Benedict Lewis-Smith

pianist – organist – conductor

Pianist with ‘Blossom Street’ for Resonus Classics

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.

Read More

Review of concert in Gozo, Malta – Saturday 29th June 2013

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.

Read More