Twins and doppelgangers
From Castor and Pollux to the Kray twins to Tweedledum and Tweedledee, twin cities, twin towers, uncanny likenesses and shadows. The readers are Tracy-Ann Oberman and Don Gilet.
The involuntary double-take occasioned by seeing two people who look exactly alike or, imagine this, of coming face to face with your own likeness. This edition of Words and Music focuses on twins and doppelgangers. Lewis Carroll’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee rub shoulders with Carol Ann Duffy’s Kray Sisters, while Romulus and Remus are brought to life by the European Saxophone Ensemble, and the Ashvins, twin gods from Hindu mythology, sing to each other in Ravi Shankar’s opera Sukanya. The doppelganger appears in Schubert’s chilling and tragic song of the same name, while Imtiaz Dharker reveals our doubles who lurk in the pages of fiction. The likeness that that is always near at hand – our shadow – is sung about by Judy Garland and comes alarmingly to life in a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Another pair of twins – the twin cities of Cork and Coventry - are celebrated in verse by Raef Boylan and musically by Seán Ó Riada and Benjamin Britten respectively. The readers are Tracy-Ann Oberman and Don Gilet.
Readings and *Music
*Harold Budd – Twins
Percy Bysshe Shelley - ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖr's Hymn To Castor And Pollux
Percy Bysshe Shelley – Prometheus Unbound
*Maciej Małecki - Europa: Romulus and Remus
Lewis Carroll – Alice Through the Looking-Glass
*Otis Spann & Muddy Waters – Look Like Twins
Charles Dickens – Nicholas Nickelby
*Frédéric Devreese - Gemini, Suite for Double Orchestra : Dance of the Twins
Carol Ann Duffy – The Kray Sisters
*Miklos Rozsa – Twins
Hans Christian Andersen – The Shadow
*Judy Garland – Me and My Shadow
Elizabeth Jennings – The Child and the Shadow
*Seán Ó Riada - Port na bPúcaÃ
Raef Boylan – Be Rightly Proud
*Benjamin Britten – War Requiem, Op. 66: I. (a) Requiem aeternam. "Requiem aeternam"
*William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops III - dlp 4.3
Grace Schulman – Because
*Richard Rijnvos - Manhattan Square Dances (for two identical orchestras): Washington Square Dance
John Burnside – The man who was answered by his own self
*Franz Schubert - Schwanengesang, D. 957: XIII. Der Doppelgänger
Imtiaz Dharker – Double
*Jaco Pastorius – Twins
Ted Hughes – Gaudete
*Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for 2 Cellos in G Minor, RV 531 (Arr. M. Prooijen for Cello, Double Bass & Chamber Ensemble): I. Allegro
Sarah Crossan – One
*Ravi Shankar - Sukanya, Act 1: I. Prelude. Aswini Twins Song to Love
Robert Louis Stevenson – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
*Black Box Recorder – The Deverell Twins
Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet
*Howard Shore - Dead Ringers: Closing Credits
Last on
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
00:01
Harold Budd
The Twins
Performer: Harold Budd.- All Saints Records WAST062DL.
-
Percy Bysshe Shelley
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖr's Hymn To Castor And Pollux read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Prometheus Unbound, read by Don Gilet
00:03Maciej Małecki
Europa: Romulus and Remus
Performer: European Saxophone Ensemble.- Met-X 888002665652.
Lewis Carroll
Alice Through the Looking-Glass, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:09Otis Spann & Muddy Waters
Look Like Twins
- MCA Records 00602547408549.
Charles Dickens
Nicholas Nickleby, read by Don Gilet
00:14Frédéric Devreese
Gemini, Suite for Double Orchestra : Dance of the Twins
Performer: Brussels Philharmonic.- Cypres 541221706197.
Carol Ann Duffy
The Kray Sisters, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:22Miklós Rózsa
Twins
Orchestra: The Symphony Orchestra Graunke. Conductor: Miklós Rózsa.Hans Christian Andersen
The Shadow, read by Don Gilet
00:26Judy Garland
Me and My Shadow
- Capitol Records 191018789657.
Elizabeth Jennings
The Child and the Shadow, Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:31Trad.
Port na bPúcaÃ
Performer: Seán Ó Riada.- Gael Linn.
Raef Boylan
Be Rightly Proud, Don Gilet
00:35Benjamin Britten
War Requiem, Op. 66: I. (a) Requiem aeternam. "Requiem aeternam"
Choir: Chorus of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia. Composer: Sir Antonio Pappano.- Warner Classics International cat no: 825646397433.
00:39William Basinski
dip 4.3
Performer: William Basinski.- Temporary Residence Ltd TRR225DIG1.
Grace Schulman
Because, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:41Richard Rijnvos
Manhattan Square Dances (for two identical orchestras): Washington Square Dance
Orchestra: Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Celso Antunes.- Challenge Classics CC72583.
John Burnside
The man who was answered by his own self, Don Gilet
00:46Franz Schubert
Schwanengesang, D. 957: XIII. Der Doppelgänger
Singer: Benjamin Luxon. Performer: David Willison.- Chandos CHAN8721.
Imtiaz Dharker
Double, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:51Jaco Pastorius
Twins
Performer: Jaco Pastorius.- Rhino/Warner Records.
Ted Hughes
Gaudete, read by Don Gilet
00:53Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 Cellos in G Minor, RV 531 (Arr. M. Prooijen for Cello, Double Bass & Chamber Ensemble): I. Allegro
Performer: Rick Stotijn. Performer: Johannes Rostamo. Ensemble: Camerata RCO.- BIS BIS2509.
Sarah Crossan
One, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
00:58Ravi Shankar
Sukanya, Act 1: I. Prelude. Aswini Twins Song to Love
Singer: Michel de Souza. Singer: Njabulo Madlala. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: David Murphy.- LPO LPO0115D.
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, read by Don Gilet
01:04Black Box Recorder
The Deverell Twins
Performer: Black Box Recorder.- One Little Independent Records.
Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet, read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
01:09Howard Shore
Dead Ringers: Closing Credits
Orchestra: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: James Fitzpatrick.- Decca Classics (UMO).
Broadcast
- Sun 10 Sep 2023 17:30³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3