#7 from 'A Week of Birthdays' (1961)
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Phillip Sear plays a piece by the British, pianist, composer and artist Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012).
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Bennett was a true musical chameleon, excelling in multiple areas. Born in Broadstairs, Kent, he displayed musical talent early on, with a family background that nurtured his creativity (his mother, Joan Esther Bennett, née Spink (1901-1983) was a pianist who had trained with Gustav Holst and sang in the first professional performance of The Planets). In the late 1950s, Bennett studied for a time with the renowned serialist composer Pierre Boulez, but throughout his career, Bennett embraced a wide range of styles.
He composed for film (eg, 'Murder on the Orient Express'), television, and the concert hall, with film scores being a notable success. He wasn't afraid to incorporate jazz and popular music influences, and even enjoyed performing these genres himself as a pianist and singer. This versatility, along with his strong compositional skills, brought him acclaim and recognition, including a knighthood in 1998.
'A Week of Birthdays', a set of seven short pieces, seems rather dated in style now (probably influenced by his studies with Lennox Berkeley and Howard Ferguson, and with more than a touch of Hindemith). However, it was once popular, and at least one piece appeared as a 'modern' item in ABRSM exam syllabuses in the 1960s (I remember seeing it there, but never played it at the time). I was pleased to find a copy of the work in a charity (thrift) store.
The set is prefaced by the old English nursery song:
“Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.”
Thumbnail image created with Wombo Dream ( t.ly/zhJa ).
#britishmusic #sunday
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Played by Phillip Sear
www.psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 )
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