Ian Venables and new English song
21st December 2007
Liverpool-born Venables, who studied with Richard Arnell and John Joubert, has won praise for his music, which follows in the tradition of English songwriters such as Finzi and Gurney. Writing in Classic FM magazine, Malcolm Hayes commented “...there's no mistaking the emotional and technical strength in Venables' songs, besides their very real beauty - qualities which can only come from an individuality as deep as it is genuine”.
The songs include settings of poetry by familiar names that include Robert Graves, John Clare, Thomas Hardy and AE Housman, as well as lesser-known figures such as the nineteenth century poet and critic John Addington Symonds and the Midland writer Edgar Billingham.
Venables’ music has been performed and recorded by singers including Roderick Williams, Nathan Vale and Andrew Kennedy. Kennedy’s recording of Songs of Eternity and Sorrow is released on Signum Records in January 2008 and has already received a four star review from BBC Music Magazine.
