Saints and Sinners
Texts and music on the theme of saints and sinners, with readings by Jonathan Pryce and Jenny Agutter. With Shakespeare, Dickens, TS Eliot and Tennyson, and Poulenc and Schoenberg.
Words and music on saints and sinners. With readings by Jonathan Pryce and Jenny Agutter from Shakespeare, Dickens, TS Eliot and Tennyson, and music from Poulenc and Schoenberg.
This edition is about actual saints - such as St Simeon Stylites and St Joan, and about the saintly - such as Amy Dorrit from Dickens' novel who selflessly looks after her father.
We hear about the fall of Th' infernal Serpent from Heaven in Milton's Paradise Lost, whilst one devil writes to another in one of CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters. There's a reading of the poem about sin that inspired Schoenberg's music of the same name, Verkl盲rte Nacht.
And there's music from the final scene of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carm茅lites, when the nuns go to the guillotine during the French Revolution.
Last on
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
The Catechism
Definition of Sin, Jonathan Pryce
The Catechism
Definition of Sin, Jenny Agutter
The Catechism
Definition of Sin, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
00:01Schoenberg
Verkl盲rte Nacht
Performer: Emerson String Quartet, Paul Neubauer (viola II), Colin Carr (cello II).- SONY 88725470602.
- Tr5.
Richard Dehmel
Verkl盲rte Nacht, Jenny Agutter, Jonathan Pryce
St Joan
Bernard Shaw, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:05Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Maid of Orleans
Performer: Academic Choir and Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio and Television, Gennady Rozhdestvensky (conductor).- Melodiya MEL CD 10 02053.
- CD3 Tr10.
CS Lewis
The Screwtape Letters, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
00:13Charles Mingus
Solo Dancer (Stop! And Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!)
- Impulse IMP 11742.
- Tr1.
Cornelius O聮Brien
St Cecilia, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:20Benjamin Britten
Hymn to St Cecilia
Performer: The Sixteen, Harry Christophers (conductor).- Collins 12862.
- Tr 13.
John Dunne
Annunciation, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:24Dmitry Shostakovich
King Lear 聳 The Storm
Performer: Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Michail Jurowski (conductor).- Cappricio 10 397.
- Tr 22.
William Shakespeare
King Lear, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
00:27Il Penseroso
- Chandos CHAN 8900.
- Tr 2.
St Francis of Assisi
Canticle to Brother Sun, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:31Sofia Gubaidulina
The Canticle of the Sun by St Francis of Assisi
Performer: Danish National Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor), David Geringas (cello).- CHANDOS CHAN 10106.
- Tr3-7.
John Milton
Paradise Lost, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
00:38Hans Werner Henze
Prison Song
Performer: Gudrun Pelker (mezzo), Frieder Lang (tenor), Musikfabrik NRW, Johannes Kalitzke (conductor).- CPO 999 192-2.
- 2.
Charles Dickens
Little Dorrit, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:43Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata 'Ich habe genug', BWV 82
Performer: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (mezzo), The Orchestra of Emanuel, Craig Smith (conductor).- NONESUCH 7559796922.
- Tr1.
Alfred Tennyson
St Simeon Stylites, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
00:53Anton Webern
Five Movements for String Quartet Op. 5 聳 First Movement
Performer: Artis Quartett.- Sony Classical SK 48 059.
- Tr4.
George Herbert
Sin (1), Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:56Thomas Attwood
Turn thy Face from my Sins
Performer: Choir of Ely Cathedral, Arthur Wills (director), Gerald Gifford (organ).- CHANDOS CHAN 6603.
- Tr6.
Pedro Casald谩liga
San Romero de Am茅rica Our Pastor and Martyr, Jenny Agutter
![]()
00:01Jean鈥怢uc Ponty
Eulogy to Oscar Romero
Performer: Jean鈥怢uc Ponty.- POLYDOR 817 189-2.
- Tr4.
TS Eliot
Murder in the Cathedral, Jonathan Pryce
![]()
01:06Francis Poulenc
Dialogue de Carm茅lites
Composer: Francis Poulenc. Performer: Orchestre de l鈥橭p茅ra de Lyon, Choeurs de l鈥橭p茅ra de Lyon, London Chorus, Catherine Dubosc (soprano), Brigitte Fournier (soprano). Conductor: Kent Nagano (conductor).- Virgin Classics 0777 7 59277 2.
- CD2 Tr29.
Producer Note
This edition of Words and Music comprises meditations on the theme of Saints and Sinners.
The programme opens with brief definitions of Sin from the Catechism.
The first sin described in the programme is in Richard Dehmel鈥檚 poem, Verkl盲rte Nacht which describes a woman 鈥榗arrying a child鈥� in a state of sin鈥�. We hear part of the music which the poem inspired Schoenberg to write.
The first saint we meet is St Joan, from Bernard Shaw鈥檚 play of the same name, in the speech where she is facing the prospect of imprisonment; this passage leads into music from the final scene of Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Maid of Orleans in which Joan is burned at the stake.
Devils take the stage next 鈥� the older devil Screwtape writing to his nephew Wormword on the nature of sin in relation to the human being (the 鈥榩atient鈥�). Suitably seedy-sounding music from Charlie Mingus 鈥� the Black Saint and the Sinner Lady 鈥� follows.
There are two pieces on the theme of St Cecilia, patron saint of music 鈥� a poem by Cornelius O鈥橞rien and part of Britten鈥檚 Hymn to St Cecilia with words by Auden.
In typically dense, elliptical language, John Donne in The Annunciation, one of John Donne鈥檚 Holy Sonnets describes the child that Mary will have as one 鈥榳hich cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear鈥�.
Music written by Shostakovich for a film version of Shakespeare鈥檚 King Lear leads to a pivotal scene in the play. Lear sees himself as 鈥榓 man more sinn鈥檇 against than sinning鈥� but then turns to the Fool, showing compassion for the first time, 鈥楬ow dost my boy? Art cold?...I have one part in my heart that鈥檚 sorry for thee yet鈥�. This moment of calm and reflection at the heart of the play leads to pensive piano music by Liszt.
Saint Francis is celebrated in his famous Canticle to Brother Sun, illustrated by music from Sofia Gubaidulina.
The theme of imprisonment links the next three items; the rebellious angels in Paradise Lost are thrown out of heaven to dwell in 鈥榯heir Prison ordain鈥檇 in utter darkness鈥�. Henze鈥檚 Prison Song leads into a passage from Dickens in which Little Dorrit tenderly looks after her father William in prison without a thought for herself. The description of her saintly behaviour, wanting nothing for herself, leads to Bach鈥檚 aria Ich habe genung, 鈥業 have enough鈥� or 鈥業 am content鈥�.
Tennyson鈥檚 grumpy, bad-tempered St Simeon Stylites who has sat on a pillar for three decades in the hope of sainthood enduring 鈥楻ain, wind, frost, heat, hail, damp, and sleet, and snow.鈥� His mood is illustrated by music from Webern.
George Herbert鈥檚 meditation on the difficulty of avoiding Sin is followed by Thomas Attwood鈥檚 anthem Turn Thy Face from My Sin.
Finally, the theme of martyrdom, which began early in the programme with St Joan, is explored further. We hear a poem and music about Archbishop Oscar Romero who Pope Francis has just confirmed died as a martyr (1). The fourth knight from TS Eliot鈥檚 Murder in the Cathedral urbanely justifies the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. And the programme ends with Carmelite nuns going to the guillotine during the French Revolution, the final scene from Poulenc鈥檚 opera Dialogues des Carm茅lites, singing as they are beheaded one by one.
Producer Nick Holmes
1.聽聽聽 See
Broadcasts
- Sun 15 Feb 2015 17:30麻豆社 Radio 3
- Thu 28 Dec 2017 17:00麻豆社 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.
Gallery
Related Content
