Category Archives: News

In appreciation – Jim Parker

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by Ben Hogwood

Yesterday we heard of the sad news of the death of Jim Parker – who, as this wonderful Guardian obituary illustrates, was a composer of rare talent for the small screen.

One of Parker’s calling cards was the music to the much loved British TV mainstay Midsomer Murders. If you’ve watched any of the episodes you will be aware of the musical attention to detail in the scene setting, Parker providing a vivid guide to the action taking place on screen, and hamming up the drama as and when needed.

That’s before we get to the theme, of course, which has become one of the most distinctive on TV with its gurgling clarinet and spooky mellotron.

Online now – Philip Sawyers’ Mayflower on the Sea of Time

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The latest addition to the English Symphony Orchestra library of online music is the first performance of Philip Sawyers‘ major choral work, Mayflower on the Sea of Time.

With its ‘luminous and ecstatic choruses’ picked out by Richard Whitehouse in his review of the initial concert, this is an affirmative and major piece by one of the finest contemporary English composers.

Soprano April Fredrick and baritone Thomas Humphreys are joined by the ESO Chorus and English Symphony Orchestra in the premiere from Worcester Cathedral, given on 17 June this year.

You can watch a preview clip below, and access the full performance at the English Symphony Orchestra website.

Oppenheimer – the opera

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Operan-heimer

by Ben Hogwood

With the release of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer last Friday, it is worth noting that opera also has its own high quality biopic of the scientist.

John Adams wrote Doctor Atomic in 2005 to a libretto by Peter Sellars. It is a compelling tale, bolstered by some of the composer’s best music.

The Metropolitan Opera have made their Penny Woolcock production available online, and you can view it here… it is highly recommended!

On this day – Darius Milhaud: La Création du Monde

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by Ben Hogwood

On this day, 22 June 1974, your editor arrived in the world…but I have just discovered for the first time that on the same day we lost the composer Darius Milhaud.

With Milhaud’s 50th anniversary falling next year it would seem to be a good time to reappraise his output, for he has dropped off the radar rather when it comes to concert programming. This is a shame – because if you listen to one of his most popular works, La Création du Monde, you will see just how well he integrates jazz into his style, and how full of melody his writing is. Listen and enjoy!

Depeche Mode – Are People Good?

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Tonight I am seeing Depeche Mode live for the first time. Excitement is building, especially given the quality of their new album Memento Mori – though we will of course miss the presence of keyboard player ‘Fletch’, who sadly passed away in May 2022.

The most recent Depeche Mode to be played on the radio has been People Are Good, a fine new single that has a ring of Kraftwerk’s Computer Love about it. It is effectively a considered update to one of the band’s best singles from 1984:

People Are Good seems to be impressing a more thoughtful approach on people…but is there a lyrical sting in its tale?

As for tonight, I will report back – firstly via a gig review for musicOMH, then a considered response for these pages.

Happy weekend!

Ben