Words and Music - Ecstasy

A sequence of music and poetry evoking states of rapture, with readings by actors Michael Elwyn and Eleanor Bron. With works exploring religious ecstasy from John Donne and George Herbert as well as by Olivier Messiaen and Robert Carver. The Romantic obsession with the mind-altering power of the outdoor world is reflected in works by Wordsworth and Schubert. There are also musical evocations of ecstatic feelings in pieces by Scriabin and Thomas Ades, and poetic depictions of the elation felt by lovers in writings by Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson.