When the great pianist and composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett died last December, he left some unfinished business. He had been asked to write a piece for the King’s Singers, but sadly fate intervened and the piece never got written.

So the discovery of a new arrangement in his New York apartment after his death seemed heaven sent, as King’s Singers countertenor David Hurley explains: “We were doing a concert at the Carnegie Hall in February, which had been postponed from the autumn because of Hurricane Sandy. “This arrangement had never been performed, and we were asked if we would sing it. This was in a sense like the piece he was going to write for us. We hadn’t got any further with negotiating with him to write a proper piece for us, but it was something we were hoping would happen. “So that was a rather nice way to mark his amazing contribution to the group’s work. Obviously doing this concert in Oxford gives us the same opportunity.”

Lullaby in Birdland celebrates the King’s Singers’ long-standing association with Bennett and his fellow jazz musician Sir George Shearing, and includes arrangements from the Great American Songbook, songs from the King’s Singers’ hit album Get Happy and other music written especially for them. The concert also features Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Malcolm Creese (double bass), and is hosted by former King’s Singer Brian Kay, now a popular radio presenter and conductor.

Formed in 1968, the King’s Singers have become known for their impeccable musicality, their informal style of entertainment and the huge variety of their repertoire. For David, who joined in 1990 and is now the longest-serving member, some of his fondest memories are those involving Bennett and Shearing. “They were absolutely inspirational people to work with,” he says. “George Shearing’s amazing musical brain – this is a man who would hear a chord and know exactly what chord it was, and you think this is a level of musical ability that is way beyond my limited brain power!

“And the inspiration we got from Richard – this was a man who straddled so many musical styles. He worked with the group in the 70s, but he also wrote a piece in 1993 for our 25th anniversary, called Sermons and Devotions, settings of words by John Donne, which is amazing.

“When George died a couple of years ago, we wanted to mark our collaboration with him in the early 90s and the amazing pieces that came from that. Then when Richard died, we wanted to mark his contribution to the group’s life, so we came up with the idea of a combined tribute concert to these two great figures of British music.”

As a former student of New College, David is also looking forward to performing in Oxford. “It’s always lovely to come back to Oxford. The venue is new to us, but I’ve heard great comments about it, so we’re really looking forward to that.”

 

St John the Evangelist, Oxford
June 20, 7.30pm
Tickets: £5 to £30. oxfordplayhouse.com/ticketsoxford