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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

Last on

Sun 22 Feb 202618:00

Music Played

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

  • William Wordsworth

    My Heart Leaps Up read by Shobna Gulati

  • 00:00

    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.
  • 00:01

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Soave Sia il Vento (Act 1, Cosi Fan Tutte)

    Performer: Simone Kermes.
    • Cosi Fan Tutte.
    • Sony.
    • 1.
  • William Shakespeare

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

  • 00:05

    Giacomo Puccini

    Madama Butterfly Symphonic Suite

    Orchestra: Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Conductor: Carlo Rizzi.
    • Puccini: Symphonic Suites.
    • Signum.
    • 1.
  • Nicola Upson

    The Christmas Clue read by Shobna Gulati

  • 00:08

    John Morris

    Mrs White from Clue

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: John Morris.
    • Clue - The Movie (Music From The Paramount Motion Picture).
    • La-La Land Records.
    • 1.
  • 00:10

    Alan Menken

    Arabian Nights "Aladdin" Instrumental

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: David Friedman.
    • Aladdin (Instrumental Version).
    • Walt Disney Records.
    • 1.
  • Anonymous

    Aladdin read by Colin Tierney

  • Mary Jean Chan

    Wish read by Shobna Gulati

  • 00:13

    Billy Taylor

    I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free

    Lyricist: Dick Dallas. Singer: Nina Simone.
    • Silk & Soul.
    • RCA.
    • 6.
  • Born Yesterday

    Philip Larkin read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:17

    Stephen Sondheim

    Children Will Listen

    Singer: Barbra Streisand. Conductor: Jonathan Tunick.
    • Back To Broadway.
    • Columbia.
    • 6.
  • Emily Dickinson

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

  • 00:21

    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

  • 00:28

    David Gilmour

    Wish You Were Here

    Composer: Roger Waters. Performer: Pink Floyd.
    • Wish You Were Here.
    • Legacy Recordings.
    • 4.
  • The Gospel of Luke from The Bible

    Chapter 6, verses 27 – 36 read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:32

    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

  • 00:40

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Nutcracker - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: André Previn.
    • Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 18.
  • Edward Lear

    The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-Tongs read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:44

    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

  • 00:51

    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.
  • 00:55

    Leigh Harline

    Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon a Star

    Composer: Ned Washington. Orchestra: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • The Essential Disney Collection.
    • Silva Screen Records.
    • 18.
  • Erin Morgenstern

    The Starless Sea read by Colin Tierney

  • 00:57

    Nitin Sawhney

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

    Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov. Performer: Hélène Grimaud. Performer: Ashwin Srinivasan. Performer: Nitin Sawhney.
    • Memory Echo.
    • DG.
    • 4.
  • Salman Rushdie

    Haroun and the Sea of Stories read by Shobna Gulati

  • 01:02

    Stevie Wonder

    I Wish

    Performer: Stevie Wonder.
    • UNI/Motown 00602577871313.
    • Tr 6.
  • 00:01

    Anon.

    Raga Durga

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

    Meghadūta (Cloud Messenger) read by Shobna Gulati

  • 01:08

    Charles Gounod

    Faust - Act 1 Scene 1 - Introduction

    Orchestra: National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris. Conductor: Georges Prêtre.
    • Gounod: Faust.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 1.

Broadcast

  • Sun 22 Feb 202618:00

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