Sir Peter Pears

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 1983

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sir Peter Pears has been acknowledged for many years as an outstanding interpreter of the vocal music of Benjamin Britten. He also helped Britten to found the Aldeburgh Festival and he still takes an active part in the running of it. In conversation with Roy Plomley, Sir Peter talks about his long career and chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Sprig Of Thyme by Benjamin Britten Book: A book by E.M Forster Luxury: Painting from his collection

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, I'm Christy Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive.
0:05.4	For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.
0:08.4	The program was originally broadcast in 1983, and the presenter was Roy Plumley.
0:30.4	Our castaway this week has made many records,
0:33.7	is The Tenor, Suppeter Piers. Do you play records a lot?
0:38.6	I used to, I don't know that I do so much now. I stick to some old favorite, do you know?
0:44.0	There's a big collection. Yes, quite a big collection. Not in the thousands.
0:48.8	No. Which is a modest hundred or two. Did you have any plan in selecting your eight?
0:54.2	I wanted to be reminded of a very happy life.
0:59.4	I regard my father as going to the Desert Island, as going on the way to the descent to Avernus,
1:06.4	into Hades and so on, and don't know if I should ever get back from my Desert Island.
1:10.8	In fact, I'm not supposed to, I'm supposed to accept my lot, aren't I?
1:15.1	No, no, no, no. There are ways and means.
1:17.5	A very intricate and well-organised rescue service will be put in
1:22.2	after a suitable lapse of time.
1:23.9	That's lovely to hear. But I should like to be reminded of England and of my friends
1:29.7	and of music which I have enjoyed as listening to and for for me.
1:33.7	Right. Where do we start? What's the first one?
1:37.4	We start with an old tune, which was sung all over East Anglia for years, as still is,
1:44.8	called The Foggy Foggy Dew.
1:48.0	It's a song which I might like to think for sung to be by my mother.
1:51.9	Except I don't think my mother would altogether have approved.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.