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Twelve Days of Christmas

Olivia Williams and Jake Yapp read from Charles Dickens, Liz Lochhead and UA Fanthorpe as we celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas. With music from Tchaikovsky, Haydn and Shore.

Partridges, pear trees, gold rings, dancing ladies and leaping lords… the gifts associated with the The Twelve Days of Christmas. The earliest known publication of the words of the perennially popular song were in an illustrated children’s book called ‘Mirth Without Mischief’, published in 1780, although the origins may go back as far as the early 1600s.

Whether those 364 gifts of milk maids, drummers, pipers and assorted birds were actually appreciated is the subject of UA Fanthorpe’s poem Dear True Love, as she ponders on questions such as where exactly are the seven swans going to swim..? William Makepeace Thackeray and Clare Pollard offer us pears, Elizabeth Hands tells of a feisty milkmaid, Dylan Thomas nods to a drum and Charles Dickens, of course, brings the Christmas goose to the table. In Liz Lochhead’s poem we’ll discover how beautifully she decorates her tree and we’ll hear from Ian McMillan as he reads his own festive take, The Twelve Days of Barnsley.

Our music is a mix of Christmas favourites and pieces to reflect the gifts from My True Love. Saint-Saens Le Cygne, Haydn’s Symphony No 83 ‘The Hen’ and Janequin’s Le Chant des Oiseaux encapsulate many of the avian offerings. And of course we have a little something from Ian Partridge. There’s Vítězslava Kaprálová’s Christmas Prelude, Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony and a little burst of joy from Michael Caine.

We begin with the song itself, today’s familiar version is a 1909 arrangement from the English composer Frederic Austin.

The readers are Olivia Williams and Jake Yapp.

Producer: Elizabeth Foster

8 days left to listen

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 21 Dec 202518:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 00:01

    Trad.

    Twelve Days Of Christmas

    Choir: Glasgow Phoenix Choir.
    • Scotdisc CDITV643.
    • Tr3.
  • 00:02

    Roger Wilcock

    Twelve Days Of Christmas

    Ensemble: The London Fox Woodwind Quintet.
    • The Magic of Christmas - 80 Great Carols and Christmas Songs.
    • Classic Fox Records.
    • 69.

  • UA Fanthorpe

    Dear True Love, read by Olivia Williams

  • William Makepeace Thackeray

    On A Pear Tree, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:05

    Vítězslava Kaprálová

    Christmas Prelude for Chamber Orchestra

    Performer: Vítězslava Kaprálová.
    • Czech Radio Cat no unknown.
    • unknown.
  • 00:06

    Vítězslava Kaprálová

    Christmas Prelude for Chamber Orchestra

    Performer: Vítězslava Kaprálová.
    • Christmas Prelude for Chamber Orchestra.
    • Czech Radio.
    • 1.
  • 00:07

    Vardapet Komitas

    7 Pieces for Voice and Piano

    Performer: Mikael Ayrapetyan.
    • 7 Pieces for Voice and Piano.
    • 33.
  • 00:08

    Vardapet Komitas

    7 Pieces for Voice & Piano (Arr. A. Gabrielian for Violin & Piano): No. 7, The Song of the Partridge

    Performer: Mikael Ayrapetyan.
    • Grand Piano GP720.
    • Tr33.

  • Clare Pollard

    The Tale Of The Pear from The Modern Fairies, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:11

    Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov

    Christmas Tree Suite, Op. 21: I. Waltz

    Orchestra: Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
    • Naxos.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:12

    Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov

    Christmas Tree Suite

    Performer: Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
    • Another Night Before Christmas & Scrooge.
    • Naxos.
    • 1.

  • William Cullen Bryant

    A Winter Piece, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:14

    Thomas Campion

    I Care Not For These Ladies

    Performer: Ian Partridge.
    • Hyperion 00602465385120.
    • Tr7.
  • 00:15

    Thomas Campion

    I Care Not for these Ladies

    Performer: Ian Partridge.
    • Dowland and Campion: It Fell on a Summer's Day.
    • Hyperion.
    • 7.
  • 00:17

    Ottorino Respighi

    Gli uccelli, P. 154: II. La colomba

    Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. Conductor: John Neschling.
    • Naxos Music UK Ltd BIS BIS-2540 SACD.
    • Tr2.
  • 00:18

    Ottorino Respighi

    Gli uccelli

    Performer: John Neschling. Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
    • Respighi The Birds and Ancient Dances and Air.
    • Naxos.
    • 2.

  • Susan Stokes-Chapman

    The Twelve Days of Christmas, read by Olivia Williams

  • Derek Mahon

    Penshurst Place, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:21

    Greg Lake

    I Believe in Father Christmas

    • BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd 4050538658187.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:22

    Greg Lake

    I Believe in Father Christmas

    Composer: Peter Sinfield. Composer: Sergey Prokofiev. Performer: Greg Lake.
    • I Believe in Father Christmas.
    • BMG.
    • 1.
  • 00:24

    Sergey Prokofiev

    Lieutenant Kije, Troika

    Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: David Arnold.
    • RPO RPO011.
    • Tr12.
  • 00:25

    Sergey Prokofiev

    Lieutenant Kije

    Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Here Comes the Classics: Christmas Classics.
    • RPO.
    • 12.
  • 00:27

    Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No. 83 in G Minor, Hob. I:83 "The Hen": IV. Finale. Vivace

    Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.
    • Warner Classics 0094637147757.
    • Tr8.
  • 00:28

    Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No 83

    Performer: Daniel Barenboim. Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra.
    • Haydn Symphony Nos 82-87.
    • Warner.
    • 8.

  • Jean de la Fontaine

    La Poule Aux Oeufs D’Or, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:30

    Clément Janequin

    Reveillez vous, cueurs endormis, "Le chant des oiseaux": Le chant des oyseaux

    Performer: Kammerkoret Camerata. Performer: Per Enevold.
    • Masterpieces for Choir.
    • 1.
  • 00:31

    Clément Janequin

    Reveillez vous, coeurs endormis, "Le chant des oiseaux"

    Choir: Camerata. Conductor: Per Enevold. Conductor: Per Enevold.
    • BIS BIS-CD-148.
    • Tr1.

  • Marjorie Pickthall

    Finis, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:33

    Howard Shore

    Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All

    Performer: Howard Shore.
    • Rhino/Warner Records 603497859238.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:34

    Howard Shore

    Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All

    Performer: Howard Shore.
    • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - the Complete Recordings.
    • Rhino/Warner.
    • 1.

  • Lucius M Sargent

    My Mother’s Gold Ring, read by Olivia Williams

  • Unknown, translated by Francis B Gummere

    Beowulf, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:37

    Leroy Anderson

    Sleigh Ride

    Performer: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Warner Classics 0094633808256.
    • Tr3.

  • Ian McMillan

    The Twelve Days Of Barnsley, read by Ian McMillan

  • Anon

    Goosey Goosey Gander, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:41

    Paul Williams

    Thankful Heart

    Performer: Michael Caine.
    • Walt Disney Records 5008-61414-7.
    • Tr16.
  • 00:41

    Paul Williams

    Thankful Heart

    Performer: Michael Caine.
    • The Muppet Christmas Carol (Special Anniversary Edition).
    • Walt Disney Records.
    • 16.

  • Charles Dickens

    A Christmas Carol, read by Jake Yapp

  • Hans Christian Andersen

    The Wild Swans, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:45

    Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Le Carnaval des Animaux: Le Cygne

    Performer: David Geringas. Orchestra: German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Conductor: Lawrence Foster.
    • Eurodisc G010004605087A.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:46

    Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Le Carnaval des Animaux: Le Cygne

    Performer: David Geringas. Orchestra: German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Conductor: Lawrence Foster.
    • Bruch, Sibelius, Schmitt, Saint-Saens, Respighi: Celloromanzen / Romances for Ce.
    • Eurodisc.
    • 1.

  • Thomas Hardy

    Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:50

    John Playford

    The Merry Merry Milkmaids / The Milkmaid's Bob (Arr. for Baroque ensemble by The Playfords)

    Performer: The Playfords.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi G010005048799T.
    • Tr8.

  • Elizabeth Hands

    The Widower’s Courtship, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:51

    John Playford

    The Merry Merry Milkmaids / The Milkmaid's Bob

    Ensemble: The Playfords.
    • Garlic & Onions.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.
    • 8.
  • 00:52

    Tobias Hume

    A Jigg for Ladies

    Ensemble: Hespèrion XXI. Conductor: Jordi Savall.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi G0100014134154.
    • Tr17.

  • Sir Walter Scott

    Hunting Song, read by Olivia Williams

  • 00:53

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH.14: Overture

    Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy.
    • Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker.
    • Decca.
    • 1.
  • 00:53

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH.14: Overture

    Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd 00028947831068.
    • Tr1.
  • 00:54

    Tobias Hume

    A Jigg for Ladies

    Performer: Hespèrion XXI.
    • Hume: Poeticall Musicke.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.
    • 17.

  • William Blake

    Introduction to The Songs Of Innocence, read by Jake Yapp

  • 00:58

    Massed Bands of the Household Division

    Pipes and Drums

    • Cherry Red.
    • 10.

  • Henry Martyn Kieffer

    The Recollections Of A Drummer Boy, read by Jake Yapp

  • 01:01

    Roger Wilcock

    Twelve Days Of Christmas

    Performer: The London Fox Woodwind Quintet.
    • Classic Fox Records 828120011375.
    • Tr69.

  • Liz Lochhead

    How I’ll Decorate My Tree, read by Olivia Williams

  • 01:02

    Trad.

    Twelve Days Of Christmas

    Choir: Glasgow Phoenix Choir.
    • Caledonian Christmas.
    • Scotdisc.
    • 3.
  • 01:04

    Victor Hely-Hutchinson

    Carol Symphony: I. Allegro energico

    Conductor: Pietari Inkinen. Orchestra: German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • SWR Classic SWR19131CD.
    • Tr8.
  • 01:04

    Pietari Inkinen

    Carol Symphony: I. Allegro energico

    • Festklänge.
    • SWR Classic.
    • 8.

  • Dylan Thomas

    A Child’s Christmas In Wales, read by Jake Yapp

  • 01:09

    Unknown

    Yorkshire Merry Christmas

    Performer: Kate Rusby.
    • Pure Records (Yorkshire) Ltd PRCD40.
    • Tr9.
  • 01:10

    Unknown

    Yorkshire Merry Christmas

    Performer: Kate Rusby.
    • The Frost is all Over.
    • Pure Records.
    • 9.

Broadcast

  • Sun 21 Dec 202518:00
    BBC Radio 3

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