text:
For a piece to suit the requirements of a particular occasion is the ultimate praise: composer Bernard Hughes chats about his approach to composing & his new disc of music for narrator & orchestra, Not Now, Bernard!
Labels: cd news, interview
David McKee's Not Now, Bernard! (Publisher Andersen Press)
Bernard Hughes (Photo SJ Field)
I first came across Bernard Hughes' music in 2013 when my choir, London Concord Singers, performed his Two Choral Fanfares, and we would give further performances of his pieces, well-made music which still provided a satisfying challenge to good amateurs. Then in 2016 I reviewed I am the Song, the BBC Singers and conductor Paul Brough's disc of Bernard Hughes' choral music on the Signum Classics label [see my review].
Now Bernard has another disc out, Not Now Bernard on Orchid Classics. On this disc Alexander Armstrong narrates three of Bernard's works for narrator and orchestra, plus music by Judith Weir, Malcolm Arnold and John Ireland, with the Orchestra of the Swan and conductor Tom Hammond. In fact, Barnard and Tom Hammond are co-producers of the disc. I recently met Bernard for a coffee to find out more about the disc and the music on it.
The idea for the recording arose because Tom Hammond had commissioned two works from Bernard, both for narrator and orchestra based on David McKee's children's stories, Not Now, Bernard and Isabel's Noisy Tummy. Hammond commissioned Not Now, Bernard first, premiered by the British Police Service Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and then Isabel's Noisy Tummy which will stand alone or work as a pair with the first piece.
Bernard knew David McKee's Not Now! Bernard as a child (when he identified with the story partly because of the name). A father himself now, he knew that it was a great story with both a message for children and for adults. In fact, McKee's story is very compact, only 154 words, and relies on the pictures as well so that occasionally Bernard had to add a bit of text to fill in for the pictures. Later on Tom Hammond commissioned another piece for narrator and orchestra, for the Hertford Symphony Orchestra, this was to a story by James Mayhew who live-illustrates the story in performance. This is something that Mayhew does a lot of, telling a story and live-illustrating it, but never before for one of his own stories.
So the three works made logical companions for disc, and Bernard and Tom Hammond cast around for further works for similar forces. Hammond suggested Malcolm Arnold's Toy Symphony, which had never been commercially recorded (it was premiered in 1957 at the Savoy Hotel at a Musicians' Benevolent Fund benefit). This uses a string quintet and a battery of toy instruments and comedy percussion which, at the work's premiere was originally played by celebrities. Bernard describes it as proper music, which just happens to be surrounded by a racket!
For the proposed recording, Bernard made a reduced orchestration of his pieces and then discovered and early work by Judith Weir, Thread! which uses virtually the same orchestration. This too had never been recorded, and Weir was delighted for it to be revived. It was only available from the publishers in her hand-written manuscript, so she re-edited the piece and revised the percussion, and it was typeset for a new edition. The work was premiered in 1981, by the New Music Group of Scotland, and in it Weir sets the rather laconic text which runs along the top of the Bayeux Tapestry, with her music filling in the gaps instead of the images.
Tom Hammond, Alexander Armstrong, Bernard Hughes at the recording session
By chance, Bernard also came across John Ireland's melodrama, Annabel Lee using Edgar Allan Poe's poem. Originally for narrator and piano, Bernard produced a version for chamber orchestra for the disc.
It has taken Bernard and Tom Hammond around four years to go from the idea of a disc to seeing it released, in the meantime they have had to find a publisher, get an orchestra on board (the Orchestra of the Swan), get funding and find a narrator (Alexander Armstrong).
Technically, Bernard's works on the discs are melodramas, as is Judith Weir's, in that they use spoken word underscored by music, but Bernard is wary of using the term because in English it has so many other connotations. The music in Bernard's pieces is virtually continuous, though in some passages there is an element of stasis until the narrator finishes (what, in another age would be referred to a 'vamp till ready'). In the third work, The Knight Who Took All Day setting the James Mayhew story, extra space had to be left for Mayhew's live drawing.
For a composer it is notoriously tricky combining spoken text and music as our ear automatically goes to the text, so the music might get ignored. (Sir Arthur Bliss solves this in Morning Heroes by having a large musical exposition before the speaker comes in). Bernard admits that there were moments when he wondered whether he had 'wasted' a tune because it was under the narration, and he does wonder whether the pieces would stand on their own without narration. There is something slightly symphonic in the thematic development of the music, alongside elements of pure scene-painting such as the depiction of the animals in zoo in Isabel's Noisy Tummy. Also, Bernard was aware of not detracting from the stories, so that the music retreats in order for punch lines to be heard. To a certain extent he regards the music as serving the story.
Surprisingly, apart from these pieces Bernard has not written any other music for family audiences, and in fact Not now, Bernard was his first orchestral work. He remains interested in the form, and is fascinated by the idea of producing a work for narrator and orchestra aimed at adults.
Tom Hammond and Orchestra of the Swan at the recording sessions for Not now, Bernard!
When performed live, and Bernard has narrated the works himself, it does need a microphone and there are moments when the narrator rather needs to shout but these fit the drama. And in the recording studio they had the flexibility to adjust levels, to ensure each passage had optimum balance.
Whilst the music is aimed at educating, engaging and entertaining children, Bernard was keen for adults to enjoy it too, and he fully regards the final pieces as part of his overall oeuvre, and he certainly did not write down to his audience. He was concerned to make the orchestra shine, as he was aware the such pieces are often a way for parents to introduce their children to the orchestra.
Though there was no conscious idea of continuity, one of the larger pieces on his 2016 disc, The Death of Balder, is for narrator but this time with the choir providing the musical backdrop. Here he uses choral writing to underscore the text and admits that the piece, though serious in intent and for adults, has the sense of colour in the music and asks the same questions about integration between narrator and musical backing, about flow and about balance.
The Death of Balder arose out of workshops that Bernard did with the BBC Singers and the piece was inspired by Judith Weir's Missa del Cid which, though not strictly a melodrama, interweaves spoken passages with sung ones.
In fact, the majority of Bernard's work in the last 10 to 12 years has been choral music. In a way this is surprising as he was not a singer as a child, and as a student attended the only Oxford college without a chapel! His writing choral music came about because of a BBC Singers workshop. This was held as part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Bernard had simply submitted a work which he had already written. It was performed last, and before it the other composers had all used extended vocal techniques and complex harmonies, whereas Bernard's work simply required straight-forward singing. He wonders whether his style came as something of a relief after the complexities beforehand, but whatever the reason, Bernard was chosen for a commission for the BBC Singers. And in fact, that piece submitted to the workshop ended up on the choir's 2016 album of Bernard's music!
A few days after we speak, the BBC Singers and conductor Eamonn Dougan were giving a portrait concert in which eight of Bernard's pieces were being performed, alongside work by Cecilia McDowall, Bo Holten, Dobrinka Tabakova and Eleanor Alberga. The concert is planned for broadcast on Afternoon on 3 on Friday 6 March 2020 at 14.00.
When I ask about his style, beyond admitting that his music is largely tonal (in that he uses diatonic chords), he says that he doesn't have a particular style but responds to the commission in hand. The biggest praise that he can give himself, after writing a piece, is 'that was very appropriate'. For a piece to suit the requirements of a particular occasion is the ultimate praise, and his admits that his role model for this sort of 'useful' composer is Benjamin Britten, whose music Bernard admires, though he admits that he does not have Britten's facility.
Bernard Hughes (Photo SJ Hughes)
Not Now, Bernard, with Alexander Armstrong, the Orchestra of the Swan, conductor Tom Hammond is on Orchid Classics [available from Amazon from 7 February 2020] with Bernard Hughes Not Now, Bernard; Isabel's Noisy Tummy; The Knight Who Took All Day, Malcolm Arnold Toy Symphony Op. 62, John Ireland Annabel Lee, Judith Weir Thread.
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BILIN, WEST BANK
Rachel K. Dooley July 31, 2014
A protester in the West Bank village of Bilin, with his face painted the colors of the Palestinian flag, participates in a demonstration on July 28, 2014, in protest against Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday which marks the end of Ramadan, began that day; the demonstrators performed the Eid prayers near the Israeli West Bank barrier, emblematic to many Palestinians of Israeli occupation. (Photo by Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images)
Rachel K. Dooley is the Creative Director for In These Times.
Rachel has been with In These Times since May 2005. She has overseen the transition and redesign of the small national bi-weekly to a larger glossy monthly — all while ensuring deadline was met. She manages the art department designing every issue from concept to production, both for print and for the web (InTheseTimes.com). She manages freelance illustrators, photographers, print vendors while working closely with the editorial staff to coordinate all the aspects that go into producing a high-quality monthly. She also works with development and publishing departments to plan and maintain the publication's visual branding standards and fundraising strategies.
Rachel specializes in design solutions for nonprofit organizations — past clients include the PBS's POV, Environmental Protection Agency, Kartemquin Films and the National Association for Multicultural Education. She has volunteered with for Project Philanthropy and is a former executive board member of the Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse. She has been an active member of the Best Buddies program since 2001.
More articles by Rachel K. Dooley
PHOTOS: This Is What Resistance Looks Like
From pussy hats to airports, images of protest in the age of Trump.
KHAZAIR, IRAQ
Rachel K. Dooley
LVIV, UKRAINE

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Wolverine: Future Daze
Filed to:x-men
As the internet has been reporting, Hugh Jackman has "announced" he will be playing Wolverine only one more time. It has been reported that this will be the third Wolverine solo film due in 2017, though X-Men Apocalypse has yet to be filmed so does this mean he isn't in that one or will he be playing Wolverine twice more times?
Hugh Jackman will play Wolverine 'one last time' in 2017
It had to happen at some point. Hugh Jackman, who has played Wolverine since 2000, will vacate the…
So what next for the character? Will a new actor be introduced as Wolverine in Apocalypse or will the X-Films move on without him, instead focusing on Magneto or even Gambit, as both had or have a solo film in the works.
It seems hard to believe Fox would just let the character die as even though the Wolverine solo films haven't been great they have still managed to make some money for the company and the character is one of the most recognisable comic book characters outside of the Marvel Film Universe other than all those superheroes who have Man at the end of their name.
What's your take? Let the character die for a while and focus on someone else, or should a new actor take up the mantle?


text:
Senna may refer to:

Individuals
 Ayrton Senna (1960–1994), Brazilian F1 driver and triple World Champion
 Bruno Senna (born 1983), F1 driver and nephew of Ayrton Senna
 Danzy Senna (born 1970), novelist
 Lorraine Senna, American film and television director
 Marcos Senna (born 1976), Brazilian-Spanish football player
 Márcio Senna (born 1981), Brazilian football player, Marcos's brother
 Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Senna (born 1937), Egyptian poet
 Viviane Senna (born 1958), IAS president and sister of Ayrton Senna
 Senna Gammour (born 1979), German singer and member of Monrose (2006–2011)
 Senna Proctor (born 1998), British racing driver
 Senna Ušić-Jogunica (born 1986), Croatian volleyball player

Fictional characters
 Senna Galan, a character in the American action-drama TV series Matador. She is the daughter of Andrés Galan, one of the protagonists.
 Senna Refa, a character in the Babylon 5 novel Legions of Fire – Out of the Darkness. She is the daughter of Antono Refa
 Senna is also the name of another, unrelated Centauri woman; the governess seen in Babylon 5: In the Beginning. She was an old retainer of House Jaddo.
 Senna Tōno, a character in the visual novel W Wish series.
 Senna Wales, a witch in the Everworld fantasy series for young adults by K. A. Applegate
 Senna, a character in the movie Bleach: Memories of Nobody
Senna, a character in the League of Legends series
 Senna is the mother of Avatar Korra in the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Legend of Korra

Plants
 Senna (plant), a genus of legumes
 Formerly, plants in Cassia (genus) which used to include Senna
 Black senna the Scrophulariaceae genus Seymeria
 Bladder sennas, the legume genus Colutea
 Scorpion sennas, plants in the legume genera Coronilla and Hippocrepis

Places
 Senna Comasco, a  (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy
 Senna Lodigiana, a  (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy
 Senna, a Kurdish city in western Iran

Other
 Senna (poetic), an exchange of insults found in the Poetic Edda
 Senna (film), a 2010 documentary film about Ayrton Senna
 McLaren Senna, a British mid-engined sports car, honouring Ayrton Senna
 Senna glycoside, a laxative

See also
 Sena (disambiguation)
 Siena (disambiguation)
 Sienna (disambiguation)

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