by Andrew Gillett | Aug 26, 2026 | Blog, Uncategorized
On 10th December 1941, Royal Marine bandsman Robert Braga, grandfather of Haldon violinist Lindsay, found himself fighting for survival when the battleship he was serving on, HMS Prince of Wales, was sunk by Japanese bomber aircraft. The attack must have been a... by Andrew Gillett | May 27, 2025 | Uncategorized
The sorceress Armida was the subject of Joseph Haydn’s 1784 opera, one of his favourite works. The tale of Armida falling in love with the sleeping crusader Rinaldo at the point of killing him, and transporting him to her enchanted garden seems to have sparked the... by Andrew Gillett | Jun 12, 2023 | Blog
James Macmillan’s Memento was written in memory of a friend, David Huntley, the representative of Boosey & Hawkes in the USA, who died in 1994. Memento delicately treads along the borderline of silence and sound. The sounds are hints, faint memories,... by Andrew Gillett | Jun 12, 2023 | Blog
When Felix Mendelssohn visited Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1842, the Queen, who apparently had a delightful singing voice, chose a song, ‘Italien’ (published as Felix’s Op 8 No 3), from a bunch of songs that he had brought along with him. Felix then had to... by Andrew Gillett | May 21, 2023 | Blog
Who’s there? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart c. 1783 by Joseph Lange, Mozart’s brother-in-law. Mozart’s involvement with Freemasonry has been the subject of much speculation and discussion. Freemasonry had a very significant part to play in the last eight years of his...
