ABBA’s artwork for Voyage, the long, long-awaited follow-up to The Visitors
ABBA, Voyage (Polar) *****
WHAT were you doing 40 years ago?
While Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Leonid Brezhnev ruled the world, we saw the opening of the Humber Bridge, the capture of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, the running of the first London Marathon, and we all celebrated the nuptials of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
Significantly, ABBA’s eighth studio album, The Visitors, was released on November 30 1981. At the time, we had no idea that this was to be their swansong as a collective.
For although both vocalists have sporadically returned to the main stage, and Benny & Bjorn have written for musical theatre and the occasional guest artist, nothing quite matched the glory of the real ABBA.
Only a handful of bands have caught the imagination of multiple generations. Certainly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Queen are in this category. So too are ABBA.
It is a testament to the power of the Swedes’ music that many a fan of the Mamma Mia! theatre production and movies were not even born when Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid first unveiled their music.
So, 40 years on, Voyage is the album that many a fan never dared would happen, indeed the Holy Grail of Pop. With much fanfare, on September 2, the world was introduced to the opening track I Still Have Faith in You. Anni-Frid’s lead vocal lay down the mission statement in an overtly sentimental song about friendship, faith, doubt and determination.
Welcome back after 40 years: ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, 76, Agnetha Fältskog, 71, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 76, and Benny Andersson, 74
At the same press launch, we were introduced to Agnetha’s tour de force, Don’t Shut Me Down, featuring Benny’s heavy piano glissando, rich strings and a harp or two in a huge orchestral arrangement.
Now comes the rest: When You Danced With Me is a Celtic-themed jig that captures the joy of The Piper from Super Trouper, while Bumblebee is pure Fernando. Meanwhile, Just A Notion sounds like a vintage classic that would not have been out of place on Arrival.
Lyrically, I Can Be That Woman and Keep An Eye On Dan showcase maturing couples in marital disharmony. The latter track embraces the sense of menace and tension Bjorn and Benny used to best effect on their Chess album.
The adult theme is best captured in the simply gorgeous, tender ballad Little Things. An unabashed Christmas song, this is a work of beauty, showcasing the pleasures of the season, as seen through the eyes of a child witnessed by the grandmother, albeit aided with a little inspiration from Mozart.
Likewise, the anthemic Ode To Freedom borrows from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and evokes Like An Angel Passing Through My Room. Both are destined to become classics by any standard. What a glorious return.
Little surprise then that sales for Voyage in its first week eclipse those of the entire Top 40 combined. This may have been supported by no less than TWENTY physical versions of the album, available in limited quantities.
The best of the bunch are the two beautiful picture discs, but was it really necessary to churn out multiple coloured (green, white, yellow, orange, blue, black) albums, cassettes and CDs in various artwork versions to pump up sales? No wonder there is a global vinyl shortage!
Danny Nattrass, left, Alex Lodge, Ryan Anderson, Jamie Chatterton and Joseph Peacock as The Osmonds. Picture: Oliver Rosser
THE Osmonds: A New Musical, the story of the Seventies’ hit-making brothers from Utah, USA, will play the Grand Opera House, York, on from August 2 to 6 on its 2022 premiere tour.
Further Yorkshire dates will follow at Hull New Theatre from October 18 to 22 and Bradford Alhambra from November 22 to 26 next year for a show whose world premiere will run at Curve, Leicester, from February 3 to 6.
The Osmonds: A New Musical is driven by a story by Jay Osmond, the drumming brother who sang lead vocals on Crazy Horses, recounting how they were pushed into the spotlight as children and went on to create multiple smash hits.
From their star residency on The Andy Williams Show from 1962 to 1969, through Osmond-mania pop stardom from 1971 to 1975, to the arrival of The Donny & Marie Show, a variety TV show from 1976 to 1979, The Osmonds lived a remarkable life recording chart-topping albums, selling out arena concerts and making record-breaking TV shows. Until one bad decision cost them everything.
“I’ve wanted to tell my story for such a long time and the opportunity to create this beautiful musical, a sort of ‘living autobiography’, seemed the perfect way to do so,” says Jay, who first performed with Alan, Wayne and Merrill, later joined by Donny (with Little Jimmy and sister Marie playing their part in the success too).
“I spent my whole life performing live – on stage, on TV specials, in arenas – so the buzz of live theatre felt like the perfect place for me. There were some difficult times in my life, and some big hurdles to overcome, and this musical will tell people things that will surprise them.”
Jay, 66, continues: “But despite that trouble, when you look back and think of the fans, the music, the once-in-a-lifetime things we did, it’s joyful. I guess I want to do this now to try to spread a little bit of that joy.
“I’ll know I’ve done a good job telling this story if I stand at the back of the theatre and see people waving their arms in the air, singing along and dancing in the aisles. I just want people to be enjoying themselves. I guess that is in the Osmonds’ DNA.”
The Osmonds: A New Musical will feature such Seventies’ anthems as One Bad Apple, Down By The Lazy River, Crazy Horses, Let Me In, Love Me For A Reason, (We’re) Having A Party, Donny’s Puppy Love, Little Jimmy’s Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Marie’s Paper Roses and more besides.
The Osmonds have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and won 59 gold and platinum awards, and now Jay pulls back the curtain to reveal the real family behind all these hits: parents George and Olive Osmond and their nine children, Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.
From Jay’s story, The Osmonds: A New Musical has a book by Julian Bigg and Shaun Kerrison and will be directed by Kerrison, with choreography and musical staging by Bill Deamer. The full casting is yet to be announced.
The seeds of the musical were sown by Jay’s 2013 autobiography, Stages. “I wrote this book about my life. It turned into more of a travelogue,” he says. “I always wanted to do a backstage version that included not only the good times, but the bad and sad times too.”
Whereupon a producer friend had an idea: “He said ‘why don’t you write a living memoir and put it on stage?’ And I thought, ‘Exactly’! I’ve always loved the stage; for me it was one last frontier to conquer.
“I wrote it from the heart. It was hard. I had to play my drums a lot to get my emotions out, but it all boiled down to this: why did we do what we did? It was because we wanted to help people; to use those talents to do some good in the world. I wanted to put that purpose into the show. I think you can do almost anything in life if you have a purpose.”
More than 30 songs are combined with Jay’s story in the musical. “It was a challenge,” he admits. “It’s about the four brothers who were at the start. I was one of them. The story starts at the 50th anniversary and then goes way back. Each of us has a different perspective, so this is very much my perspective; hard times, fun times, why we did what we did and how we did it as a family.”
Should you be wondering why the world premiere will be in the UK, rather than the USA, Jay reasons: “This is where our family was so welcomed. Osmond-mania kind of happened everywhere, but there was something about the UK; our family was so accepted and so loved here.
“We’ve been to almost every place on the tour list at some point and they are places that hold so many memories. We’ll go to Canada and America too, sure, but it feels right to begin here.”
Jay believes the Osmonds’ musical could not be better timed after the impact of the pandemic. “I want it to be a celebration of helping people out,” he says. “I want people to walk out of the theatre feeling lifted and excited about life; to feel joy. That’s my goal.
“I’m humbled that we’ve been blessed with people who have loved our music and that we might have played a small part in their lives when they have faced challenges. I want them to know how much they have helped me and my family. They are part of The Osmonds. It will feel like a high school reunion when they come to the show.”
York tickets are on sale on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york; Hull, 01482 300306 or hulltheatres.co.uk; Bradford, 01274 432000 or bradfordtheatres.co.uk.
Jay Osmond
Jay Osmond’s back story
JAY was the instigator of many of the projects that kept the Osmond family together and moving forward during all the years of success. He is the youngest of the original Osmond Brothers group, with a career in entertainment that started at the age of two and a half.
Jay was eight years old when he learned to play the drums and later he collaborated with the brothers on many of the hit records, singing lead vocals on 1972’s Crazy Horses, their best-selling international single.
He choreographed the shows for the Osmond Brothers, as well as for Donny & Marie, using a style influenced by his karate skills learned from his personal instructor, action-movie actor Chuck Norris.
Jay worked behind the scenes as a producer, with production credits for the 1970s’ television programmesThe Donny & Marie Show and The Osmond Family Hour, the 1980s’ variety show Marie, the film depiction of the life of the Osmond family, Side By Side, and the family’s 50th Anniversary PBS special and DVD projects.
He released a solo album, It’s About Time Again, in 2009, and his autobiography, Stages, in 2013.
Did you know?
JAY and brothers Alan, Wayne and Merrill started a barbershop quartet to fund hearing aids for their two older brothers, Virl and Tom. Discovered by Walt Disney in 1961, he mentored them, leading to their invitation to appear on The Andy Williams Show. The rest is pop history.
Did you know too?
JIMMY Osmond played slick lawyer Bill Flynn in Cabaret at the Grand Opera House, York, in April 2009.
Alice Simmons: Busking in the Pocklington Arts Centre bar on February 25 2022
BUSKING In The Bar returns to Pocklington Arts Centre from next month for a new series of of free Friday night performances by emerging artists.
Lexi Rae Walker is booked in for December 10; Lily Honey, January 28; Alice Simmons, February 25, and Tim O’Connor, March 25, all starting at 8pm with the bar opening at 7pm.
Past sessions have featured Jess Gardham, Katie Spencer, Dan Webster, Beth McCarthy, Rachel Croft, Boss Caine, Dave Keegan, Charlie Daykin and Ava Rose.
Director Janet Farmer says: “We’re incredibly excited to be bringing back Busking In The Bar. What can be better than spending a Friday night enjoying a drink with friends and experiencing some free live music?
Lexi Rae Walker, performing with Busking In The Bar curator Charlie Daykin
“We have some truly talented artists lined up for you, so why not come along to soak up the atmosphere and discover some fantastic talent.”
Charlie Daykin, who has helped to curate the winter line-up, says: “It’s so exciting to see the next generation of singer-songwriters performing in the intimate setting of the Pocklington Arts Centre bar. Prepare to be amazed by the quality of this diverse line-up of talented musicians”.
York singer-songwriter Lexi Rae Walker, 18, is studying at the Access Creative College, York, and names Adele and Amy Winehouse among her influences.
“Singing is my biggest passion and I’m pretty sure I was singing before I could even talk properly,” says Lexi Rae, who performed on the main stage at this season’s York Food and Drink Festival.
Lily Honey: Booked to busk on January 28 2022
Yorkshire singer-songwriter, pianist and guitar player Lily Honey has performed at The Fulford Arms, in York, and such festivals as Latitude, Pocklington’s Platform Festival and York Food and Drink Festival. Since the August 2020 release of her debut single Leaving All My Love, Lily has enjoyed airplay on BBC Introducing.
Alice Simmons wraps her songs in electric piano, heavy bass lines, delicate guitar and smoky vocals, drawing comparisons with London Grammar’s Hannah Reid, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and Florence + The Machine. She has played Latitude, Humber Street Sesh and Beyond The Woods festivals.
Tim O’Connor is a troubadour for the 21st century, crafting insightful, heartfelt, contemporary yet timeless songs, influenced by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash and traditional Irish music. He has worked with many great musicians, among them the late Maartin Allcock, from Fairport Convention.
For more information, go to pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or contact 01759 301547.
Focus leader Thijs van Leer: “Taking things at a steadier pace at 73” at The Crescent, York. Picture: Paul Rhodes
FOCUS were always a musical anomaly, hard to pin down in any particular scene. Fifty years on from their period as international rock stars, York was fortunate to have the chance to see a rejuvenated band.
Focus are a band that inspire either fervent admiration or mockery for their prog excesses. Thursday’s large crowd at The Crescent was firmly in the former camp.
“This strange band” is how Dutch founding member Thijs van Leer described them. Their creative collision of hard rock, jazz and classical is music long on ideas and short on words.
The set was great value, just shy of two hours, and the energy throughout was amazing. Drummer Pierre van der Linden was incredible, not letting up for an instant.
“Scene-stealing” guitarist Menno Gootjes at Thursday’s concert. Picture: Paul Rhodes
Thijs van Leer has to take things at a steadier pace. Mostly seated, he remained the centre of attention, despite scene-stealing guitarist Menno Gootjes, a leading figure in the Dutch metal scene, who has both the licks and the confidence for the role. Bassist Udo Pannekeet was quietly doing some amazing work on his six-string bass.
Van Leer is now 73 but his passion for the music appears undimmed. The first-ever knighted musician in Holland was also fulsome in praising the other musicians.
Thursday’s show was essentially a ‘best of’ but included some less familiar numbers such as Birds Come Fly Over (Le Tango) from 2012’s Focus X.
York’s own Soma Crew provided support – and their set was intermittently excellent. Their music is a fusion of bands like the Velvet Underground and, by volume, My Bloody Valentine.
Focus playing their near two-hour set at The Crescent, York. Picture: Paul Rhodes
The unusual lap steel-meets-synthesiser lead of Joe Sellers lifted the music above a mire of guitars, and pick of the dark crop was Seven from their 2021 album Out Of Darkness And Into Light. The use of the 1973 French/Czech animation Fantastic Planet as a backdrop was a clever touch, care of The Crescent’s Harkirit Boparai.
It is Van Leer’s wordless vocals that distinguish Focus from the many other prog rock explorers. His yodelling, building to a crescendo, captured the attention of music fans when they played the Old Grey Whistle Test in December 1972. That song was Hocus Pocus, which along with Sylvia, is certainly their best known.
The yodel marks the song out as unique, but what really makes it stand out is Jan Akkerman’s absolutely stunning guitar riff – one of the very best in rock music. In concert, this one-time hit single gets stretched, and as an encore it went on for well over ten minutes. Taken full tilt, that riff and Gootjes’ solos worked their magic. Impressive but far too long was the drum solo that accounted for over half of that time.
Time has added the frisson of nostalgia for long-term fans, and consequently this was a concert that will live long in the memory.
Ben Caplan: “Imagine the love child of Tom Waits and Gogol Bordello and you’re getting somewhere close”. Picture: Jamie Kronick
TICKETS are still available for Canadian folk-rock singer-songwriter Ben Caplan’s gig at Pocklington Arts Centre tonight (11/11/2021).
His extensive European autumn tour marks the tenth anniversary of his October 2011 debut, In The Time Of The Great Remembering, and will follow hot on the heels of Recollection, a retrospective collection of stripped back re-interpretations of songs from his back catalogue, out in October.
Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) venue manager James Duffy says: “I saw Ben perform at Cambridge Folk Festival in 2019 and was blown away, like the rest of the audience, with his performance.
“He has a fantastic stage presence and mixes a wonderful blend of musical styles from folk to gypsy through to rock. Imagine the love child of Tom Waits and Gogol Bordello and you’re getting somewhere close.”
Caplan, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, combines timeless melodies with a contemporary folk-rock twist, channelling wild abandon and quiet introspection in songs that evoke both the roar of the hurricane and the eye of the storm.
Gabrielle Papillon: Support act
Caplan’s support act will be fellow Canadian Gabrielle Papillon, whose 2019 album, Shout, was propelled by equal parts synth, big pianos, and anger, “exploding in thoughtful, danceable art-pop anthems of uprising, hope and a delirious celebration of self”.
James says: “I’m delighted Gabrielle is accompanying Ben on this tour, as his support, as this enables PAC to introduce our audiences to another acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter.
“I first saw Gabrielle perform at a Music Nova Scotia showcase event, several years ago, and have followed her career ever since.”
Tickets for Caplan’s 8pm show are on sale at £12 at pocklingtonartscenytre.co.uk or £14 on the door.
Seasick Steve: Just him, his home-made guitar and you at York Barbican tonight
CHARLES Hutchinson recommends veteran blues at the double, quilts, a dating show, chaotic Hitchcockian comedy capers, a Brahms Requiem and a Geordie comic out to dazzle.
Solo show of the week: Seasick Steve, Just Steve, A Guitar And Your Tour, York Barbican, tonight, 8pm
LAST year, American DIY blues veteran Seasick Steve released two albums, July’s Love & Peace and November’s Blues In Mono, his tribute to trad acoustic country blues recorded with a microphone from the 1940s as Steve performed the songs direct to an old tape machine.
Now, York-bound Steve says: “I‘m lookin’ forward to coming and playing for y’all. Just gonna be me, you and my guitar. A few songs and a few stories, kinda like we just hangin’ out together! Gonna be fun. See ya there.” Tickets update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Sanna Buck, Stephen Wright and Aran MacRae look on as a prone Daniel Boyle takes centre stage in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ The 39 Steps. Picture: John Saunders
Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in The 39 Steps, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight until Sunday
PATRICK Barlow’s riotous West End comedy hit marks the Settlement Players’ return to live performance for the first time since March 2020.
Harri Marshall’s cast of eight takes on the challenge of combining John Buchan’s 1915 novel with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film scenes in a blend of virtuoso performance and wildly inventive stagecraft, playing 150 characters between them as the mysterious 39 Steps chase Aran MacRae’s Richard Hannay’s on a nationwide manhunt. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Hey, it’s The Manfreds: Playing the Grand Opera House, York, tonight
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be? It’s even better at Maximum Rhythm N’ Blues with The Manfreds and Georgie Fame, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
THE Manfreds and Georgie Fame team up for a celebration of Sixties rhythm & blues in an all-star line-up with hits galore to match.
Original Manfred Mann members Paul Jones, Mike Hugg and Tom McGuinness are joined by Family’s Rob Townsend on drums, Marcus Cliffe on bass and Simon Currie on saxophone and flute, plus former member Mike D’Abo to share lead vocals, and Blue Flames leader Fame on keyboards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Ready to dazzle: Sarah Millican kicks off a three-night run at York Barbican tomorrow
Three-night run of the week: Sarah Millican: Bobby Dazzler Tour, York Barbican, tomorrow to Sunday, 8pm
SOUTH Shields humorist Sarah Millican’s new show, Bobby Dazzler, is doing the rounds on her sixth international tour.
“You’ll learn about what happens when your mouth seals shut, trying to lose weight but only losing the tip of your finger, a surprisingly funny smear test, and how truly awful a floatation tank can actually be,” says Millican, who has “spent the last year writing jokes and growing her backside”. Tickets update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Masks, of the non-Covid protection variety, will be worn by participants in ventriloquist Nina Conti’s dating show. Picture: Matt Crockett
Game show of the week: Nina Conti: The Dating Show, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
FAST-TALKING, faster-thinking ventriloquist Nina Conti and her cheeky Monkey host a pioneering new dating show for participants picked from the York audience.
What’s in store for the chosen ones? Apparently “she’ll be like Cilla Black with masks. Derailed. Not so much a Blind Date as a re-voiced one.” In a nutshell, they wear masks, she/Monkey talks, with no promise that true love will be found. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Matthew Miller’s Golden Bird quilt from his Cloth & Colour installation at York Theatre Royal from Saturday
Exhibition launch of the week: Matthew Miller’s Cloth & Colour quilts, York Theatre Royal foyer, from Saturday to November 30
BASED in London, but from York, multi-media artist Matthew Miller launches his debut quilt installation in the first Beyond The Gallery Walls pop-up project to be mounted by Lotte Inch Gallery.
Artist Matthew and curator Lotte will be hosting the launch from 11.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, happy to discuss his Cloth & Colour quilt designs. Interested in the ecological use of fabric in quilting, Matthew has used end-of-roll and pre-worn fabrics throughout his series of vibrant collages in cloth.
Alex Ashworth: Baritone soloist for Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem at Saturday’s concert by the Chapter House Choir. Picture: Debbie Scanlan
Classical choral concert of the week: Chapter House Choir, York Minster, Saturday, 7.30pm
THE Chapter House Choir performs Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem at York Minster in a rare opportunity to hear Brahms’s own arrangement written for piano – more intimate and transparent – with baritone Alex Ashworth, soprano Susan Young and pianists Eleanor Kornas and Polly Sharpe as the soloists.
This will be complemented by the world premiere of Lillie Harris’s Comfort, specially commissioned for Saturday’s concert. Box office: 01904 557200 or at yorkminster.org.
Open on Saturday: Carolyn Coles’s studio at South Bank Studios
Christmas shopping? Present opportunity at South Bank Studios’ Art & Craft Winter Fair, Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York, Saturday, 10am to 5pm
THE South Bank Studios artists’ group open their doors and studios to the public this weekend, when 28 artists will be exhibiting jewellery, ceramics, lino prints, textile art and fine art paintings and prints, all available to buy, just in time for Christmas. Entry is free.
Among those taking part are Carolyn Coles, Caroline Utterson, Jane Dignum, Lincoln Lightfoot, Richard Whitelegg, Mandi Grant and Fiona Lane. York Music Centre’s Senior Concert Band, Guitar Ensemble, Senior Folkestra and Big Band will be playing, and the icing on the cake will be the church team’s homemade refreshments.
Voila! C’est La Voix
Most glamorous show of the weekend:La Voix, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 7.30pm
FEISTY, flame-haired Royal Family favourite La Voix – the drag artiste creation of Chris Dennis – takes on the big divas and makes them her own in her Grand Opera House debut in The UK’s Funniest Redhead.
Billed as her “most glamorous show yet”, the 2014 Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist will be combining stellar songs and saucy gags, high energy and diva impersonations, glamour and gowns – eight of them – as she switches between the vocal tropes of Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland and Cher at the click of a finger. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Millie Manders and The Shutup: Definitely not shutting up at the Fulford Arms on Sunday night
Gig with attitude of the week: Millie Manders & The Shutup, Fulford Arms, York, Sunday, 8pm
MILLIE Manders & The Shutup spark up cross-genre punk with a lyricism that pokes fun, draws you in or leaves you questioning social norms, teamed to vocal dexterity, grinding guitars, irresistible horn hooks and a pumping rhythm section.
The Londoners will be airing songs from October 2020’s debut album, Telling Truths, Breaking Ties. Box office: seetickets.com/event/millie-manders.
Willy Mason: Nine-year gap after he made a record called Carry On, but carry on he does at last with Already Dead album and tour date in York. Picture: Ebru Wildiz
Overdue return of the week: Willy Mason, supported by Voka Gentle, The Crescent, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm; standing show
NEW York singer-songwriter and lovely chap Willy Mason returns with Already Dead, his fourth album of characterful, sharp left-field pop, folk and Americana but his first since 2012’s Carry On.
“Magic, miracles, ghosts, world leaders; these days it seems there’s little left to believe in,” says Mason. “Lies outweigh truth and even truth can be dangerous.
“Already Dead explores honesty and deception, anonymity in the digital age, good intentions with unexpected consequences, freedom, colonialism, love, God and purpose, because now is the time to restore some much-needed faith.” Box office: thecrescentyork.seetickets.com/event/willy-mason.
Soft Cell: 40th anniversary home-coming concert in Leeds. Picture: Andrew Whitton
Oh, and amid all these York events, here is the gig of the week outside the city walls: Soft Cell, Leeds 02 Academy, Saturday, doors, 6pm
IN 1981, Leeds synth-pop pioneers Soft Cell topped the charts with their Northern Soul cover, Tainted Love. This weekend, they play a 40th anniversary home-coming gig with an early start, kicking off with a DJ from 6pm.
LGBTQ icon Marc Almond and producer/instrumentalist Dave Ball will play two sets: the first from 7pm embracing songs from their back catalogue and previewing their first album in 20 years, Happiness Not Included, out on BMG on February 25 2022.
In the second, from 8.20pm, they will perform 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret in full for the first time. Cue Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, Bedsitter, Memorabilia et al. Box office: myticket.co.uk/artists/soft-cell
The Elysian Singers: “Intelligent programme linked settings by different composers of the same or similar texts”
ALTHOUGH unable to welcome back Late Music last month due to an unfortunate clash, I do so now with open arms.
Steve Crowther has had to work miracles to keep Late Music afloat and bring it back into action, and he will doubtless feel amply rewarded by the appearance of the London-based Elysian Singers and the excellent turnout they elicited.
Their intelligent programme, directed by Sam Laughton, linked settings by different composers of the same or similar texts. The result stretched back as far as the 13th century, but was brought right up to date with three new commissions.
Part of Psalm 95, taken from Rachmaninov’s Russian orthodox treatment of the All-Night Vigil, inspired Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s effective Bogoroditse Devo (Rejoice, O Virgin), which was essentially tonal and included a gently rolling alto line underpinning a soprano melody. Both were sung in Russian.
The anonymous mediaeval setting of Edi Beo Thu, Hevene Quene (Blessed Are You, Queen Of Heaven) was picked up in Kerry Andrew’s setting, which she additionally framed with the words ‘O virgo splendens’. Her spare harmonies, although unmistakeably modern, reflected the early setting’s approach. The choir treated its triplet figures smoothly.
There were echoes of the past, too, in the next piece. Tom Armstrong’s setting of Emily Brontë’s poem No Coward Soul Is Mine, here enjoying its premiere, uses antiphons from Vespers for Whit Sunday, so that the text emerges in striking unisons, thereby gaining emphasis, an extraordinarily powerful effect.
Brontë enjoyed a strong Christian faith, fearless about death; Armstrong clearly senses this. He uses techniques of imitation and overlapping lines, sometimes giving the plainsong slow treatment in the men’s voices with contrasting momentum in soprano and alto lines. The Elysians were especially persuasive here.
Thea Musgrave’s witty juxtaposition of poems by Herrick and Edwin Morgan with the anonymous I Saw A Peacock With A Fiery Tail, in her imaginative journey On The Underground (Set 2), made a pleasingly comic interlude, the reprise of Herrick’s Dreams making a rueful postlude to the perky staccato of the other poems.
The choir was equally alive to Britten’s word-setting in his Five Flower Songs, which have deservedly become choral staples over the past 70 years.
There were two further premieres after the interval. David Power’s minimalist setting of the opening words of St John’s gospel, The Transfiguration, was cleverly built around an insistent refrain, ‘God spoke, light shone’. It does not deal directly with the transfiguration story, but suggests light at the end of any tunnel of trouble – as in present times. Those four words certainly shone through, often at the top of the spectrum.
The story of the Sirens’ search for Proserpine, as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, was the inspiration for David Lancaster’s Feathers, since Demeter gave them wings for the task. Opening with a very high soprano solo, suggesting soaring flight, its slow, rhythmless progress was beautifully sustained by the choir.
An interesting setting by Ivor Gurney of a Robert Bridges poem on John Milton was contrasted with a deeply elegiac prayer, Requiem, by John Duggan to words of Gurney, which was much the more touching of the two.
There was distinguished company in a James MacMillan folksong and Judith Weir’s My Guardian Angel, which involved the audience in a threefold Alleluia. And it was impossible to suppress a smile at the creamy Victorian harmonies of Bantock’s response to ‘My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose’, lovingly caressed by this superb group.
Review byMartin Dreyer
YorkLate Music continues with two events on December 4; full details at latemusic.org.
Abba Mania: Thanking Abba for the music at Grand Opera House, York
ABBA Mania could not be playing the Grand Opera House, York, at a better time in light of Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid releasing Voyage, their first album in 39 years, last Friday.
Billed as “the world’s number one touring Abba tribute concert”, Abba Mania returns to York on November 20 in its quest to bring the Swedish supergroup’s songs to fans old and new.
Formed in 1999, Abba Mania has been selling out theatres and concert halls internationally ever since. In 2007, the show grossed more than one million Australian dollars at the box office in Sydney, Australia.
Abba Mania has ventured to France, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, South Korea and Australia, as well as touring the UK extensively.
Hands up who loves Abba. Step forward Abba Mania
Abba dominated the charts from 1974 to 1983, notching up nine UK number ones, from Waterloo to Super Trouper. At their height, they became Sweden’s highest export earners, even outselling Volvo cars.
Abba Mania promise two hours of uplifting, dance-inducing, sometimes heart-breaking songs, “performed fully live with fantastic staging, lighting and effects, re-creating Abba’s sound not only perfectly but respectfully too”.
Take a chance on Dancing Queen, Waterloo, SOS, Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes It All, Money, Money, Money, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Super Trouper, Fernando, Name Of The Game, Chiquitita, I Have A Dream, Thank You For The Music and Take A Chance On Me being rolled out once more.
Tickets are on sale on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york.
For the official trailer, head to: wetransfer.com/downloads/644cc7b75204d05d6854df6b5f425c4620211110163807/40ceecdb2dce5ecd1984fdfe0ea086b420211110163830/a0d671
Baritone Alex Ashworth: Soloist for Brahms’s Ein Deutsches. Picture: Debbie Scanlan
THE Chapter House Choir performs Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem at York Minster on Saturday night.
This 7.30pm concert is a rare opportunity to hear Brahms’s own arrangement written for piano duet (the ‘London version’ premiered in 1873), revealing the work in a new light: more intimate and transparent, exposing a wider variety of choral timbres and textures.
Baritone Alex Ashworth, who also teaches singing at the Royal Academy of Music, joins soprano Susan Young, who has sung notable roles at English National Opera and Opera Holland Park, to perform the Brahms work alongside pianists Eleanor Kornas and Polly Sharpe.
Soprano Susan Young
“Hearing the Chapter House Choir is never just about the music; it’s about the whole experience,” says choir publicist Richard Long. “That’s why this performance of Brahms’s German Requiem promises to be a remarkable concert, combining one of the best-loved choral works of all time with the magical ambience of York Minster, four outstanding soloists – and a world premiere too.”
Musical director Benjamin Morris, York Minster’s assistant director of music, says: “The opportunity to explore this piece in its more intimate version for piano with four hands accompaniment has been really exciting for all of us.
“Together with the unique acoustics and incredibly grand architecture of York Minster’s Nave, this will offer an exhilarating and emotional experience of the German Requiem.”
Chapter House Choir musical director Benjamin Morris
The world premiere will be Comfort by award-winning emerging composer Lillie Harris, specially commissioned for Saturday’s concert.
Lillie says: “Reflecting the strong themes in Ein Deutsches Requiem of love, loss, acceptance, and human mortality, I have sought to bring these ideas together in Comfort: music to create an embrace of warmth, love and understanding, that acknowledges the sadness of loss but also celebrates the joy and memories in a life well lived, and that brings voices together to express support and comfort.”
This weekend’s concert will be dedicated to the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ticketscan booked on 01904 557200 or at yorkminster.org.
Composer Lillie Harris: Commission for Chapter House Choir
Who is composer Lillie Harris?
LILLIE graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2016, studying composition with Haris Kittos and winning the Elgar Memorial prize for her final portfolio.
Musical from a young age, her interest in composing grew out of learning instruments, a flair for languages and a love of creative writing. Narrative ideas and complex emotions are often a core element in her compositions, and perhaps explain her increasing interest in choral music.
Her pieces have been workshopped and performed by ensembles such as York’s Ebor Singers, the Assembly Project, Florilegium and Ensemble Recherche, and she has participated in young composer schemes with Psappha, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, National Youth Choir of Great Britain and London Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned her to write new pieces for its Elmer’s Walk Under-5s concert.
In 2017, she was awarded the Tenso Young Composers Award for her song cycle setting poems by August Stramm; in 2019, she was the joint-winner of Echo Choir’s composition competition for her setting of an Alice Oswold poem; in 2020, two choral works written on the NYCGB’s Young Composer Scheme were released on NMC Recordings.
Chin up, Morrissey: The Smiths, as portrayed by Simon Cooper
EAST Yorkshire illustrator Simon Cooper has worked for NME, Time Out, the Radio Times and Punch magazines.
Now, he has launched an exhibition of original art, illustrations and prints at Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) that will run in the Studio until January 6.
On show are many of his commissions for NME (New Musical Express, as was), inspired by Simon’s lifelong love of music.
“Music has always been an important part of my life,” he says.” For as long as I can remember I’ve immersed myself in records, live shows and the music press. When I got my degree in illustration and started to work for Sounds and NME, it was my dream gig.”
Knuckling down: Elvis Costello teaches teddy a lesson, by Simon Cooper
He ended up working for the two rock music weeklies for almost 20 years, producing hundreds of illustrations during that time.
“The first two pictures were of Malcolm McLaren and the Beastie Boys and the last two were of Super Furry Animals and Manic Street Preachers,” he says.
Simon, who lives in Everingham, near Pocklington, had graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, in Dundee, before moving to London to pursue his career as an illustrator.
“My four years at art college, surrounded by like-minded creative types, were particularly inspiring and motivating,” he says.
Beastie Boys: Simon Cooper’s first illustration for New Musical Express
He worked almost exclusively for magazines before going on to illustrate many children’s books for Pan Macmillan, Penguin and Oxford University Press, among others.
Simon names Chuck Jones, Ronald Searle, Rene Magritte, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall among his artistic inspirations, alongside his penchant for comic books. “I’ve always had a love of comics and cartoons and consequently my style usually errs in that direction,” he says.
His latest piece, The Owl And The Pussycat, is his favourite new work among the collection in PAC’s Studio. “It’s got music, romance and a dreamlike quality,” reasons Simon, who now focuses on independent projects, creating artwork and illustrations for sale at galleries, art shows and through his online shop at etsy.com/uk/shop/Cooperillo.
Illustrator and caricaturist Simon Cooper
Here CharlesHutchPress puts quick questions to Simon Cooper for sketch-quick answers.
Why did you first choose musicians for your subject matter as opposed to film stars, comedians, politicians?
“Because music was my first love and it will be my last. Music of the future and music of the past. [Editor: Spot the reference to John Miles’s grandiose 1976 top three hit Music].
How did you settle on your distinctive style of illustrations? Trial and error? Gradually?
“A bit of both. My style develops all the time. I’m inspired and influenced by new things every day.”
Has your style changed over the years?
“My style, the way I work and the way I see things, has changed a lot over the years. These days most of my work has a digital element but when I started, I only used pencil, ink and paint.”
Cave art: Simon Cooper’s illustration of Bad Seeds frontman Nick Cave
What do you like most about black-and-white caricatures?
“I’m so old that when I first started working for the music press they were only printing in black and white! I had to develop a style that looked bold in newsprint. I still enjoy doing the occasional black-and-white image – like my recent Nick Cave picture – although most of my work now is in full colour.”
What do you like most about colour caricatures?
“Working in colour allows me to use more textures and take a more painterly approach.”
What source material do you work from? Moving imagery? Photographs?
“It would be nice to have the musicians come and sit for me but I have to make do with looking at their photos while listening to their music!”
Rubberband girl: Kate Bush, at a stretch, by Simon Cooper
What have musicians said about your depictions of them? Have you had face-to-face encounters with any of them?!
“Sadly no face-to-face encounters, unless you count seeing them in a live performance, though I have had positive feedback from musicians via magazine editors and one or two phone calls and emails from the artists themselves.”
Your tone is generally light-hearted and humorous? Why?
“It’s perhaps what separated my work from everyone else’s at art college. I’ve always preferred to include humour or visual puns in my work rather than any lofty narrative.”
How did you first land commissions with NME and Sounds?
“I left Dundee College of Art and headed to London with my portfolio under my arm. I knocked on doors and asked for appointments with art editors of my favourite magazines. I’m probably making it sound easier than it was, but I think my timing was right and the humorous element worked to my advantage.”
Space odyssey: Simon Cooper’s David Bowie
What have been the career highlights of your other illustrative work?
“I’ve won a couple of awards for children’s book covers for Pan Macmillan.
“I’ve been lucky enough to get a lot of commissions over the years from high-profile magazines such as Punch, Radio Times, Time Out.
“I’ve worked for the British Film Institute’s magazine Sight And Sound for the past ten years. That’s been an absolute pleasure as film is another of my passions.”
How have Chuck Jones, Ronald Searle, Rene Magritte, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall inspired you? Humour? Playfulness? Artistic style?
“Chuck Jones and Ronald Searle’s humour, Magritte’s playfulness and Chagall and Matisse’s artistic style.”
Do you have a favourite among your music portraits? If so, which one and why?
“Tom Waits, because I’m a huge fan. Years ago, I was commissioned by Sounds magazine to produce a picture of him. I happened to have tickets to see him that night at Hammersmith Odeon. I went to the gig, which was magnificent. I went straight home, feeling very inspired, finished the picture and delivered it to Sounds the very next morning.”
Tom Waits: Simon Cooper’s favourite among his music portraits
What are you working on at present?
“I’m just finishing a Led Zeppelin picture. Another of my all-time favourites.”
How would you sum up your Pocklington show?
“Plenty of aesthetically pleasing images, a hint of quirky humour and a slice of rock’n’roll nostalgia for music fans.”
This feature runs to 1,034 words. Can a picture say more than 1,000 words?
“Yes, give or take a few hundred words.”
Simon Cooper: Art, Illustration & Prints, Pocklington Arts Centre, until January 6 2022. Admission is free during opening hours only. For more information, visit pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or call the box office on 01759 301547.
Simon Cooper’s poster for his Pocklington Arts Centre exhibition
