Richard Rodney Bennett, perennially admired in Britain and steadily gaining fans elsewhere, has shown an unusual ability to adapt to changing times. A student of Elisabeth Lutyens who put British serialism on the map in the 1960s, he moved to the U.S. and gained admiration for his considerable skills as a jazz accompanist. Perhaps Milton Babbitt could have done that, but it's hard to think of another High Modernist. He has continued in later life to write prolifically in newer accessible classical idioms, and this album of ...
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Richard Rodney Bennett, perennially admired in Britain and steadily gaining fans elsewhere, has shown an unusual ability to adapt to changing times. A student of Elisabeth Lutyens who put British serialism on the map in the 1960s, he moved to the U.S. and gained admiration for his considerable skills as a jazz accompanist. Perhaps Milton Babbitt could have done that, but it's hard to think of another High Modernist. He has continued in later life to write prolifically in newer accessible classical idioms, and this album of his choral music gives a good example of his appeal. The key is that, although he has returned to tonality, his music is as concise and rigorous as it ever was. Like John Rutter, he has a strong grasp of the history of English poetry, but perhaps unlike Rutter there is not a dash of sentiment in these short pieces. Try the five Serenades (tracks 7-12), which are settings of poems by the idiosyncratic John Skelton (1460-1529). These "Skeltonics" are minimalist collections of simple...
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