To Your Humours Changing We Tune Our Supple Song

My catalogue is long, through every passion ranging,
And to your humours changing,
I tune my supple song.

This is the song of the wand'ring minstrel, Nanki-Pooh, who is, of course, the son of  the Emperor of Japan, whose 'customary affability was misconstrued into expressions of affection' by the voracious Katisha, thus occasioning the charade at the heart of the Gilbert and Sullivan exercise in topsy-turvydom which is the perennial favourite, The Mikado.  It is also the genesis of the title of a new series in which the ingredients are sparkling music and rapier-sharp wit.

Over the past few years, especially on holidays and other times when a certain levity in listening is required, the glorious partnership of Gilbert & Sullivan has been explored by the slightly-less renowned partnership of Fionn O'Leary and Gerry McArdle.  Thankfully, the powers - that - be in RTE Radio 1  have decided that the month of August requires some of that holiday levity, thus reuniting O'Leary and McArdle in a summertime extravaganza celebrating their heroes.

Fionn O'Leary will be fondly remembered by listeners for his long running series, 'Sounds Classical', which, long before the advent of Lyric FM, was one of the first programmes on Irish radio to break musical broadcasting out of its stuffy, imitation BBC strait-jacket, and reveal it as something to be enjoyed rather than endured.  Gerry McArdle began his performing career in O'Connell Schools, Dublin, in the ladies' chorus of the 'Pirates of Penzance', an experience which could have been traumatic but which was, in fact, benign, not only giving him a healthy aversion to transvestism, but also a love of the stage, of music and of Gilbert and Sullivan.  Recently, he has been concentrating on religious broadcasting, and welcomes this fleeting return to a little frivolity.

The series, 'TO YOUR HUMOURS CHANGING, WE TUNE OUR SUPPLE SONG', gathers together some past successes, and adds two completely new programmes; one, a profile of Sir Arthur Sullivan, and the other a look at that unique G & S device, the chorus.  Gerry and Fionn hope that you will enthusiastically share their passion for Gilbert and Sullivan at 7p.m. each Wednesday in August, and if you enjoy this summer series as much as they enjoyed making it, they will have done their jobs well.

2 August 2006: WINNOW ALL MY FOLLY.
A profile of D'Oyly Carte star, Martyn Green.
To listen to the show, click here

9 August 2006: HOP AND SKIP TO FANCY'S FIDDLE.
The wit, wisdom and whimsicality of W.S. Gilbert.
To listen to the show click here.

16 August 2006: IS LIFE A BOON?
The man behind the music of Gilbert & Sullivan.
To listen to the show click here.

23 August 2006: THE VALUE OF A KINDLY CHORUS.
The choruses of Gilbert & Sullivan. 
To listen to the show click here.

30 August 2006: WELL A'DAY, MODIFIED RAPTURE AND FA LA LA.
The romantic side of Gilbert & Sullivan.
To listen to the show click here.

TO YOUR HUMOURS READING LIST.

Click on the link for the reading list.