Poézia

Audiobook The Pardoners Tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer. These three tales from The Canterbury Tales are read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain’s foremost Chaucer scholar, Derek Brewer. This was Bebb’s last recording – he died shortly after finishing it – but though ill at the time, his strong professional ethic ensured that it lacks none of the brightness and accuracy that he brought to his two other Chaucer recordings on Naxos AudioBooks: The General Prologue and The Knyghtes Tale.

Audiobook The Song of Roland. It is the year 778. The mighty French army, led by Emperor Charlemagne, confronts Saracen forces in the bloody Battle of Roncevaux Pass. In the course of this thrilling epic poem we follow the emperor’s hot-headed nephew Roland into battle. We are privy to the deal struck between the Saracen king Marsilie and Roland’s conniving stepfather Guene.

Audiobook Winter Words, written by Thomas Hardy. This selection of Hardy’s poetry does full justice to its humanity, integrity, humour and evocative power, ranging from charming anthology pieces such as ‘Weathers’ to the great love poems he wrote after the death of his first wife and the meditations on war and philosophy. The poems – nearly eighty in total – are set in the context of his life and thought, including personal writings by him and those closest to him.