The opening concert at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival of Music saw the long awaited premiere of the composer’s chamber cantata Remember This Op.40. Commissioned by the Birmingham based ‘Limoges Trust’, the work is a setting of Sir Andrew Motion’s poem, which was written in 2002 to commemorate the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The cantata was given its premiere by Allan Clayton (tenor), Caroline MacPhie (soprano), The Elias String Quartet and Tom Poster (piano) and was recorded by the BBC.

'Remember This' was enthusiastically received and Christopher Morley, music critic for the Birmingham Post wrote,

“The music of … Ian Venables has never failed to grip the listener with its accessibility and ability to communicate, and its fearless use of a tonality we all under stand. Frequently working through the vocal medium, his choice of poetic texts has found in him a response which illuminates the message, laying the words so naturally upon the singer, stretching the vocalist whilst never creating impossible demands. Its effect was spell-binding, not only thanks to the performances of the soloists….but also to the sheer quality of the music itself. Earlier we had hear MacPhie gloriously radiant in Faure’s La Bonne Chanson, and Clayton so compellingly controlled in Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge, a direct ancestor of what is certainly Venables’ masterpiece at this time”.

The BBC recording of Remember This was broadcast on Radio 3 on the 24^th August; on Bavarian Radio on the 10^th September and most recently on Swedish Radio P2 on the 22^nd November 2011. (See Reviews).

The main focus of 2012 will be the composition of a song cycle for the acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams. This work has been commissioned by the prestigious Malvern Concert Club, with generous financial assistance from Ernie Kaye. The new cycle is scored for string quartet and piano and is the composer’s first chamber work for the baritone voice. Although it is in its early stages, the principal linking subject through the cycle is a celebration of the poetry of ‘place’ and the poets of Worcestershire. For the work’s premiere in May 2013, Roderick Williams will be joined by the Carducci String Quartet and pianist Tom Poster.

On Christmas Day 2011, Ian Venables began work on a commission from Kenneth R. Prendergast of a song setting for mezzo- soprano and piano. This new song will receive its premiere in San Mateo, California in August 2012.

Venables’ continuing association with Novello and Company will see not only the  publication of Remember This Op.40, but also his large scale choral work, Awake, awake, the world is young Op.34 which was commissioned in 1999 by Charlton King's and Cirencester Choral Societies to celebrate the Millennium. Other works to be publish

ed this year by Novello include, On the Wings of Love Op.38; Elegy for ‘Cello and Piano Op.2 and the Three Pieces for Violin and Piano Op.11. (See Music Scores)

Novello and Co have just released Venables's first song cycle for baritone, The Pine Boughs Past Music Op.39

In addition to his work as a composer, Ian Venables will give several talks about his own music, as well as on the wider subject of English art-song. The first of these will take place between 24^th – 26^th April at Leigh Park Country House Hotel, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire as part of an ‘Arts in Residence’ music course. Led by Terry Barfoot, this special event will explore the highways and byways of English Music and will include talks by Ian Venables on his songs and Piano Quintet. On the 15^th October the composer will be giving a talk at the Ross Classical Music Society entitled ‘Going for a Song’ – An introduction to English art song. A talk for The English Speaking Union is also planned. (date TBC) (See Forthcoming Event)

Last year saw the release of a series of important CDs featuring the composer’s music. They culminated in a recording of the his Piano Quintet Op.27 which was released on the celebrated SOMM label. This work performed by The Coull String Quartet and pianist Mark Bebbington was described in the Gramophone as “Chamber Music in the English pastoral tradition, delectably championed…. Lovers of the 20^th- century English music renaissance will derive much pleasure from this enterprising and rewarding SOMM anthology”. This recording also included a selection of the composer’s solo works for ‘cello, violin and viola accompanied by the distinguished pianist Graham J. Lloyd. The Three Pieces for Violin and Piano were singled out for particular praise by David Jennings, writing for MusicWeb International. He described the ‘Romance’ as “astonishingly fine and is music of heartfelt simplicity. This must rank amongst the most beautiful pieces for violin and piano, and not just from this country”. Following the outstanding success of the composer’s first recording of songs on the world-renowned Naxos label, Graham J. Lloyd will, this autumn, record a complete disc of Venables’ piano music. This Naxos CD will be released in 2013.

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