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Dungeons and Dragons

From George and the Dragon, the Welsh dragon and Puff the Magic Dragon to dungeons in The Pilgrim's Progress, Coleridge and Emily Bront毛. With music by Mozart, Wagner and Tan Dun.

The Lambton Worm - a folk song from north east England; part of the score composed by Tan Dun for the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Mozart's serpent in the opera The Magic Flute and Wagner's conjuring of the dragon Fafner in Siegfried form part of the music for today's episode inspired by the title of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. The readings evoking dark dungeons and dastardly dragons range from the dragon Smaug in Tolkien's The Hobbit, to the song Puff the Magic Dragon and the poem by Ogden Nash which inspired that song, to the Welsh dragon in The Mabinogion. For dungeons we turn to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress and poems by Coleridge, Emily Bront毛, and Andrew Marvell's depiction of the soul imprisoned in the dungeon of the body in A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body. We also hear part of Jon Peterson's new book about the game of Dungeons and Dragons.

Our readers are Manjinder Virk and Colin Tierney.

The British Library is currently staging an exhibition exploring Fantasy (until 25 Feb 2024) and on the Free Thinking programme website and available on 成人快手 Sounds are many discussions of fantasy literature by Ursula Le Guin, Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, Beowulf, the Odyssey, CS Lewis.

Producer: Nick Holmes

READINGS:
J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit
U. A. Fanthorpe Not my Best Side
Siegfried Sassoon The Dragon and the Undying
William Wordsworth Even as a Dragon's Eye
John Bunyan The Pilgrim's Progress
Jon Peterson Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons
Middle Welsh trans. Lady Charlotte Guest The Mabinogion: The Story of Lludd and Llevelys
Charles Dickens The Signal-Man
Emily Bront毛 The Prisoner
Chris Wormell George and the Dragon
Andrew Marvell A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body
Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Dungeon
Matthew Gregory Lewis The Monk
Ogden Nash The Tale of Custard the Dragon

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 10 Dec 2023 17:30

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • J. R. R. Tolkien

    The Hobbit read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:01

    Howard Shore

    The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack); Smaug

    Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Conrad Pope.
    • Decca : 00602537617043.
    • 15.
  • U. A. Fanthorpe

    Not my Best Side read by Manjinder Virk

  • 00:08

    Gao Hong

    Flying Dragon

    Performer: Gao Hong.
    • INNOVA: INNOVA595.
    • 3.
  • Siegfried Sassoon

    The Dragon and the Undying read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:11

    Derek Bourgeois

    Red dragon

    Ensemble: Ad Hoc Orchestra. Conductor: Derek Bourgeois. Conductor: Derek Bourgeois.
    • HAFABRA Music : 429198.
    • 2.
  • 00:16

    Trad. (County Durham)

    The Lambton Worm

    Performer: The Mitford Family.
    • Mitford Music: MM09.
    • 1.
  • William Wordsworth

    Even as a Dragon聮s Eye read by Manjinder Virk

  • 00:20

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Die Zauberflote; Act 1, no.1; Zu Hilfe! zu Hilfe!

    Orchestra: London Classical Players. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Singer: Nancy Argenta. Singer: Eirian James. Singer: Catherine Denley. Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington.
    • Virgin Veritas : 48 20732.
    • 2.
  • John Bunyan

    The Pilgrim's Progress read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:25

    Ludwig van Beethoven

    Leonore; Prisoners' Chorus

    Choir: Monteverdi Choir. Orchestra: Orchestre R茅volutionnaire et Romantique. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • Archiv : 453461-2.
    • 2.
  • 00:00

    L眉 Wencheng

    Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • DG: 477-6229.
    • 5.
  • Jon Peterson

    Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons read by Manjinder Virk

  • Jon Peterson

    Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons read by Manjinder Virk

  • 00:37

    Merle Travis

    Dark As A Dungeon

    Performer: Johnny Cash.
    • Columbia COL 517461 2.
    • 16.
  • 00:40

    Richard Wagner

    Siegfried: Prelude to Act II

    Orchestra: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
    • TELDEC : 4509-94193 2.
    • 1.
  • Middle Welsh trans. Lady Charlotte Guest

    The Mabinogion: The Story of Lludd and Llevelys read by Manjinder Virk

  • Charles Dickens

    The Signal-Man read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:48

    Ethel Smyth

    The Prison; The First Glimmer of Dawn

    Orchestra: The Experiential Orchestra. Conductor: James Blachly.
    • CHANDOS : CHSA5279.
    • 7.
  • Emily Bront毛

    The Prisoner read by Manjinder Virk

  • 00:51

    John Powell

    How to Train Your Dragon; Not so Fireproof

    Performer: Studio Orchestra.
    • Var猫se Sarabande : 00030206701203.
    • 12.
  • Chris Wormell

    George and the Dragon read by Manjinder Virk

  • 00:54

    Tan Dun

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    Orchestra: Shanghai National Orchestra. Performer: Yo鈥怸o Ma. Conductor: Tan Dun.
    • Sony Classical :SK 89249.
    • 1.
  • Andrew Marvell

    A Dialogue between the Soul and the Body read by Manjinder Virk and Colin Tierney

  • 00:59

    Henry Purcell

    In the black, dismal dungeon of despair

    Composer: Henry Purcell. Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten. Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Singer: Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Performer: Graham Johnson. Performer: Graham Johnson.
    • CHANDOS : 67062.
    • 10.
  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge

    The Dungeon read by Colin Tierney

  • 01:05

    Stuart Chatwood

    Darkest Dungeon (Original Video Game Soundtrack)

    Performer: Stuart Chatwood.
    • Stuart Chatwood.com : download.
    • 1.
  • Matthew Gregory Lewis

    The Monk read by Colin Tierney

  • Ogden Nash

    The Tale of Custard the Dragon read by Manjinder Virk

  • 01:09

    Peter, Paul and Mary

    Puff, the Magic Dragon

    • INNOVA: INNOVA595.
    • 6.

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