Chopsy Baby is reviewing… A Country Suite by Fiona Bennett
Chopsy Baby Says: “Really enjoyable way to de-stress your day.”
Rating: 10/10
The clean and crisp tones of A Country Suit, composed and performed by Fiona Bennett, is the perfect way to create calm when child wrath is raining down around the house.
Cardiff born Fiona was awarded a scholarship to study piano and music theory at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. By the age of 18, her impressive talent continued when she was offered a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After graduation, she had a successful career working as a professional pianist and composer in London.
As children have a tendency to do to mothers, Fiona had to put her music career on hold after starting her family. Her youngest son was diagnosed with high functioning autism. Because of this she placed her music on the back burner. Instead, she focused on learning as much as she could about the condition. Then she guided him through those all important early years.
In 2011, Fiona was finally able to start composing again. The result of this is A Country Suite, formed of six delightful classical pieces. The entire suite takes the listener through the changing face of the landscape through the year.
Hopefully, some of the suite will make it into the piano examination syllabus, instead of some of the dire piano rock the Guildhall insisted upon as the third piece somewhere around 1999.
Unless you are a Radio 3 or Classic FM listener, you won’t hear solo piano music very often. But there is no need to fear it being stuffy, high brow listening. The Country Suite, is very accessible to all listeners with its style and structure not dissimilar to Schumann or Mendelssohn at times.
In fact, it’s lovely to be able to listen to new classically inspired music where the piano is allowed to sing freely and tell a story through the wonderful melodies Fiona has created.
As well as A Country Suite, there are three additional pieces. There is the upbeat Bach-esque Tempus Fugil, followed by the Tristesse, which one day must belong on a film soundtrack. And, finally, there is the heartbreaking Tymhorau, sung in Welsh.
Best of all…
The Harvest. Makes you want to buy a copy of Fly Fishing by JR Hartley.
Could improve…
Nothing
Basically…
Absolutely idea for putting on at about 6pm to calm children down for bedtime.
Further information:
As well as composing and being a mother, Fiona also busies herself with a blog and is writing a book to help other mothers cope with having a child with autism.
http://meandmyzachary.posterous.com