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Small Towns

The fictional towns of Tilling in Mapp and Lucia, Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford and Shakhot in Kiran Desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and music from Amy Beach, Verdi & Greig

Small town life inspires today's selection of music alongside readings performed by Jemma Redgrave and Sushil Chudasama. We celebrate the pleasures of quirky neighbours in EF Benson鈥檚 Mapp and Lucia, the benefits of the community grapevine in Kiran Desai鈥檚 Hullaballoo in the Guava Orchard and the joy of close connection in Emily Dickinson's poetry. We won鈥檛 ignore the downsides, whether that鈥檚 the gossiping ladies of Middlemarch, the fear of outsiders in Daljit Nagra鈥檚 poem Our Town or the pain of everybody knowing your business in Paul Murray鈥檚 Booker winner, The Bee Sting. There is music inspired by all aspects of small town life, from Carl Davies鈥� theme for the TV series Cranford to Amy Beach鈥檚 Secrets as well as Grieg, Verdi and more.

Producer: Olive Clancy

Readings:
A Town - Jane Taylor
Our Town - Thornton Wilder
Mapp and Lucia - EF Benson
South Shields Town Hall in Snow - James Kirkup
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
Middlemarch - George Elliot
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald
A Poison Tree - William Blake
A Town Called Solace - Mary Lawson
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
Hullaballoo in the Guava Orchard - Kiran Desai
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce
All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriot
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
I Put A Spell On You - John Burnside
At Stafford Services - Wendy Cope
Our Town - Daljit Nagra
Never Can Say Goodbye - Sean O'Brien
I Went To Heaven - Emily Dickinson

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1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 Nov 2025 18:00
麻豆社 Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:00

    Gerald Finzi

    A Severn Rhapsody

    Performer: Aurora Orchestra.
    • Decca Music Group.
    • Tr 16.

  • Jane Taylor

    Extract from A Town read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:00

    Peter Sculthorpe

    Small Town

    Performer: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
    • ABC.
    • Tr7.
  • 00:01

    Gerald Finzi

    A Severn Rhapsody

    Orchestra: Aurora Orchestra.
    • Finzi.
    • Decca.
    • 34.

  • Thornton Wilder

    Our Town read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:04

    Peter Sculthorpe

    Small Town

    Orchestra: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
    • MSO 100 Years.
    • ABC.
    • 7.

  • EF Benson

    Mapp and Lucia read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:08

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Kleine Gigue in G major

    Performer: V铆kingur 脫lafsson.
    • DG.
    • Tr 11.

  • James Kirkup

    South Shields Town Hall in Snow read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:10

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Kleine Gigue in G major

    Performer: V铆kingur 脫lafsson.
    • Mozart and Contemporaries.
    • DG.
    • 7.
  • 00:10

    George Fenton

    The Neighbours

    Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • Sony.
    • Tr 6.
  • 00:11

    The Dream Academy

    Life In A Northern Town

    • Warner.
    • 1.
  • 00:11

    George Fenton

    The Neighbours

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • Soundtrack of The Lady In The Van.
    • Sony.
    • 6.
  • 00:13

    Gilbert Gabriel

    Life in a Northern Town

    Composer: Nick Laird-Clowes. Ensemble: The Dream Academy.
    • Life in a Northern Town.
    • Warner.
    • 1.

  • Charlotte Bronte

    Jane Eyre read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:14

    Manuel de Falla

    Dance of the Neighbours

    Orchestra: New York Philharmonic. Conductor: Pierre Boulez.
    • Sony Classical.
    • Tr70.
  • 00:16

    Manuel de Falla

    Dance of the Neighbours

    Orchestra: New York Philharmonic. Conductor: Pierre Boulez.
    • Boulez Conducts.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 70.

  • Paul Murray

    The Bee Sting read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:18

    John Mellencamp

    Small Town

    Performer: Vitamin String Quartet.
    • EMI.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:19

    John Mellencamp

    Small Town

    Performer: Vitamin String Quartet.
    • Vitimin String Quartet.
    • EMI.
    • 1.

  • George Elliot

    Middlemarch read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:21

    Josef Strauss

    Die Swartzern, Polka Mazur Op 144

    Orchestra: Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra.
    • Marco Polo.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:23

    Josef Strauss

    Die Swartzern, Polka Mazur Op 144

    Orchestra: Razumusky Symphonic Orchestra.
    • Josef Strauss Edition, Vol 11.
    • Marco Polo.
    • 1.

  • Nevil Shute

    A Town Like Alice read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:26

    Brenda Gifford

    Footprints

    Performer: Ensemble Offspring.
    • ABC.
    • Tr21.

  • Penelope Fitzgerald

    The Bookshop read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:28

    Brenda Gifford

    Footprints

    Ensemble: Ensemble Offspring.
    • Women of Note.
    • ABC.
    • 21.
  • 00:29

    Duke Ellington

    Home Town Blues

    Performer: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
    • Charly Records.
    • Tr7.
  • 00:30

    Duke Ellington

    Home Town Blues

    Orchestra: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
    • Selected Favourites, Vol 11.
    • Charly Records.
    • 7.

  • William Blake

    A Poison Tree read by Sushil Chudasama

  • Elizabeth Strout

    Olive Kitteridge read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:32

    Lou Reed & John Cale

    Smalltown

    • Warmer.
    • Tr2.

  • Mary Lawson

    A Town Called Solace read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:34

    Lou Reed

    Small Town

    Composer: John Cale. Performer: Lou Reed.
    • The Sire Years.
    • Warmer.
    • 2.
  • 00:34

    Edvard Grieg

    On Autumn Op 11

    Performer: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • Tr9.
  • 00:35

    Edvard Grieg

    On Autumn, Op 11

    Orchestra: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
    • Grieg: Symphony.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 9.

  • Carson McCullers

    The Heart is a Lonely Hunter read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:38

    Bill Frisell

    Small Town

    • ECM Records.
    • Tr5.
  • 00:41

    Ravi Shankar/Philip Glass

    Passages

    Performer: Ravi Shankar.
    • MFI.
    • Tr4.
  • 00:40

    Bill Frisell

    Small Town

    • Small Town.
    • ECM Records.
    • 5.

  • Kiran Desai

    Hullaballoo in the Guava Orchard read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:43

    Ravi Shankar

    Passages

    Composer: Philip Glass. Performer: Ravi Shankar.
    • Private Music.
    • Mfi.
    • 4.

  • Rachel Joyce

    The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:46

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Act 1 no.3; Libiamo, libiamo ne' lieti calici....

    Singer: Angela Gheorghiu.
    • EMI.
    • Tr19.
  • 00:48

    Giuseppe Verdi

    Act 1 no.3; Libiamo, libiamo ne' lieti calici....

    Singer: Angela Gheorghiu.
    • La Traviata - Verdi per due.
    • EMI.
    • 19.

  • James Herriot

    All Creatures Great and Small read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:50

    Carl Davis

    Cranford Suite

    Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • Threefold Music.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:51

    Carl Davis

    Cranford Suite

    Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • Cranford Suite.
    • Threefold Music.
    • 1.

  • LM Montgomery

    Anne of Green Gables read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:53

    Amy Beach

    Secrets op 25

    Performer: Kirsten Johnson.
    • Guild GmbH.
    • Tr17.
  • 00:55

    Amy Beach

    Secrets, Op 25

    Performer: Kirsten Johnson et al.
    • Amy Beach.
    • Guild GmbH.
    • 17.

  • John Burnside

    I put a spell on you read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 00:55

    Joni Mitchell

    Morning Morgantown

    Performer: Joni Mitchell.
    • Warner.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:57

    Rufus Wainwright

    Hometown Waltz

    Performer: Faur茅 Quartett.
    • universal.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:57

    Joni Mitchell

    Morning Morgantown

    Performer: Joni Mitchell.
    • Ladies of the Canyon.
    • Warner.
    • 1.
  • 00:58

    Rufus Wainwright

    Hometown Waltz

    Ensemble: Faur茅 Quartett.
    • Yellow Lounge.
    • Universal.
    • 1.

  • Wendy Cope

    At Stafford Services read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 01:00

    Anoushka Shankar

    Chasing Shadows

    Orchestra: Metropole Orkest. Conductor: Jules Buckley.
    • Leiter.
    • Tr6.

  • Daljit Nagra

    Our Town read by Sushil Chudasama

  • Sean O Brien

    Never Can Say Goodbye read by Sushil Chudasama

  • 01:05

    Gloria Gaynor

    Never Can Say Goodbye

    • Republic Records.
    • Tr2.
  • 01:07

    Gloria Gaynor

    Never Can Say Goodbye

    • Never Can Say.
    • Republic Records.
    • 2.
  • 01:07

    Gene de Paul

    Unnecessary Town

    Performer: Percy Faith and Orchestra.
    • Sony.
    • Tr5.
  • 01:08

    Gene de Paul

    Unecessary Town

    Orchestra: Percy Faith and His Orchestra.
    • L鈥檌l Abner.
    • Sony.
    • 5.

  • Emily Dickinson

    I Went to Heaven read by Jemma Redgrave

  • 00:59

    Lucinda Chua

    Meditations on a Place

    Performer: Budapest Art Orchestra.
    • Faber Music.
    • Tr2.
  • 01:11

    Lucinda Chua

    Meditations on a Place

    Orchestra: Budapest Art Orchestra.
    • Meditations on a place.
    • Faber Music.
    • 2.

Broadcast

  • Sun 23 Nov 2025 18:00
    麻豆社 Radio 3

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