Appreciation by David Fisher

Tom Williams’ diverting talk was his second for the Society. His pieces were skilfully chosen to highlight the topic of remembrance—suitably chosen for November 12th—much of it written by composers on the death of fellow musicians. As it was, it proved to be a veritable cornucopia of great choral music—most of it English. There were diversions from this, as with the Arvo Pärt’s “Cantus in Memoriam” on the death of Benjamin Britten, which only served to put the other pieces into context. I particularly enjoyed the strong chronological narrative in which each piece flowed beautifully to the next with great fluency, helped by the clarity of the information we were given and Tom’s incisive remarks, which placed each piece in its musical and historical context. His knowledge of the genre allowed him to delve deeply into his subject and choose pieces which were new to many members of the Society. From the conclusion of Tallis’ mighty 40-part “Spem in Alium” to the divine singing of Dame Emma Kirkby in Gibbons’ “The Silver Swan” and the ecstatic extract from “Hymnus Paradisi” by Howells the music could not have been more appropriate.

Please explore the music using Tom's track listing below.