Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mount Qaf | 20250421 | Erland and author Elif Shafak take an imaginary trip to explore the magic of Mount Qaf Evocative stories of mythic mountains, beautifully scored with Erland Cooper's own music. In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations. Tonight we visit Mount Qaf with Elif Shafak, an author and storyteller who has written 13 novels, most recently There Are Rivers in the Sky. She first heard about Mount Qaf as a child growing up in Turkey. Extracts from The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din 'Attar translated by Afham Darbandi and Dick Davis, Penguin Classics. Reader - Molly Gromadzki Violin - Freya Goldmark Producer: Victoria Ferran Exec producer: Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3 Erland joins author Elif Shafak on an imaginary journey to explore the myth and magic of Mount Qaf |
| 02 | Kunlun Shan | 20250422 | Evocative stories of mythic mountains, beautifully scored with Erland Cooper's own music. An imaginary adventure in China, exploring the mythical Kunlun mountain. In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time, he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations. Tonight, we visit Kunlun mountain from Chinese mythology with author and translator Xueting C. Ni 倪雪婷. It's a terrifying and dangerous journey to the top but also a place of wonder and delight. Poetry extracts translated by Gopal Sukhu - The Songs of Chu: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poetry by Qu Yuan and others, edited and translated by Gopal Sukhu, Columbia University Press. Reader - Molly Gromadzki Violin, Vocal & Piano - Freya Goldmark Producer: Victoria Ferran Exec producer: Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3 A late night journey to the summit of the mythological Kunlun mountain, in search of jade palaces and the peaches of immortality. |
| 03 | Hnitbjorg | 20250423 | A late night journey to a mountain from Norse mythology, in search of the mead of poetry Evocative stories of mythic mountains, beautifully scored with Erland Cooper's own music. In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations. Tonight we visit Hnitbjorg from Norse mythology with storyteller Svend-Erik Engh. It's this mythical mountain where Odin, chief of the gods, stole the mead of poetry from the giant Suttung. Reader - Molly Gromadzki Violin & Vocal - Freya Goldmark Cello - Klara Schumann Producer: Victoria Ferran Exec producer: Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3 Erland is joined by storyteller Svend-Erik Engh on a late night journey to Hnitbjorg, a mountain from Norse mythology, in search of the mead of poetry. |
| 04 | Mount Killaraus | 20250424 | A medieval voyage to Ireland, in search of the origins of Stonehenge Evocative stories of mythic mountains, beautifully scored with Erland Cooper's own music. In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations. Tonight we discover the origins of Stonehenge, as explained by 12th century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain), with storyteller Jon Norman Mason. Reader - Molly Gromadzki Violin - Freya Goldmark Cello - Klara Schumann, Sergio Serra Lopez Producer: Victoria Ferran Exec producer: Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3 A late night voyage following Merlin and some Arthurian knights to Ireland, as they steal Stonehenge from the mythical Mount Killaraus. |
| 05 LAST | Bald Mountain | 20250425 | A late night visit to Bald Mountain on the witches' sabbath Evocative stories of mythic mountains, beautifully scored with Erland Cooper's own music. In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations. Tonight we take a wild ride to Bald Mountain on the witches' sabbath with Gabriela Houston. Born and raised in Poland, she is the author of Slavic-folklore-inspired novels for adults and children. Reader - Molly Gromadzki Violin and Piano - Freya Goldmark, Woodwind - Guy Passey Producer: Victoria Ferran Exec producer: Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3 Erland and Polish author Gabriela Houston take a wild ride to Bald Mountain on the witches' sabbath. |