A poem by the celebrated poet and BBC programme-maker WR Rodgers has been given a new lease of life by the Ulster Orchestra as part of a special commission to mark the BBC’s centenary.
Rodgers reimagined the story of the Magi and their travels through the seasons of the year in a broadcast poem for BBC network radio in the late 1940s.
Belfast-based composer Paul Campbell has adapted WR Rodgers’ original poem and set it to music for symphony orchestra.
The Journey of the Magi is narrated by Michelle Fairley and Stuart Graham, with an introduction by the award-winning poet Michael Longley.
It will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster on Christmas Eve at 23:00 GMT and repeated on Christmas Day at 18:30.
The programme will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Near Year’s Day at 19:30.
Listen: The Journey of the Magi on BBC Sounds
Video Journalist: Peter Hamill
