dean Howells
Help Wanted, by Timothy Tocher
The Christmas Angel, by Abbie Farwell Brown
The Three Low Masses, by Alphonse Daudet
Talking Turkeys, by Benjamin Zephaniah
Tess of the d鈥橴bervilles, by Thomas Hardy
A Child's Christmas in Wales, a story, by Dylan Thomas (read by the poet)
What the Donkey Saw, by U.A. Fanthorpe
Last on
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
Georgia Mann, 大象传媒 Radio 3
Introduction
![]()
00:01John Rutter
The Donkey Carol
Choir: The Cambridge Singers. Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: John Rutter.- Collegium CSCD510.
- 4.
Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol, read by Robert Lindsay
![]()
00:03John Rutter
The Donkey Carol
Choir: The Cambridge Singers. Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: John Rutter.- Collegium CSCD510.
- 4.
William Dean Howells
Christmas Every Day and Other stories, read by Shiloh Coke
![]()
00:06Chuck Berry
Run Rudolph Run
- Top Tracks 888608327497.
- 15.
Timothy Tocher
Help wanted, read by Robert Lindsay
![]()
00:10Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 83 in G Minor, Hob. I:83 "The hen", III Menuet Allegretto
Orchestra: Orchestre de chambre de Paris. Conductor: Douglas Boyd.- NoMadMusic NMM078D.
- 103.
Abbie Farwell Brown
The Christmas Angel, read by Shiloh Coke
![]()
00:15大象传媒
Sound effects - wind
Performer: N/A.- 大象传媒.
- N/A.
![]()
00:16Adolphe Adam
O holy night (Minuit, chretiens) - noel for voice and keyboard
Music Arranger: Douglas Gamley. Singer: Luciano Pavarotti. Orchestra: National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Kurt Herbert Adler.- Decca 4330102.
- 5.
Alphonse Daudet
The Three Low Masses, read by Robert Lindsay
![]()
00:20大象传媒
Sound effects - bells
Performer: N/A.- 大象传媒.
- N/A.
![]()
00:20Johann Sebastian Bach
Sheep may safely graze, from Cantata BWV 208
Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.- EMI Classics 5689532.
- 2.
Benjamin Zephaniah
Talking Turkeys, read by Shiloh Coke
![]()
00:27Reggie and the Deadbeats
Reggae Christmas
- AW5085505.
- 1.
![]()
00:28Pete Cooper
The Christmas Eve
- SCHOTT MUSIC GmbH & Co KG - Q53074.
- 27.
Thomas Hardy
Tess of the d聮Ubervilles, read by Robert Lindsay
![]()
00:32Trad.
Deck the Halls, arr. for string orchestra
Music Arranger: Bj枚rn Kleiman. Performer: Camerata Tchaikovsky.- Orchid Classics ORC100186.
- 301.
Dylan Thomas
A Child's Christmas in Wales, A Story, read by the author
![]()
00:36Irving Berlin
Count my blessings (instead of sheep)
Performer: Bing Crosby.- AudioSonic Music 1307362839511_AUDS28.
- 97.
U.A. Fanthorpe
What the Donkey Saw, read by Shiloh Coke
![]()
00:39Greg Lake, Peter Sinfield, Sergei Prokofiev
I believe in Father Christmas
Performer: Greg Lake.- Countdown Media GmbH 1307362839511_AUDS28.
- 2.
Broadcast
- Christmas Day 2022 18:00大象传媒 Radio 3
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.
Related Content
