News & Updates
Knightsbridge Organ Academy
I am delighted to announce that Knightsbridge Organ Academy is up and running!
Organ Lessons are now available at St Columba’s, Knightsbridge,
on Saturdays on the lovely 3-manual Walker organ.
St. Columba’s is very near Sloane Square.
St. Columba’s
Pont Street
London SW1X 0BD
For more information: 07812 396884 or benlsmith320@gmail.com
Pianist with ‘Blossom Street’ for Resonus Classics
A Short While for Dreaming by Peter Warlock →
The Blossom Street Chamber Choir directed by Hilary Campbell
“Check out tracks 13 ‘Lullaby’ and 16 ‘One more river’….and the rest of beautiful too!!” BLS
Director Blossom Street: Hilary Campbell
Piano: Ben Lewis-Smith
Blossom Street & Hilary Campbell (director)
Making their Resonus debut, is the renowned young professional chamber choir Blossom Street with their director Hilary Campbell.
The name Peter Warlock (nom de plume of Philip Heseltine (1894-1930)) is synonymous with both English song and breathtakingly beautiful carols for choir. Here Blossom Street present a selection of Warlock's best-known carols alongside a number of lesser-known part-songs, with no fewer than six world premiere recordings.
Immediately apparent is the huge breadth of range seen throughout these exquisite miniatures – from the dark despair of The Shrouding of the Duchess of Malfi to the uproarious sociable songs for men's voices, and the imagery contained in The Night to the haunting stillness of Warlock's most frequently heard work Bethlehem Down – Warlock's lyrical and harmonically rich sound world is always evident.
[...] a programme offering a genuine expansion in our understanding of Warlock [...] Gorgeous sound; highly engaging, dedicated performances.'
BBC Music Magazine
'[...] Blossom Street find the blended intensity and control that this music demands'
Gramophone
'Campbell and her chamber-sized choir Blossom Street give committed readings of this repertoire, which time and again reveals Warlock's highly attuned sensitivity to text'
Choir and Organ
'[...] everything in this collection is enjoyable. Credit for this must go to Hilary Campbell and her Blossom Street singers who sound lovely'
Cross Rhythms
'This being Peter Warlock, there's nothing prim and proper - The Shrouding of the Duchess of Malfi is really spooky and the performances match the music. The recording is good, too'
MusicWeb International
'Blossom Sreet are a choir of young voices and this comes over very clearly in the freshness of this lovely recording [...] a valuable addition to the repertoire'
Lark Reviews
REVIEW OF CONCERT IN GOZO, MALTA
Organist and harpsichordist Benedict Lewis-Smith saved the day yesterday evening! A concert featuring English, Italian, Spanish and Flemish Baroque music was the second of five concerts of Baroque works. Richard Vendome, a great benefactor of St George’s Basilica, was scheduled to come over and give a performance of these Baroque works. Richard is no newcomer to Gozo. When he first visited Gozo some fifteen years ago, he was struck by the wonderful cultural activity emanating from the environs of St George’s Basilica. Such was his enthusiasm that he, together with Gordon Curtis and the late David Bolton, actually built a disused organ from scratch, one which used to live in a Methodist Church in England. Richard donated the organ to the Basilica and he was also pivotal in helping the organizers of the Victoria International Arts Festival to acquire the fantastic harpsichord which is a model of the famous Antunez of 1785.
Due to an unfortunate accident just days before the concert, Richard had to opt out due to his injury. He was very generous with us, as always, and contacted Benedict to stand in for him and Benedict literally hopped on a plane and flew out yesterday morning to perform in the evening.
The concert featured works for organ and harpsichord, both of which are housed in the Aula Mgr G. Farrugia, making it the only concert hall on the islands to accommodate a concert grand piano, an organ and a harpsichord. Benedict’s mastery on the organ was in evidence immediately, with a lovely Purcell Voluntary in D Minor. The sensuous, mellow tones of the organ were exploited to the full, as Benedict moved seamlessly from English, to Italian, Spanish and Flemish Baroque masters in what are largely short pieces but ones that are paradigmatic of the respective styles.
Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in Bb Major BWV866 was performed on the harpsichord, whose clear brilliance provided a marked contrast to the organ’s rounded tones. The recital finished with one of Haydn’s typical pieces entitled Eight Pieces for Musical clocks. A resounding round of applause was more than merited and we hope to see more of Benedict in future editions of the Festival!