Nicholas Maw and Richard Rodney Bennett, the composers on this album, first met as students at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1955.
Recording & Production
Both Nicholas Maw's Life Studies and Richard Rodney Bennett's Spells were recorded at Walthamstow Town Hall in 1978.
Composition History
Nicholas Maw's Life Studies was originally commissioned for the 1973 Cheltenham Festival, with Study VIII added in 1974.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Despite their distinct musical personalities, both Nicholas Maw and Richard Rodney Bennett have always upheld high standards of craft and the ideal of the 'well-made piece'.
Compositional Technique
Nicholas Maw's Life Studies is structured as a book of studies for ensemble, similar to solo studies by Chopin and Paganini, and allows ensembles to select shorter groups of Studies in their own ordering.
Composition History
Richard Rodney Bennett's Spells, with words by Kathleen Raine, was composed between May 1974 and January 1975 and dedicated to Jane Manning and the choirs of the Three Choirs Festival.
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