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Be careful what you wish for: some wishes go badly wrong, others bring joy. We look at both kinds of wish, from the Monkey’s Paw to Edward Lear’s riotous poem about nutcrackers.

Readers Shobna Gulati and Colin Tierney bring us a selection of wishes set alongside music. The short story The Monkey’s Paw warns us to be careful what we wish for. Edward Lear describes the joyful wish fulfilment of the nutcracker and sugar-tongs when they leave the table to go horse riding. Philip Larkin wishes a normal, happy life on a newborn child. Jane Hirshfield describes the ways in which she would like to improve her life. And Joan Aitken describes a cat and a wishing-mat. With music from Stephen Sondheim, JS Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Pink Floyd and Stevie Wonder.

Produced in Salford by Nick Holmes.

1 hour, 14 minutes

On radio

Sunday18:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are the time of the day

  • William Wordsworth

    My Heart Leaps Up read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:01

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Cosi Fan Tutte Act I - Soave Sia il Vento

    Singer: Simone Kermes. Singer: Malena Ernman. Singer: Konstantin Wolff. Ensemble: MusicAeterna. Conductor: Teodor Currentzis.
    • SONY 8843095832.
    • Tr 19.

  • William Shakespeare

    Hamlet Act III scene I: To Be or Not to Be read by Colin Tierney

  • 18:05

    Giacomo Puccini

    Madama Butterfly Symphonic Suite

    Orchestra: Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Carlo Rizzi.
    • SIGNUM SIGCD778.
    • Tr 1.
  • 18:08

    John Morris

    Mrs White from Clue

    Conductor: John Morris.
    • La-La Land Records LLLCD 1154.
    • Tr 1.

  • Nicola Upson

    The Christmas Clue read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:09

    Alan Menken

    Arabian Nights "Aladdin" Instrumental

    Conductor: David Friedman.
    • Walt Disney Records D003229825.
    • Tr 1.

  • Anonymous

    Aladdin read by Colin Tierney

  • Mary Jean Chan

    Wish read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:13

    Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas

    I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free

    Performer: Nina Simone.
    • RCA 82876 596202.
    • Tr 6.

  • Born Yesterday

    Philip Larkin read by Colin Tierney

  • 18:17

    Stephen Sondheim

    Children Will Listen

    Singer: Barbra Streisand. Conductor: Jonathan Tunick.
    • Columbia 4738802.
    • Tr 6.

  • Emily Dickinson

    'Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:21

    Béla Bartók

    Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

    Orchestra: Budapest Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Iván Fischer.
    • Philips 4168362 Track: Tr 4.

  • W.W. Jacobs

    The Monkey’s Paw read by Colin Tierney

  • Carol Ann Duffy

    Wish read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:28

    Pink Floyd

    Wish You Were Here

    Performer: Pink Floyd.
    • Legacy Recordings G0100056407942.
    • Tr 4.

  • The Gospel of Luke from The Bible

    Chapter 6, verses 27 – 36 read by Colin Tierney

  • 18:32

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    St Matthew Passion (BWV.244) - Erbarme Dich

    Singer: Bernarda Fink. Ensemble: Concentus Musicus Wien. Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
    • Teldec 8573810362.
    • Tr 10.

  • Jane Hirshfield

    I Would Like read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:40

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Nutcracker - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: André Previn.
    • EMI Classics 7690442.
    • Tr 18.

  • Edward Lear

    The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-Tongs read by Colin Tierney

  • 18:44

    Toru Takemitsu

    A Flock Descends Into the Pentagonal Garden

    Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Ensemble: Tashi Quartet. Conductor: Seiji Ozawa.
    • Deutsche Grammophon 00028947753810.
    • Tr 2.

  • Eleanor Corr

    Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes read by Shobna Gulati Colin Tierney

  • Joan Aitken

    The Cat Sat on the Mat read by Shobna Gulati

  • 18:52

    Floyd Huddleston

    The Aristocats - Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat

    Composer: Al Rinker. Singer: Phil Harris. Singer: Thurl Ravenscroft. Singer: Scatman Crothers.
    • EMI Gold 00094635862058.
    • Tr 4.
  • 18:55

    Leigh Harline

    Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon a Star

    Performer: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Silva Screen Records SILED1448.
    • Tr 20.
  • 18:57

    Sergey Rachmaninov

    Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 (Nitin Sawhney Version)

    Performer: Hélène Grimaud. Performer: Ashwin Srinivasan. Remix Artist: Nitin Sawhney.
    • Deutsche Grammophon 00028948358748.
    • Tr 4.

  • Erin Morgenstern

    The Starless Sea read by Coilen Tierney

  • Salman Rushdie

    Haroun and the Sea of Stories read by Shobna Gulati

  • 19:02

    Stevie Wonder

    I Wish

    Performer: Stevie Wonder.
    • UNI/Motown 00602577871313.
    • Tr 6.
  • 18:01

    Anon.

    Raga Durga

    Performer: Hariprasad Chaurasia.
    • Music Today 829410552257.
    • Tr 2.

  • Kalidasa

    Meghadūta (Cloud Messenger) read by Shobna Gulati

  • 19:08

    Charles Gounod

    Faust - Act 1 Scene 1 - Introduction

    Orchestra: National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris. Conductor: Georges Prêtre.
    • Warner Classics UK 0077774749350.
    • Tr 1.

Broadcast

  • Sunday18:00
    BBC Radio 3

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