Words and Music

The great American essayist, Susan Sontag, once said that we all carry two passports - one that allows us into the kingdom of the well and another, less seldom used, which ushers us into the realm of the sick. This week's edition of Words and Music is all about that kingdom of malady - from the famous musical sneeze in Kodaly's Hary Janos suite to the balm of Bach's cantata - Ich habe genug.; from Pinter's description of electroconvulsive therapy to John Evelyn's eye- witness account of the removal of a bladder stone. The readers for this journey into the night-side of life are Rory Kinnear and Anna Maxwell Martin.