Twilight

From sunset until sunrise on the solstice, Verity Sharp presents a special dream-like night of radio documentaries from Radio 3's archives, celebrating the imaginative possibilities of radio and accompanied by music for enchantment.

During nine hours of overnight programming, Between the Ears documentaries - including works by composers such as Jocelyn Pook and Delia Derbyshire - are interspersed with music that speaks to the theme of the night (midsummer, nighttime, dreams, the forest, enchantment...). Midsummer Dreaming also pays homage to the spirit of the Third Programme, Radio 3’s predecessor, which took to the air 80 years ago in 1946.

The evening light is beginning to fade and we're slipping back in time - starting our Midsummer Dreaming with two editions of Between the Ears that transform music and sound. The Prix Italia-winning Knoxville: Summer of 1995 and When Silence Sings from 2008...

21.33
Knoxville: Summer of 1995 (1995)
Produced by Alan Hall

The bittersweet impressions of time past and the actions of a century are reflected in this portrait of Knoxville, Tennessee, during the summers of 1915, 1947 and 1995. Samuel Barber 's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 lies at the programme's heart.

"It has become that time of evening
when people sit on their porches,
rocking gently and talking gently
and watching the street
and the standing up into their sphere
of possession of the tress,
of birds’ hung havens, hangars.
People go by; things go by..."

22.09
When Silence Sings (2008)
Produced by Dinah Bird (Loftus Media)

A sonic reflection on the city of Venice, which is portrayed through the ears of some of its residents, including Tonie, a Norwegian psychologist who has been deaf from birth. She leads us down alleyways and into hidden little pockets of the city, all the while meditating on what role not being able to hear has played in her life and, in turn, inviting us to reflect on how we listen to our everyday lives.

Midsummer Dreaming was produced by Alan Hall and Eleanor McDowall
Exec produced by Phil Smith from Reduced Listening
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 3