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Sisters

Pippa Nixon and Sarah Amankwah read from authors including Brit Bennett, Daisy Johnson, Colm T贸ib铆n, CS Lewis. Music includes Angelique Kidjo, Fanny Mendelssohn and the Boulangers.

For there is no friend like a sister, and in this International Women鈥檚 Day edition of Words and Music, readings performed by Pippa Nixon and Sarah Amankwah explore the complex relationships between sisters.

From delighting in each other鈥檚 company in a poem by Wordsworth to his sister Dorothy and Jane Austen鈥檚 Pride and Prejudice; to seething with jealousy in extracts from Arifa Akbar鈥檚 Consumed and CS Lewis鈥檚 Narnia; to sadness at parting in Diana Hendry鈥檚 Parting and Brit Bennett鈥檚 The Vanishing Half. There are many types of sisters: not just blood relatives, but friends, loved ones, and those rallying together to change the world. Emily Dickinson celebrates a sister-in-law, and Rupi Kaur celebrates sisters-in-heart, while Magi Gibson makes a call to arms for sisters in her poem 鈥榃ild Women of a Certain Age鈥�.

We also hear about musical sisters Nannerl Mozart and Fanny Mendelssohn, and there are musical figures twisting around one another like sisters in Bach鈥檚 Double Concerto and Brahms鈥檚 Concerto for Violin and Cello. Our soundtrack also includes piano duets played by the Labeque Sisters, and music from sisters Nadia and Lili Boulanger. We explore jealousy and sadness in songs from Hamilton and by the Unthank Sisters, and celebrate sisterhood with Angelique Kidjo.

Producer: Sofie Vilcins
Image: Susannah Harker (L) and Jennifer Ehle (R) as sisters Jane and Elizabeth Bennet in the 91福利社's 1996 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice

READINGS:
Christina Rossetti - Goblin Market
William Wordsworth - To My Sister
Spike Milligan - My Sister Laura
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Brit Bennett - The Vanishing Half
Rupi Kaur - It isn鈥檛 blood
Emily Dickinson - One Sister Have I In Our House
Colm T贸ib铆n - Brooklyn
Daisy Johnson - Sisters
Diane Hendy - Parting
Vicki Feaver - The Witches
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Arifa Akbar - Consumed
CS Lewis - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Letter
Anna Beer - Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music
Cecily Hamilton - Marriage as a Trade
Magi Gibson - Wild Women of a Certain Age
Charlotte Mew - The Peddlar

1 hour, 14 minutes

Last on

Sun 8 Mar 2026 18:00
91福利社 Radio 3

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Music Played

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

  • 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈苍补听搁辞蝉蝉别迟迟颈

    Goblin Market, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:01

    Irving Berlin

    Sisters

    Performer: Rosemary Clooney.
    • Not Now Music Ltd NOT2CD523.
    • Tr17.
  • 00:02

    Richard Strauss

    Duett-concertino (3rd mvt: Allegro ma non troppo)

    Performer: Ernst Ottensamer. Performer: Stepan Turnovsky. Orchestra: Academy of London. Conductor: Richard Stamp.

  • William Wordsworth

    To My Sister, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:08

    Scott Joplin

    Maple Leaf Rag

    Performer: Katia & Marielle Lab猫que.
    • EMI CDC7470932.
    • Tr7.

  • Spike Milligan

    My Sister Laura, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:11

    Carl Davis

    Pride and Prejudice: Main Titles

    Performer: Melvyn Tan. Conductor: Carl Davis.
    • EMI CDEMC3726.
    • Tr1.

  • Jane Austen

    Pride and Prejudice, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:14

    Pyotr Tchaikovsky

    Eugene Onegin (Act 1 duet)

    Singer: Olga Guryakova. Singer: Marina Domashenko. Orchestra: Philharmonia of Russia. Conductor: Constantine Orbelian.

  • Brit Bennett

    The Vanishing Half, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:18

    Johann Sebastian Bach

    Concerto for 2 violins in D minor, BWV.1043 (1st mvt: Vivace)

    Performer: Rachel Podger. Performer: Andrew Manze. Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music.

  • Rupi Kaur

    It isn聮t blood, by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:21

    Ang茅lique Kidjo

    Eva

  • Emily Dickinson

    One Sister Have I in Our House in Our House, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:25

    Richard Wagner

    Das Rheingold (scene 1, Lugt Schwestern! Die weckerin lacht in den grund)

    Singer: Oda Balsborg. Singer: Hetty Pl眉macher. Singer: Ira Malaniuk. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Georg Solti.
    • Decca 4780382.
    • Tr1-5.

  • Colm T贸ib铆n

    Brooklyn, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:29

    Maurice Ravel

    Rhapsodie Espagnole

    Performer: Katia & Marielle Lab猫que.
    • KML 3760002137186.
    • Tr6.

  • Daisy Johnson:

    Sisters, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • Diana Hendry

    Parting, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:37

    Molly Drake

    I Remember

    Performer: The Unthanks.
    • Rabble Rouser RRM016LP.
    • Tr10.

  • Vicki Feaver

    The Witches, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:42

    Johannes Brahms

    Concerto in A minor for violin, cello and orchestra (3rd mvt: Vivace non troppo)

    Performer: Julia Fischer. Performer: Daniel M眉ller鈥怱chott. Orchestra: Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. Conductor: Yakov Kreizberg.

  • Louisa May Alcott

    Little Women, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:45

    Hildegard von Bingen

    Columba aspexit

    Singer: Emma Kirkby. Choir: Gothic Voices. Conductor: Christopher Page.

  • Arifa Akbar

    Consumed, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 00:52

    Lin鈥怣anuel Miranda

    Satisfied (Hamilton)

    Performer: Ren茅e Elise Goldsberry.

  • CS Lewis

    The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:55

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    12 Variations on 'Ah! Vous dirais-je, maman', K 265

    Performer: Myung-Whun Chung.
    • ECM New Series 2342.
    • Tr10.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Letter, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 00:58

    Fanny Mendelssohn

    String Quartet in E flat major (3rd mvt: Romanze)

    Ensemble: Quatuor 脡b猫ne.

  • Anna Beer

    Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 01:00

    Errollyn Wallen

    Concerto Grosso for violin, double bass, piano, strings: 3rd movement

    Performer: Tai Murray. Performer: Isata Kanneh鈥怣ason. Performer: Chi-Chi Nwanoku. Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Anthony Parnther.
    • NMC Recordings NMCD250.
    • Tr3.

  • Cicely Hamilton

    Marriage as a Trade, read by Pippa Nixon

  • 01:03

    Ethel Smyth

    The March of the Women

    Singer: Eiddwen Harrhy. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series. Choir: Chorus of the Plymouth Music Series. Conductor: Philip Brunelle.
    • Virgin VC7590222.
    • Tr9.

  • Magi Gibson

    Wild Women of a Certain Age, read by Sarah Amankwah

  • 01:06

    Nadia Boulanger

    Les Heures Claires, No 5: C'茅tait en Juin

    Singer: Melinda Paulsen. Performer: Angela Gassenhuber.
    • Troubadisc TROCD01407.
    • Tr11.
  • 01:08

    Lili Boulanger

    D'un matin de Printemps

    Orchestra: Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Mark Stringer.

  • Charlotte Mew

    The Peddler, read by Pippa Nixon

Broadcasts

  • Sun 6 Mar 2022 17:30
    91福利社 Radio 3
  • Sun 8 Mar 2026 18:00
    91福利社 Radio 3

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