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Pirates and Outlaws

Rory Kinnear and Buffy Davis read from novels, poems about pirates by Keats and Byron and from accounts of pirates and outlaws including Bonnie and Clyde, Robin Hood and Mary Read.

Film music from The Sea Hawk, Pirates of the Caribbean and Disney's Robin Hood, is set alongside stage works, like Bellini's Il Pirata, G&S' The Pirates of Penzance, and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera. Readings performed by Rory Kinnear and Buffy Davis range from depictions of pirates and outlaws as romantic figures to morally flawed individuals. We'll hear about Bonnie & Clyde and some English celebrated seamen, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, deemed pirates by the Spanish crown because of their exploits in their Caribbean colonies, as well as extracts from writing by Robert Louis Stevenson, J. Meade Falkner, Lord Byron, John Keats, Rebecca Simon and David Graeber.

Producer: Juan Carlos Jaramillo

Texts
The Corsair (excerpt), by Lord Byron
The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast, by Michael Scott Moore
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Henry Martin, traditional popular ballad
Pirates of the Caribbean, by Emily Grosholz
Robin Hood. To a friend (excerpt), by John Keats
Poem by Bonnie Elizabeth Parker
Poem by Clyde Chestnut Barrow
Pirate Queens, by Rebecca Alexandra Simon
Danger On The Barbary, by James Casey
Moonfleet, by J. Meade Falkner
Pirate Story, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Pirate Enlightenment, by David Graeber
Upon Sir Francis Drake's Return from His Voyage about the World, and the Queen's Meeting Him - Anonymous
Text by Luis Antonio de Oviedo y Herrera
Sir Walter Raleigh's letter to King James, at his return from Guiana

3 days left to listen

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 May 2025 18:00
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

    Erich Wolfgang Korngold

    The Seahawk (main titles)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: André Previn.
  • 00:05

    Alhousseini Anivolla

    Tamadrite Nakal

  • 00:07

    Auguste Franchomme

    Caprice sur un theme du Pirate de Bellini

    Performer: Fernando Caida-Greco. Performer: Edoardo Torbianelli.
  • 00:09

    Los 3 de Santa Cruz

    Piel canela

  • 00:13

    Keyartist

    He's a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean)

  • 00:13

    Arthur Sullivan

    Pour, Oh Pour the Pirate Sherry (The Pirates of Penzance)

    Ensemble: The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.
  • 00:15

    Hamper McBee

    Henry Martin

  • 00:17

    Trad.

    Henry Martin

    Performer: Joan Baez.
  • 00:21

    Vincenzo Bellini

    Sorgete... Lo sognai ferito, esangue (Il Pirata)

    Singer: Maria Callas. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Antonio Tonini.
  • 00:23

    Trad.

    Trumpet Hornpipe (Captain Pugwash Theme)

    Performer: Tom Edmondson.
  • 00:24

    Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Oboe Concerto (1st mvt: Rondo Pastorale)

    Performer: Stephane Rancourt. Orchestra: Hallé. Conductor: Mark Elder.
  • 00:31

    Frankie Laine

    Robin Hood

  • 00:32

    JAY-Z

    '03 Bonnie and Clyde

  • 00:34

    Georgie Fame

    The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde

  • 00:39

    Lightnin’ Hopkins

    Penitentiary Blues

  • 00:41

    Kurt Weill

    Pirate Jenny (Threepenny Opera)

    Singer: Nina Simone.
  • 00:43

    Kurt Weill

    Pirate Jenny (Threepenny Opera)

    Singer: Marianne Faithfull.
  • 00:46

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Vaudeville: Nie werd' ich deine Huld verkennen (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail)

    Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
  • 00:48

    Jordi Savall

    Makam Rast Murass'a usul Duyek

  • 00:54

    Frédéric Chopin

    12 Studies Op.25 (no.12 in C minor)

    Performer: Maurizio Pollini.
  • 00:57

    Hector Berlioz

    Le Corsaire Overture

    Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Munch.
  • 01:03

    Benjamin Britten

    The Tournament (Gloriana)

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
  • 01:06

    Clément Janequin

    Pavana: La Battaglia

    Ensemble: Hespèrion XXI. Conductor: Jordi Savall.
  • 01:08

    Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber

    Battalia "Sonata di marche"

    Music Arranger: Terje Tønnesen. Orchestra: Camerata Nordica. Director: Terje Tønnesen.
  • 01:11

    Francis Cutting

    Sir Walter Raleigh's Galliard

    Performer: George Weigand.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 16 Apr 2023 17:30
    BBC Radio 3
  • Sun 4 May 2025 18:00
    BBC Radio 3

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