Back in 2007 I recorded Pierre Bartholomée’s Requiem with the Laudantes Consort. Pierre Bartholomée, one of Belgium’s most well-respected contemporary composers, was inspired by the poignant story of a young Rwandan girl who was fostered by a Belgian family during the genocide. Bartholomée’s Requiem is a powerful, angry work. It is well worth a listen. […]
As chance would have it, our debut of Stevie Wishart’s new version of ‘Europa’ coincided with open days at the European Institutions. How appropriate for us to be retelling the Greek myth of Europa in the centre of Brussels this last weekend ! In its current musical form, ‘Europa’ is intended for concert performance. However, […]
On Sunday May 10th you will have the chance to hear Stevie Wishart’s piece ‘Europa’ live at La Bellone, a French-speaking venue for the performing arts in the heart of Brussels. The pianist Andrew Wise, the bass-baritone Conor Biggs, Stevie herself on hurdy-gurdy, and I will be presenting ‘Europa’ as part of Composite#8 : a […]
From time to time throughout my career I have had the pleasure of singing at weddings. This weekend, thanks to an expression of interest, I sorted out and dusted down my ‘Repertoire for Ceremonies’. Dashing up and down runs in Handel’s ‘Rejoice’ (Messiah) I was reminded how a piece can give just the right lift […]
Together with Stevie Wishart I have set up a new organization called Music Relevant. It’s principal aim is to make contemporary classical music more widely relevant to 21st century concerns, in particular through the creation of new works that are inspired either by a political objective, or by art. Our first project is ‘Europa’ a […]
