Words and Music

Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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A journey of discovery, weaving music with poetry and prose read by leading actors.

A weekly journey of discovery, weaving together a range of music with poetry and prose read by leading actors.

Words and Music: Twelve

The Number Twelve

Twelve

BBC Radio 3 - Words and Music, Twelve

Twelve jury members, Norse gods, eggs, tone composition, bar blues and Force 12.

Barbara Flynn and Caleb Obediah read from authors including Joanne Harris and Langston Hughes with music by Richard Strauss and Sun Ra on the theme of the number 12.

Twelve tone music, bar blues, signs of the zodiac, numbers on a clock, eggs in a dozen, members of a jury, Norse gods and goddesses, in a 13th-century French poem: Barbara Flynn and Caleb Obediah read from authors including Joanne Harris, Langston Hughes and William Shakespeare with music by Richard Strauss, Shostakovich and Sun Ra as we explore different takes on the number twelve in this, the twelfth month. 

We encounter Merlin, creator of the Round Table for King Arthur and his 12 knights; Find Loki at the sharp end of two dozen swords in Asgard and attempt to steal a dozen eggs for a Russian Colonel. We hear a couple trying to work out what to do with 13 children and Schoenberg's thoughts on the difficulties of composing 12 tone music.
In Chinese mythology the Monkey King had 12 names. Just as he is freed from being imprisoned under a mountain we find ourselves with Solomon Northup as he recounts his entrapment into slavery.

In the Beaufort Scale, Force 12 is a hurricane and we hear two Artists from either side of the Atlantic describe their experiences of them.
A moment of levity comes next as we hear Langston Hughes' evocative poem Dream Boogie Variation accompanied by Bert Weedon on the 12 string guitar before we return to the post-storm scene of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Olivia seeks news of her brother following a shipwreck.

Finally, the evening draws to a close 'Round Midnight with Sun Ra. 

Readings: 
Michael Drayton: Poly-Olbion
Joanne Harris: The Gospel of Loki
David Benioff: City of Thieves
H.H. Munro: The Baker’s Dozen
Arnold Schoenberg: Style and Idea
Arthur Waley: The Adventures of Monkey
Solomon Northup: Twelve Years a Slave
Francis Beaufort: Beaufort Wind Force Scale
Grace Nichols: Hurricane Hits England (read by the author)
Langston Hughes: Dream Boogie Variation
William Shakespeare: Twelfth Night
Alistair Walker: Rhymes of the Zodiac - Virgo

Produced by Barnaby Gordon.
The photo for this edition of Words and Music is of some of the remaining Twelve Apostles rocks in Australia, just off the Great Ocean Road.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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