
The death of Duncan Lamont brought to mind a radio broadcast he made for the BBC entitled The Young Person's Guide to the Jazz Orchestra. This was some years ago but I was immediately hooked and managed to record it to cassette. Listened to it a few times then, as one does, gradually forgot about it and it's unfortunate that it took his death to remind me of it. In fact, there were three iconic figures involved...
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) who composed the original theme.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) who adapted it for his work The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
Duncan Lamont (1931-2019) who inserted the word 'Jazz' into Britten's title.
Needless to say, I couldn't find it - did I accidentally record over it? Did it
become unplayable as old cassettes so frequently do? Maybe it's hidden at the back of a cupboard - who knows?
Fortunately, all was not lost thanks to good old YouTube. All 7 parts can be heard on the links below and yes, it was as good as I remembered!
Sadly missed
Lance.
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