Edward Rushton - With My Whip
“A friend recommended Pepys' quirky prose to me when I was looking for English material to set for my contribution to the NMC Songbook. As I'm sure most people are, I was especially attracted to the more scurrilous and spaced-out side of Pepys. Since the diary entries that show his human flaws tend to be bite-sized, it was clear they would make ideal songs. I sat in the coffee shop of the British Library and sketched the song in one go, the nervy rhythms of the piano part falling naturally in to place to scuff and stratch against the singer's laconic declamation. With my Whip’ has since become the fifth song in a cycle of five Pepys diary entries called To Bed, which will be premiered in Leeds in March by the baritone Richard Burkhard and me on the piano."
Thank you to everyone that entered the competition to pick their favourite song from the selection chosen for the NMC Songbook competition and congratulations to the lucky entrant who was chosen to receive a signed copy of Rushton’s score and a copy of the NMC Songbook boxset.
Gramophone Magazine's editor James Inverne has picked David Matthews' Winter Passions as "one of this month's outstanding new discs".
He writes ...
"The highlight of this splendid disc for me is the relaxed yet atmospheric and very compelling Clarinet Quartet. That's closely followed by the first String Trio - composed for, and played here by, the Nash Ensemble, which rather enjoyably includes across its span a motif that spells out the group's name. Stephan Loges is the vivid performer in the finale, Winter Passions."
Competition: Win a signed score & the NMC Songbook box set
Gramophone Magazine in collaboration with NMC Recordings has selected ten songs linked to various parts of the British Isles. These are marked on the map with a pink pin. Click on them and listen to the entire work.
Vote for your favourite of these ten songs or champion the song positioned in your home region of the UK. When all the votes are in Gramophone will reveal the most popular song, and everyone who chose it will be entered into a draw to win a copy of the winning score, signed by the composer, plus a box set of The NMC Songbook. Five runners-up will also receive a copy of the box set.
The ten songs are:
Rupert Bawden Vocalise – Loch Lurgainn in the Sunshine
Donnacha Dennehy Swift’s Epitaph
Michael Finnissy Outside Fort Tregantle
Sadie Harrison Easter Zunday
Morgan Hayes Dictionary of London
Stuart MacRae The Lif of this World
Thea Musgrave A Winter’s Morning
Geoffrey Poole Heynonnynonny Smallprint
Edward Rushton With my Whip
Julia Simpson Bees a-zwarmen
Happy listening and good luck!
To enter the competition, visit the Gramophone website here
