Great Speaking Voices

[pastoralguy]

The late, great Mr. Ray Moore whose radio 2 early show in the 80's used to make me smile at 06.00 in th morning as I was preparing for a 07.00 start.

[johnb]

For me the outstanding speaking has to be Richard Burton - it casts such a mesmeric spell.

Also Alec Guiness was remarkable.

[pastoralguy]

And Andrew McGregor. Genius! (Word to be used only of him!)

[Tevot]

Pastoral Guy - I must take issue

If we're talking closer to home - I would suggest :-

Mr Jonathan Swain

Best Wishes,

Tevot

P.S. Mr McG is pretty good too !!!

[salymap]

Yes! saly. My tapes of him reading 'The Waste Land' and other Eliot are the best 'talking books' I've ever owned.

Yes Cali, I have those tapes too. Quite agree.

[Ruhevoll]

Pastoral Guy - I must take issue

If we're talking closer to home - I would suggest :-

Mr Jonathan Swain

Best Wishes,

Tevot

P.S. Mr McG is pretty good too !!!

'Hello and welcome to Through The Night with me, Jonathan Swaaaaaaaaain...'

It's probably the introduction I hear most on R3 via podcasts.

I wonder if he'll call his autobiography, Swain's World? (Schwing!)

[aeolium]

For me the outstanding speaking has to be Richard Burton - it casts such a mesmeric spell.

Dylan Thomas wasn't bad either

Two others I like very much are Charles Gray and Coral Browne (both incidentally in An Englishman Abroad). And Peter Sellers must have been the most versatile.

[Padraig]

The authentic sound of the honest Northern Irish accent, as expressed by Seamus Heaney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhBK5_zLwJY

And on a different note:

"I found that the language had a gravitas, a big forthright indicative mood. It has no humour but it has a terrific solidity in which the speech is heavily stressed. Ian Paisley could speak Beowulf without doing it any harm."
Heaney on the original language of Beowulf.
Can you hear him?

[Tevot]

Charles Grey - great narration in the BBC Ghost Story "Schalken the Painter"

[pastoralguy]

Pastoral Guy - I must take issue

If we're talking closer to home - I would suggest :-

Mr Jonathan Swain

Best Wishes,

Tevot

P.S. Mr McG is pretty good too !!!

Yes. Jonathan Swain does have an excellent voice too although I usually catch him at the end of TTN while I am performing my ablutions before going to work!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Yes! saly. My tapes of him reading 'The Waste Land' and other Eliot are the best 'talking books' I've ever owned.

Quite the least effective voice for these poems was - Eliot himself: sounded like a confused talking clock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga8tQrG4ZSw

Back on topic, if we mentioned Andrew McG, then we must include Richard Osborne.

Radio 2 has had some great voices - Ray Moore and Ken Bruce and Jimmy Young, too.

[Beef Oven!]

Mr Bean.

[pastoralguy]

How about Pierre Boulez? I've always loved his very 'precise' way of speaking. Talking of French people, Catherine Deneuve?

[Historian]

John Woodvine and Moray Watson.

[Tevot]

Mr Bean.

Marcel Marceau ?

Controversially perhaps - can I suggest Churchill ? He at least gives good car insurance.

Oh Yes !!!

Best Wishes,

Tevot