Selected Works of William Lovelady Amanda Cook

• William Lovelady (b. 1945):
• 1 Lovelady: Curlew 04:00
• 2 Lovelady: The White Stone 05:49
• 3 Lovelady: Incantation No. 7 02:02
• 4 Lovelady: The Sounds of Rain 06:37
• 5 Lovelady: Incantation No. 1 04:46
• 6 Lovelady: This Morning in Omagh the Sun Rose Again 06:56
• 7 Lovelady: The Three Poets: Wilfred Owen 01:03
• 8 Lovelady: The Three Poets: Charles Péguy 02:42
• 9 Lovelady: The Three Poets: August Stramm 02:54
• 10 Lovelady: Incantation No. 6 02:41
• 11 Lovelady: Nartuby River 05:30
• Total Runtime 45:00

Info zu Selected Works of William Lovelady

The Sounds of Rain was inspired by Irish poet Seamus Heaney's poem of the same name. Also taking poetry as their stimulus are Curlew and The White Stone—two works by Sacha Abercorn, which I set to music.

This Morning in Omagh the Sun Rose Again was commissioned for the first anniversary of the Omagh bombing tragedy. It was performed by Amanda to both communities in Northern Ireland. A recording of the piece was given to the families and relatives of those who suffered. The title of the piece is taken from a newspaper headline that was published the morning after the tragedy.

The Three Poets: Wilfred Owen, August Stramm and Charles Péguy. I chose three different nationalities; English, German and French. All three of these men died in the trenches during the First World War at a very young age. The music is meant as a poignant reminder of the futility of such a war.

The Seven Incantations are a tribute to some of the musicians and friends I have met along the way. Nº1 is dedicated to Australian guitarist Slava Grigoryan, Nº6 to African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and Nº7 to Irish accordionist Jackie Daly.

La Nartuby is a river that runs through Provence in the South of France. Nartuby River is a musical journey from Draguignan to Le Muy where—after a few glasses of red wine—I fell asleep on the shady river bank and woke up in a kind of twilight zone, which can be heard during the nocturne towards the end of the duo.

Amanda Cook, classical guitar

Amanda Cook
Dubbed “The guitar queen with a silken touch” by The Independent, Amanda has appeared as a soloist in the USA, South America and throughout Europe. In the UK venues include the South Bank, Wigmore Hall, St George’s Bristol, King’s Place & The Sage Gateshead. Her highly acclaimed performances are always noted for their sensitive musicality, fluid technique, and ability to draw the audience in to her world.

Amanda’s first guitar teacher was Alexander Levtov, who she spent seven years with from the age of 7. She then went on to study with Charles Ramirez at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music, as a scholarship student. Amanda then carried on to do her music degree at the RCM, as a Foundation Scholar, continuing with Mr Ramirez and then with Jakob Lindberg and Gary Ryan. Whilst at the College Amanda won several prizes for her performances, and outside of College she won the 1995 Admira Young Guitarist of the Year, 1997 Ivor Mairants Guitar Award and the 1998 Carol Evershed Martin Award for solo instrumentalists.

After leaving the RCM, she went onto study in New York with Benjamin Verdery thanks to the support from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Amanda has been broadcast on television and radio, both abroad and in the UK, including BBC Radio 3’s “In Tune” & “Late Junction”, BBC Radio 4’s “Woman’s Hour,” and Classic FM. Along with solo work Amanda has always had a passion for chamber music and has worked in various duos and ensembles through her career including the Appassionata Guitar Trio, G Plus Ensemble and more recently with the renowned soprano Bibi Heal and the critically acclaimed Vida Guitar Quartet, who regularly tour the USA, Europe and China.

Teaching has always been important to Amanda and she often gives classes at Festivals and adjudicates music competitions. Amanda was course director at the International Guitar Festival for five years and has also sat on the jury for several International Competitions including the GFA 2015 in Oklahoma and the 2019 Euro Strings Competition. Amanda is a patron of the Federation of Guitar Societies.

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