Un soir de neige


Poulenc's chamber cantata Un soir de neige sets words by Paul Éluard. There is a wonderful budget priced double CD of Poulenc's choral music sung by The Sixteen on Virgin Classics. This includes three works which set Éluard's poetry, Un soir de neige, Figure humaine and Sept chansons. Paul Éluard and Francis Poulenc are among the eclectic cast in Bombing the enemy with culture.

Photo of the roof of our garage was taken a few minutes ago. Doesn't it look like something from M.C. Escher? Image (c) On An Overgrown Path 2009. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

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Those who we lost

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Those are my principles....

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That photo of Sir Malcolm Arnold and Julian Bream appears on the late composer's website . Ten years ago I was literally very close to Sir Malcolm's music. He spent his final years being tended by his carer Anthony Day in Attleborough just a few miles from where I live in Norfolk. I managed Sir Malcolm's website and one of my first posts  about his music dates from that time. Following Sir Malcolm's death in 2006 I never lost my appreciation of his music, but it featured less frequently in my listening. However, recently I have returned to his symphonies, and listening to them again has raised some important questions. His nine symphonies are the product of a master craftsman. They move forward from Mahler and Shostakovich, yet should be immediately accessible to contemporary audiences saturated in the music of those two composers. But, despite this, Sir Malcolm Arnold's symphonies remain unknown outside a small circle of admirers. Why? Let me make it clear ...
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