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Friday, January 23, 2015 Follow us on Twitter @Argus_The Guide Book covers Williams’ work


5 Culture


Tour ends with home town show


TOURING: Katherine Jenkins ART: Portrait of an Anxious Man


EVELYN Williams’ work has won life-long plaudits. Her work features in major collec- tions and throughout her life there were significant solo and group exhibitions. Because the work chimes


WORKS: Dream 2001 and Emma 1979 In The Spotlight


TOWARDS a the end of last year there was a celebration that took place in many quar- ters – the 70th birthday of Wales’ most successful com- poser, ever. Karl Jenkins was born in Neath and built a huge follow- ing with his melodic, immedi- ately accessible (some would use the term ‘easy listening’) approach, infused with influ- ences from Celtic, African and other world musics, as well as a tinge of jazz. I would hazard a guess that his music has been sung by the majority of choirs in this country and in the US. Even if you cannot immedi- ately call to mind his music the chances are that you have heard it – probably on one of many TV adverts over the years. Maybe it is the latter fact that is responsible for the rather


sneering response towards it from many classical musi- cians. This is something that was brought home to me in an S4C documentary that I saw over Christmas. A (very minor) Welsh com-


poser referred to the assertion that is often made that Jen- kins is a ‘Marmite’ composer ie you either like his music or you hate it. Though he felt that such a term might be applied to certain composers, such as Brahms, who had great indi- viduality but did not appeal to all, he believed that Brahms had what Jenkins did not have – musical substance. He went on to top this damning com- parison by describing such works as Adiemus and The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace) as like ‘Japanese Knotweed’. From my limited knowledge of plants I take this to mean


that it is easily propagated and of limited aesthetic value. There are many other com- posers who fall into the cat- egory of ‘popular’ classical composers and who have had to endure similar opprobri- um. The one that comes most readily to mind is probably John Rutter. Best-known for his numer-


ous Christmas carols such as Star Carol, Shepherd’s Pipe Carol and Nativity Carol, and other choral pieces, Rut- ter’s music is hugely popu- lar amongst amateur choirs though it is often described by its detractors as ‘slushy’ and unadventurous. There is no doubt that these composers can be formulaic and that they do not push forward any musical bounda- ries. However I am fairly sure that neither would claim to


with part of the world view of those who live with her paintings, drawings, sculp- tures and reliefs, it felt im- portant and novel to capture the meaning of this artist’s work from her appreciators in their own words and bring them together in this publica- tion. The result is a remarkable collection of critical writ- ings, biographical informa- tion and catalogue texts, not


By


GERAINT DAVIES


Mark of a Welsh great


be thought of as a latter day Mahler or Stravinsky, indeed I know both to be modest about their immense popularity and achievements. They are miniaturists who


have perfected a certain niche in composition and their mu- sic has moved and inspired countless performers and lis- teners. They are rare in that they are serious composers who make a very good living from their labours – I cer- tainly wouldn’t say no to their royalties pay cheque! Maybe the only real judge is time – though I doubt that their mu- sic will still be as played in a hundred years as Mahler or Stravinsky, I am sure they will still be performed long after the compositions of a certain (very minor) Welsh composer have been consigned to his- tory!


On Show


to mention archive images and selected passages from Evie’s own writings. It is a true celebration of the artist through an assessment from those for whom the work is a daily presence in their lives – those who admire her as an artist and those who own her work. This book is singular and perhaps unclassifiable, like the artist it celebrates. Published to accompany an exhibition at the Martin Tin- ney Gallery, Cardiff, the open- ing date is February 25, 2015.


WELSH mezzo Soprano Kath- erine Jenkins recently an- nounced her return to the live arena with a full 21-date UK tour for 2015, culminating with a homecoming show at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on March 14. The new tour follows the re- cent release of her latest album Home Sweet Home. “Touring can be quite gruel-


ling at times,” Katherine re- cently told Andy Howells, “you get to the end of a tour and it can be quite sad and emotional that it’s coming to an end. The fact that this last night is a home crowd is going to be a re- ally nice end to the tour.” Katherine has achieved mete-


oric success as the world’s most prolific classical crossover art- ist. Her albums have sold in ex- cess of eight million copies and gone platinum all around the world. She has received numer- ous accolades for her record- ings, including two Classical BRITs for the coveted Album of the Year Award. Tickets for Katherine Jenkins


at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on March 14, 2015 will be available at gigsandtours.com, ticket- master.co.uk and 24 cc hotlines 0844 811 0051/0844 826 2826.


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