Words and Music - Warriors

An exploration of the warrior in poetry and music, from classical heroes to more contemporary soldiers. These are fighting men and women, in their own words to their troops, in their quiet moments alone, and in the eyes of those who love them and sometimes lose them. There is loss as well as triumph, but the only political protest is Bob Dylan's Masters of War. Queen Elizabeth I makes an appearance rousing her troops to repel the Spanish Armada. Hector of Troy leads his men into battle against the Greeks and is mourned later by his father. George Orwell shares his experiences of the Spanish Civil War, and Ivor Gurney's In Flanders aches for the hills of home. Tennyson's King Arthur is the elderly king at the end of his life. Works also include Shakespeare, Christopher Logue, Michael Longley and UA Fanthorpe, with music from Beethoven, Purcell, June Tabor, Bob Dylan, Tchaikovsky and Berlioz. Readings are by Deborah Findlay and Don Warrington.