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Something Understood

Religion & Ethics

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life

Ethical and religious discussion that examines some of the larger questions of life, taking a spiritual theme and exploring it through music, prose and poetry

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Something Understood: The Beauty of Birds

The Beauty of Birds

BBC Radio 4 - Something Understood, The Beauty of Birds

Mark Tully considers the spiritual inspiration poets and musicians have found in birds.

Mark Tully considers the spiritual inspiration poets and musicians have found in birds. With poetry by Thomas Hardy, George Herbert and Isaac Rosenberg.

As we enter Holy Week, Mark Tully explores birds as symbols of spiritual hope in this episode of Something Understood from 2010. Soaring above the earth, for many poets and composers they have come to represent the soul, freed from the constraints of our earthly form. 

Mark travels to Suffolk to Lakenheath Nature Reserve, and with hobbies soaring in the background, meets nature writer Richard Mabey, widely respected as one of the leading experts on British birds. He’s also the author of "Nature Cure", a book about his recovery from a deep depression, and he talks movingly about his mixed emotions at this time of year, as Spring arrives. 

With poetry by Thomas Hardy, George Herbert and Isaac Rosenberg, and music from Handel to Miles Davis - all celebrating the unexpected joy birds can bring.

Producer: Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

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