News from our members

We welcome your brief news (max. 150 words) and high-res images. Please email mj@ism.org. The next deadline for copy is 23 November for the January/February 2021 issue.

Dr Julian Bream CBE

15 July 1933 – 14 August 2020 ISM member since 1976

Julian Bream made his solo debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1951 and went on to become arguably the greatest British classical guitarist of all time. His repertoire ranged from pioneering transcriptions of works from the seventeenth century onwards to contemporary music; among the composers who dedicated pieces to him were Malcolm Arnold, Richard Rodney Bennett, Lennox and Michael Berkeley, Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Hans Werner Henze, Peter Maxwell Davies, Toru Takemitsu, Michael Tippett and William Walton. Bream also set new standards in the editing and publication of works for guitar, in his quest to broaden musical horizons. Through televised masterclasses, concert performances and a 1984 documentary series exploring historical perspectives on Spanish guitar music he brought his instrument to a wide new audience.

‘Julian was an inspiration to a generation of guitarists, and he has left a great legacy of commissioned works and recordings,’ writes Gareth Rees-Roberts. ‘His annual visits to the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) to judge the Julian Bream Prize were a highlight of the year, and I felt honoured to receive this accolade in 1974. The breadth of repertoire that he covered was ground-breaking, and his infl uence can be heard in the performances of young virtuosi now taking the stage. I will always treasure the memory of a concert he gave to a packed Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1973, when he played a tombeau by Weiss with such intensity that you could have heard a pin drop in the Hall.’ In 1976 Bream was personally presented with the Villa-Lobos Gold Medal by the composer’s widow. He was elected an Honorary Member honoured with Fellowships of the Royal College of Music (RCM) and the Royal Northern College of Music. In 1988 he became an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS), and he was presented with the RPS Instrumentalist’s Award in 1996.

In 2009 he established the Julian Bream Trust to commission major new works from leading composers and to provide scholarships for exceptionally gifted young guitarists and lutenists at the RAM, RCM and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Laura Snowden, Julian Bream Trust Scholar in 2013-4, writes: ‘Julian’s unique artistry and profound feeling for music transcended the instrument and reached directly into people’s hearts. He taught me a tremendous amount about music and life during our lessons, and his playing, recordings and commissioning will continue to be a great gift to the world.’

Left: Dr Julian Bream CBE Photo: Courtesy Julian Bream Trust Layla Allen

So, You Want to Play the... Clarinet – Book One is a unique beginner clarinet tuition book written by Layla Allen. This book teaches aural skills, improvisation, learning music by ear, and includes duets, piano accompaniments, Christmas music and pop songs alongside the usual music theory, clarinet fi ngerings, exercises and pieces. So, You Want to Play the... Clarinet – Book One was created for the modern teacher and learner. With its own YouTube channel this book links the user to slow-down-able backing tracks, listening and instructional videos. You get a free Teacher Insert which includes technique teaching tips of the RAM (1966) and was later for second study clarinettists and it is available as an e-book (T&Cs apply).

For more information please visit: laylaallenwoodwind.com/author

Above: Adrian Lenthall

Below right: Richard Carder

Far right: Anne Marsden Thomas and Frederick Stocken (photo taken prior to COVID-19 lockdown)

Adrian Lenthall

Adrian Lenthall has just released a recording of Christmas Music for Clavichord, Heaven & Earth in Little Space, on his own label, Plus Fait Douceur. The programme consists of keyboard music with strong Advent, Christmas and Epiphany connections, ranging from the 15th to the 21st centuries and taking in a wide range of composers including Bach, Scarlatti, Bartók and Nielsen, played on four different clavichords. It includes the premiere recordings of three pieces from Nativity, a set of seasonal pieces by the British composer Geoffrey Allan Taylor. Adrian’s earlier live performance of the programme was described in the British Clavichord Society Newsletter as ‘absolutely spellbinding’; moving outside the familiar moods and sounds of Christmas, this music, employing the softest and most intimate of all instruments, takes us into a littleexplored region of intersection between the particular magic of Christmas and that of the Clavichord. adrianlenthall.co.uk/ plus-fait-douceur-recordings Richard Carder

My new choral setting of Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ had its premiere performance by Cappella Nova Chamber Choir in Bath on 29 February. There have been some nice reviews of the recent CD from Divine Art Sappho, Shropshire and Super-Tramp. It contains my edition of Ivor Gurney’s Seven Sappho Songs, sung by Sarah Leonard with Nigel Foster, alongside songs by members of the English Poetry and Song Society, also with Johnny Herford. My recent cantata in memory of the Chernobyl explosion, Green-En Dreams, is also recorded, and all proceeds are for the Chernobyl Children’s Project, which organises holidays for the many still suffering from the radiation.

Mynstrallsy Press: mynstrallsy.co.uk

Anne Marsden Thomas MBE and Dr Frederick Stocken

The New Oxford Organ Method is a comprehensive method book from Oxford University Press, written by members Anne Marsden Thomas MBE and Dr Frederick Stocken. They bring to this project a lifetime of professional experience of teaching and performing. The method places organ repertoire at its centre, using carefully selected pieces as the basis for learning, with related exercises and studies. By teaching technique through the music the book equips players to make a direct connection between the pieces they encounter and the techniques which lead to a musical performance. It is designed for use as a teaching resource or for selfstudy purposes. Each chapter focuses on a single piece, covering four main topics: practice methods, registration, fi ngering and pedalling, and historically-informed interpretation. The attractive pieces include works by J.S. Bach, Buxtehude, Franck, Reger, Stocken and Walton. A companion website offers extensive additional resources to enhance learning. annemarsdenthomas.com

Simon Leach

Simon Leach has recently been appointed organist at Marchmont House which is situated in the heart of the Scottish Borders. The Music Room at Marchmont was designed by the eminent architect Robert Lorimer and houses a fabulous three-manual Norman and Beard organ which has recently been fully restored to its original condition by Forth Organ Builders of Rosyth. The house has had a long association with composers and musicians, particularly Charles Villiers Stanford who was a frequent visitor to Marchmont and a great friend of the then owner, Robert Finnie McEwen. Simon’s video recordings of the organ recitals will be available to view on the Marchmont House website: marchmonthouse.com

Echo Ensemble

The Echo Ensemble is committed to getting the performing arts moving again. Our next Covid-Aware event, Echo Ensemble: Hope, will take place at 8pm on 25 November at St Giles’ Cripplegate, and features music by Holst, a world premiere by Noah Max and Vaughan Williams’ sumptuous Oboe Concerto with soloist Katherine Bryer. We can’t wait to share more details and will keep you updated should guidelines change. Echo Chamber 3 follows in December. With a ground-breaking new format and inspiring original content from Europe’s most creative young musicians, the Echo family promise to keep you fulfi lled as 2020 closes. Catch the teaser here: youtube.com/ watch?v=nEAk9NuMg2g You can relive the joy of Echo Outdoors here: youtube.com/watch?v=rXGGL dbQILw&list=PLArSMwxFYX91tSKrD H32JTdKBQc3BqSne and keyboard accompaniment, with the option of a small instrumental ensemble or chamber orchestra as forces allow.

It is without surprise yet still with heavy hearts that we confi rm The Wind Rises on 8 October and Grant Us Peace on 26 November can’t go ahead. Those who have booked will receive a refund.

Find Echo Ensemble on Facebook @EchoEnsembleMusic and Twitter @EchoEnsemble The eponymous ‘bravest man’ is lifeboat coxswain Henry Blogg (1879–Douglas Coombes 1954) of Cromer, North Norfolk who is the RNLI’s most decorated lifeboatman Composed by Schools Music Association ever. In his 38 years of service to the life-member Douglas Coombes, The Cromer lifeboat he saved 873 lives, Bravest Man is a through-composed and this cantata samples just one day dramatic cantata, lasting approximately in 1917, when in three rescue outings 45 minutes, for two narrators, tenor on this single day, over a period of 16 and baritone soloists, SATB choir

hours or so, Henry Blogg and his men saved the crew of two boats, the Pyrin and the Fernebo. In this work, Douglas Coombes captures the struggle, endurance and sheer inspired determination of Henry Blogg to succeed against the extreme forces of nature. Available from lindsaymusic. co.uk

Above: An Echo Outdoors sociallydistanced performance

Sarah Rodgers

A new work commissioned from Sarah Rodgers for Spitalfi elds Music will be premiered on Saturday 14 November as part of an interactive, streamed performance between performers on both sides of the Atlantic. The MillerPorfi ris Duo (violin and viola) with Siwan Rhys (piano) will perform ‘Sizzle’ as part of Spitalfi elds Music’s, Fast Food, Fast Music concert for the 2020 festival. Sarah will also be online to talk about the piece. To fi nd out more, visit spitalfi eldsmusic.org.uk.

OBITUARIES

We are sorry to announce the deaths of the following members: Mr Michael Barlow of Oxted

Dr Julian Bream CBE of Shaftesbury Mr Tony Cliff of Falmouth Mr Michael John Lloyd of Newcastle-under-Lyme Mr Dennis J Wickens of Wantage In our tribute to Elizabeth de la Porte in our September/October issue of Music Journal we did not include her FRCM title. Our apologies for this oversight and her correct title is Elizabeth de la Porte FISM, FRCM.