The Call of the City
Mark Tully examines the call of the city and contrasts its potential for energy, creativity and community with its traditional reputation for harshness and venality.
Are cities paved with gold or sinks of iniquity? Mark Tully examines the call of the city and contrasts its potential for energy, creativity and community with its traditional reputation for harshness and venality.
Progressively, city populations are swelling as rural communities dwindle. What is the draw of the big city, how does it affect the way we live and think?
Perhaps there is sometimes a knee jerk reaction that the city is a harsh, destructive, soulless place. But what about the energy of the city, the sense of purpose that it gives, the opportunities, the vibrant sense of community, the colour, the variety, the excitement?
This celebration of the urban ranges in scope from William Blake to Suzanne Vega and from New Orleans jazz to William Wordsworth and an interview with historian and urbanist Leo Hollis.
The readers are Robert Glenister and Julie Covington.
Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for ±«Óătv Radio 4
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Music Played
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Gottfried Huppertz
Metropolis: I. Auftakt: Metropolis Thema
Performer: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Performer: Conductor Frank Strobel.- Metropolis - Original Motion Picture Score.
- Digital Capriccio.
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London by William Blake
Poet William Blake presents a negative view of London life.
Chronicle of Richard of Devizes
Richard of Devizes warns of the tempters who abounded in twelfth century London
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Suzanne Vega
New York is a Woman
- Beauty and Crime.
- EMI.
James Boswell's Diaries
James Boswell recalls Dr. Samuel Johnson's thoughts on London
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Orlando Gibbons
Cries of London, Part II
Performer: Fretwork with Red Byrd.- Fantasias & The Cries of London.
- Virgin Veritas.
- 7243 5 45144 2 5.
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AntonĂn Dvořák
String Quartet No.6 in F, Op. 96 "American"
Performer: Quartetto Italiano.- Quartetto Italiano – Schubert, Dvorák, Borodin.
- Philips Classics.
- Philips 420 876-2.
Going ±«Óătv : New Orleans by Sheryl St. Germain. From the collection of poems "Let It Be Dark Roux” Autumn House Press (2007)
Poet Sheryl St Germain presents New Orleans as an urban idyll. Reprinted by permission.
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Louis Alter / Edgar De Lange
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?
Performer: Preservation Hall Jazz Band.- Our New Orleans 2005.
- Nonesuch.
- Nonesuch 7559 – 79934-2.
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth's sonnet describing London and the River Thames,
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Eric Coates
London Suite, Westminister
Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor Sir Charles Groves.- Eric Coates – London Suites.
- Arabesque Recordings.
- Z8036 (1).
Broadcasts
- Sun 2 Feb 2014 06:05±«Óătv Radio 4
- Sun 2 Feb 2014 23:30±«Óătv Radio 4
- Sun 12 Jan 2020 06:05±«Óătv Radio 4
- Sun 12 Jan 2020 23:30±«Óătv Radio 4
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