I was saddened to read in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning that Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen's Musick, has died, aged 71, after a long illness.
Thirty years ago, he conducted Newcastle Conservatorium choir and orchestra in his composition The Red Sea. It was the first time I heard someone say "Fucking" in a public meeting, as he swore loudly about the Con staff "xeroxing" his music, due to difficulties in obtaining sufficient copies of the vocal score in time for the rehearsals. In those days photocopies were inferior quality to published copies, and hard to read. What a different story it is today! So many music teachers photocopy willy-nilly newly published pieces of music, even by living composers from their own countries. I bet he has uttered a few more expletives about photocopying over the ensuing years! While Williamson has written many great works, my favourite has always been The Musicians of Bremen, which he was commissioned to write for The King's Singers and which was first performed by them in Sydney in 1972. It is a cappella and uses modal harmony superbly, and features animal call imitations and has a lovely chorale between sections. I am sorry it is not available on CD, as I have almost worn out my gramophone recording of it. Williamson was horrified when Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber was asked to write a piece of music for an official occasion, instead of the Queen's own Master of Musick. He commented drily that "Andrew Lloyd-Webber's music is everywhere these days ... like AIDS!" His terrific music and caustic wit will be missed! David McKay [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~musicke http://www.bathurstevangelical.org.au _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
