Words and Music - 04/05/2008

With Alison Steadman and Timothy West reading a selection of verse on the theme of food and drink. Producers Notes This edition of Words and Music is about Food. Mussels, Chocolates, Anchovies, Peaches, Whipped Cream, Oysters, Trout, Pies and Eggs are just some of the ingredients. Alison Steadman reads Moules a la Mariniere by Elizabeth Garrett, Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath and Blackberry-picking by Seamus Heaney. Timothy West's poems include Hillaire Belloc's On Food, Elizabeth Bishop's The Fish and Ben Jonson's Inviting a Friend to Supper. Interwoven with the poetry is music such as Schubert's Trout Quintet, the chorus in Strauss' Die Fledermaus where the guests look forward to supper, and Biber's Mensa Sonora (music suitable to accompany aristocratic dining) There's the "Rice aria" from Rossini's Tancredi, which the food loving composer apparently composed whilst waiting for his risotto to cook and Nellie Melba, the soprano who gave her name to the Peach Melba, sings the Melba Waltz. Plus popular food music by Fats Waller (Hold Tight I Want Some Seafood Mama), The Beatles (Savoy Truffle) and Bob Dylan (Country Pie). Perhaps the most peculiar choice is a medieval song about eggs Tim Prosser (producer) Details of readings and music JOHANN HERMANN SCHEIN Allemande from Banchetto Musicale No 2 in D Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall Tr 10 CDC 7492242 JOHN UPDIKE Food Alison Steadman (reader) JOHANN STRAUSS II A Supper-party's in store for us tonight Die Fledermaus Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus Herbert von Karajan CD 2 tr 1 EMI 5670742 BEN JONSON Inviting a Friend to Supper Timothy West (reader) HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VON BIBER Mensa Sonora (music suitable to accompany aristocratic dining) The Purcell Quartet Tr 4 Chandos 0748 ANON Peas Alison Steadman (reader) NABOKOV A Literary Dinner Timothy West (reader) HOLD TIGHT (I WANT SOME SEAFOOD MAMA) Fats Waller SEAMUS HEANEY Blackberry-picking Alison Steadman (reader) MATTHIAS GREITER Von Eyren (On Eggs - goose eggs, ducks' eggs, crabs' eggs, pigeon's eggs.) The Orlando Consort Tr 20 HMU 907314 ELIZABETH GARRETT The Fish Timothy West (reader) FRANZ SCHUBERT Andantino from The Trout Quintet in A (Op.114) Alfred Brendel and the Cleveland Quartet Tr 4 Philips 420 907 2 SYLVIA PLATH Mushrooms Alison Steadman (reader) ERIK SATIE Last movement from 3 Pieces of Pear Dominique Merlet and Jean-Pierre Armengaud (pianos) Tr 17 MAN 4882 LOUIS SIMPSON Chocolates Timothy West (reader) GEORGE HARRISON Savoy Truffle (from the White Album) The Beatles CD 2 tr 10 CDS 746443 8 CAROL ANN DUFFY Chocs Alison Steadman (reader) TCHAIKOVSKY Chocolate (Spanish Dance) The London Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons CD 2 tr 3 CDS 7546002 WALLACE STEVENS A Dish of Peaches in Russia Timothy West (reader) ARDITI Se saran rose (The Melba Waltz) Nellie Melba (soprano) Tr 16 Naxos 8 110335 HILAIRE BELLOC On Food Timothy West (reader) ROSSINI Anchovies (from the Quatre Hors-D'Oeuvre) Lorenzo Bavaj (piano) Tr 6 GB 50122 RUTH PITTER Damson Boy Alison Steadman (reader) BOB DYLAN Country Pie SEAMUS HEANEY Oysters Timothy West (reader) TELEMANN Tafelmusic (Table Music) Conclusion in D major Musica Antiqua Koln, Reinhard Goebel ELIZABETH GARRETT Moules a la Mariniere Alison Steadman (reader) ROSSINI Di tanti palpiti (Rice Aria from Tancredi) Vesselina Kasarova (soprano) Munich Radio Orchestra, Roberto Abbado Tr 6 RCA 09026 683492 CZESLAW MILOSZ The Dining Room Timothy West (reader) SAINT-SAENS The Wedding Cake Waltz Jean-Philippe Collard (piano) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andre Previn Tr 4 EMI CDC 797572 CHRISTOPHER SMART Epistle to Mrs Tyler Timothy West (reader) ANON Si quis amat (A medieval round on table manners) The Orlando Consort Tr 7 HMU 907314 OSIP MANDELSTROM Ice Cream Alison Steadman (reader) RICHARD STRAUSS Dance of the Small Pralines from Schlagobers (Whipped Cream) Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi Tr 7 CHAN 9606