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The best of these recordings can, as in the
case of Babii Yar, combine low-quality audio (vintage
vinyl; primitive recording conditions at various poetry readings)
with the highest level performance, or offer the best of sound
and performance. (Amsterdam, A Shropshire Lad).
Amsterdam,Mayor of Casterbridge, An Equal Music and
Oliver's Travels are especially good travel listening. |
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Amsterdam
Ian McEwan
4 audio-cassette set, HarperCollins Audio 1998
4-CD set, BA Shop
ISBN 0-00-105566-6
Unabridged: about 5 hours' listening
Winner of the 1998 Booker Prize
From the Independent review: "Ian McEwan's Booker
Prize-winning novella "Amsterdam" takes to spoken word
like a duck to water, not least because it is so short that no
abridgement was needed to fit it on to four cassette tapes. Alan
Bates, his voice gruffly wry and authoritative, is the perfect
choice as reader.
AMSTERDAM is a contemporary morality tale that is as profound
as it is witty. On a chilly February day, two old friends meet
in the throng outside a crematorium to pay their last respects
to Molly Lane. Both Clive Linley and Vernon Halliday had been
Molly's lovers in the days before they reached their current
eminence among London's cultural elite.
Gorgeous, feisty Molly had other lovers, too, notably Foreign
Secretary Julian Garmony, a notorious right-winger tipped to
be the next prime minister. In the days that follow Molly's funeral,
Clive and Vernon will make a pact with consequences neither can
foresee, and Julian Garmony will be forced to fight for his political
life. And why Amsterdam?
What happens there to Clive and Vernon is the most delicious
shock in a novel brimming with suprises.
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An Equal Music
Vikram Seth
2 cassettes, Bantam Books-Audio, 1999
ISBN 0553526367
Published simultaneously with novel on 8 April 1999 (UK) and
May 4 (US).
From CHOICE, July 99: "...Vikram Seth's fascination
with detail turns his books into tomes. This abridgment, punctuated
by beautiful music, makes him much more manageable - with Alan
Bates' faultless reading, it becomes a virtuoso performance."
From the Irish Times, August 99: "If ever a novel
was meant to be read aloud, this one was, and the occasional
musical excerpts, which could have upended the whole delicate
balance, are superbly handled."
From the Guardian, 24 April 99: "A precious combination:
a rare convincing fiction about the professional classical music
scene which is also a toothsome novel. And what a wonderful audiobook
it makes, allowing the text to be underscored and punctuated
with the works played by the protagonist, a violinist, and his
string quartet. ...Alan Bates, the reader, delivers a virtuosic
performance of introverted obsession and neurosis, chronic hazards
for artists who spend so much time practising alone and rehearsing
with the same small group of people. Both his parents were musicians,
according to the sleeve note."
From Spoken Word, by Christina Hardyment: "...Vikram
Seth's new novel is a tale of obsessive love among musicians
which should be awarded a place next to 'Casablanca' and 'Brief
Encounter' in the pantheon of noble renunciations of forbidden
love. Alan Bates reads Kati Nicholl's sensitive abridgment brilliantly,
taking us more and more deeply into the at first only opaquely
perceived central character..."
Those of you who have been enjoying both the Vikram
Seth novel and the Bates audiobook performance, will be delighted
by this further development: Decca / Polygram have issued a double
CD package containing the music central to the novel, and quoted
in the audiobook: Bach's Partita No 3 in E major, BWV 1006; the
Beethoven String Quintet in c minor, op. 104, newly recorded
for this CD; Haydn's Quartet in A major, op. 20 no. 6; the first
Contrapunctus from Bach's Art of Fugue, in performances on the
piano as well as by string quartet; Mozart's Sonata for piano
and violin in e minor, K304; Schubert's Quartettsatz in c minor,
D703, String Quintet in C major, D956, and the Piano Quintet
in A major, D667, "The Trout;" Vivaldi's "Manchester
Sonata" No 1 for violin and piano in C major, RV 3; and
Ralph Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending."
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Art
Yasmina Reza
Transmitted on BBC Radio 3 Sunday Play
7:30 pm, 7.v.00
CD available, BA Shop
Alan plays Serge, the guy who sets everything in motion by
buying a "white painting." What follows is a great
and hilarious meditation on friendship, taste, style, and ...
art. The play has had a succession of distinguished casts in
London and New York, but none more wonderful than this trio:
Alan Bates - Michael Gambon - Simon Russell Beale.
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A Shropshire Lad
A. E. Housman
2 CD set, Hyperion
1995
Some of the poems are read, some performed by tenor and piano
on this exquisite pair of CDs. Many composers of the early 20th
century were attracted to Housman's poetry cycle, which deals
eloquently and simply with the big topics -- love, war, death,
loss of innocence, friendship -- from the perspective of village
England. There are numerous high points, including "Loveliest
of Trees, the Cherry" (sung by Anthony Rolfe Johnson, with
Graham Johnson, piano), "To an Athlete, Dying Young,"
and "Terence, This is Stupid Stuff" (consummate readings
by Bates). The Hyperion link lists the complete contents.
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A Winter's Tale
William Shakespeare
3 cassettes, Caedmon 1961, HarperCollins Audio 1995
Bates is Florizel
Note: In Butley, [q.v.] Miss Heasman [Georgina Hale] writes
a turgid essay on A Winter's Tale, which she reads aloud
in her tutorial. Heasman: "A Winter's Tale of a frozen
soul..."
Butley: "A bit fishy, that."
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Babii Yar and
Other Poems
1 Caedmon record, 1967
CD available at BA Shop
This wonderful recording features Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko
performing his works in live poetry readings, and Alan Bates
reading the same poems in English in a studio. Great performances
by Yevtushenko declaiming in epic style, Bates using the full
range of his instrument to reveal every nuance. It's worth searching
for this gem.
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Butley
Simon Gray
3 Caedmon cassettes or records, out of print, available at some
libraries.
amazon.com
will do a book search for the cassettes, and they do turn up
on eBay.
A cast recording of the film version of the play
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The
Caretaker
Harold Pinter
Oriole Records
out of print, available at some libraries. |
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The English Poets from Chaucer to Yeats
Blake (RG 428)
Browning (RG 346)
Wordsworth (RG 345, 347, 429)
Argo LP records, out of print
CD available at BA Shop
Alan Bates and many other readers
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Falling
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Chivers Audio
Books CAB 1918)
Chivers North America: 1-800-621-1450
The best selling novel, read unabridged by Alan Bates and Diana
Quick, on 12 tapes. |
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Homage
to Shakespeare
Argo NF4 (mono) ZNF4 (stereo), 1964
out of print
Directed by George Rylands, in association with the Shakespeare
Exhibition of 1964; artistic director, Richard Buckle. An anthology
of readings and music, Bates reads Lament for Fidele ("Fear
no more the heat o'th'sun..."); other readers. |
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Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare
Caedmon 1964, 2 cassettes, 1 CD, HarperCollins Audio 1995
Bates is Marc Antony
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Man and Boy
Terence Rattigan
Transmitted on BBC Radio 3 Sunday Play
7:30 pm, 25.x.98
CD available at BA Shop
Terence Rattigan personified West End Theatre until the advent
of the Angry Young Man. His final play, "Man and Boy"
in 1964, was based on the true story of fraudulent tycoon Gregor
Antonescu during the New York slump of 1934. In it, Antonescu
has built a dark empire on a tissue of lies but, as the FBI and
his business partners seek him out, he hides out in the apartment
of his estranged son. Starring Alan Bates as Antonescu, this
production boasts a strong supporting cast including James Laurenson,
John Light, David Bradley and Catherine Cusack.
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Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy
2 cassettes, Listen for Pleasure, 1981
ISBN185848048-5
After his landmark performance in the 1977 BBC mini-series,
Bates recorded this abridged version of the novel, which can
be rented from Village Story Tapes, or occasionally found
on eBay.
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Murder in Paris
Howard Ginsberg
Transmitted on BBC Radio 4 Saturday Playhouse
2:30 pm, 7 .iii.98
CD available at BA Shop
"In 1978, the daughter of detective writer and Maigret
creator Georges Simenon was found dead in her Paris apartment.
In Howard Ginsberg's play, a police inspector matches wits with
Simenon as they investigate whether Marie-Jo committed suicide
or was murdered."
With Alan Bates as Simenon, Bob Peck, Emilia Fox, Jacqueline
Pearce and Eleanor Bron. Directed by Andy Jordan.
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The Night of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer
Readings of Prose and Poetry
RCA Red Seal BL 25406 (LP); BK 25406 (cassette)
out of print
CD available at BA Shop
Recorded live at the Duke of York's Theatre, October 1981;
compiled by Christopher Hampton and Ronald Harwood. Alan Bates
reads Paul Celan's "Death Fugue."
"Dedicated to all those writers cruelly imprisoned and
silenced for the freedom of their thought. They spoke for Everyman
and Everyman must work to set one free." -J. B. Priestley
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Oliver's Travels
Alan Plater
2 cassettes, Hodder Headline Audiobooks, 1994
ISBN 185998045-7
CD set available at BA Shop
It's a bit different from the TV series, and therein lies
its interest. Contains the full text of the World's Second Greatest
Joke (The Horse That Liked to Sit on Eggs), and more of Oliver's
anagrams. This isn't a cast recording; it's Alan Bates reading
the (abridged) book. Can occasionally be found on eBay.
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Othello
William Shakespeare
Caedmon 1960, on cassett or e-book (Microsoft Reader format),
HarperCollins Audio 1995
Alan Bates is Cassio; Frank Silvera as Othello, Cyril Cusack
as Iago, and Anna Massey as Desdemona. Robert Stephens, Celia
Johnson and Margaret Whiting are also in the cast.
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Poems of William Blake
1 cassette, Reed Audio, 1995
ISBN 186021946-2
If you are fond of Blake, this tape is a must. If you haven't
read much more Blake than "Tyger, Tyger" or "Jerusalem,"
prepare for an Experience. Amazon.co.uk sometimes has it in their
Marketplace listings.
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The Prince's Choice
A personal selection from Shakespeare
on CD or cassette, HighBridge Audio 1996
order from amazon.com
A strange production, featuring little homilies from HRH,
who also does a turn as Prince Hal. He wants us to know that
Shakespeare is ... just great ... and good for us, too. Features
a roll call of actors. Bates reads from "Antony and Cleopatra,"
as Enobarbus, describing the first meeting of Antony with Cleopatra;
and again from "As You Like It," as Duke Senior, on
the joys of nature over life at court. The prince turns out to
be right: these few moments (and there are others to savor as
well) are great, and good for us.
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The Rivals
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
2 LPs or 2 cassettes, Caedmon Records, 1960
CDL 52020 2
Directed by Howard Sackler, Edith Evans as Mrs Malaprop, Alan
Bates as Fag, Vanessa Redgrave.
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Thomas Hardy: Words and Music
Alan Bates with the Mellstock Band
1 CD or 1 cassette, Droffig Recordings, 1998
The readings are performed with the attention to nuance and a
delicacy of wit and irony, and sometimes sadness, that are characteristic
of both Bates and Hardy. The music is a surprise; while it has
the rollicking style and infectious rhythm of all country dance
music, the musicianship of Dave Townsend and his group elevate
it at times to an intimate beauty that is as touching as the
readings.
The programme's mood moves from the amusing opening tale of
a hapless church band, to a richer and darker heart: the reading
from "The Trumpet-Major," and the music that follows
("The Wounded Hussar") are breathtaking. A group of
poems gradually bring us back into the light, and "Sweet
Jenny Jones" ends the programme on a happy note. You'll
listen again and again, and wish for more.
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