With Ralph Fiennes now in theaters as Odysseus in “The Return,” I’m girding myself for a cathartic dose of holiday bloodletting. To get myself in the mood, this week on “The Lost Chord,” I’ll have an hour of music inspired by Odysseus’ homeward journey.
We’ll hear Ernst Boehe’s symphonic poem “Departure and Shipwreck,” from his cycle “From Odysseus’ Voyages” (1903-05), and Benjamin Britten’s radio play “The Rescue of Penelope” (1943), narrated by Dame Janet Baker.
Odysseus, of course, is one of the heroes of the Trojan War, waylaid time and again on his homeward journey by Poseidon and the frailties of his own men. It takes him ten years to find his way back to Ithaca. When he gets there, he finds his wife beset by boorish suitors all vying for her hand and his throne.
What happens next pushes all the same buttons that are still pushed whenever the descendants of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone begin applying the camouflage, strapping on their bandoliers, and sheathing their big knives. In the process, there’s also some meaningful father-son bonding. Homer always did know how to lend class to the classics.
If you’re looking for angry gods, shipwrecks, cannibalism, gratuitous nudity, riotous drunkenness, blinded Cyclopes, and the vicarious slaughter of one’s rivals, I hope you’ll me for “Home Sweet Homer” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
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