The story has it that Handel’s main reason for developing the oratorio further was the fact that the popularity of his operas was starting to wane, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find producers willing to put up the money. An oratorio was a great deal easier to finance…
Author Archive | Sue
Introducing… Endymion.. the orchestra of The Cool Web
Endymion’s wide range, its genuine enthusiasm for the work of new composers combined with its irreproachable understanding of the classical repertoire, makes it the perfect ensemble to premiere The Cool Web.
Introducing… the Philharmonia Voices
This is a brilliant young choir, like our soloist, Edward Grint, perfect for this oratorio, which, based on the work of a nineteen-year-old Robert Graves, and written by a young composer, is fresh, passionate, and electrifying.
Shell Shock: Robert Graves’ own description
Robert Graves describes the terrible deterioration of young officers at the front with a clinical clarity devoid of self-pity.
David
David: A man loved by two of the great poets of his time; and fiercely mourned by them. But who was he?
BRSLI Talk on Oratorio on October 22nd.
The Cool Web is an oratorio based on the poems Robert Graves wrote at the front as a young officer. As such, it offers a moving glimpse of a poet struggling to write about an unbearable experience as it happened. In this talk Sue Curtis, the compiler, talks about the poems she and Jools Scott […]
Introducing – The Melody Makers of Bath Abbey – the children singing in ‘The Cool Web’
Robert Graves, like so many of his contemporaries in the trenches, was only 19 when he arrived on the Somme; the memories of childhood were not far behind him, and a natural source of emotional reference for his poetry.
Edward Grint CD
Edward Grint has a glorious voice, and we can’t wait to hear him on October 30th.
Introducing Robin O’Neill, The Conductor of ‘The Cool Web’
As the time for the actual performance of the Oratorio grows near, we want to celebrate the people involved with the first performance of this new work. Robin O’Neill has been part of this project from the very beginning.
Shell shock
We shall go mad, no doubt, and die that way..
