Carole Boyd in Gramophone Magazine

Not The Archers
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…back page, talking about making a recording of Walton’s Facade and other musical matters.

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“some draped [?] idiot bellowing doggerel through a megaphone” …a loose paraphrase of a Kit and the Widow comment on Facade.

…and another little drink wouldn’t do us any harm.

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Thanks for reminding me about Kit and the Widow, Gus, of whom I had never heard before your mentioning them some time ago, which inspired me to go and look them up on Youtube.

Fromthecradle, I also had never heard of Walton’s Facade, so looked that up too. Hmm … seems the Sitwell-Walton performance didn’t go down too well at the time! Anyhow, Carole Boyd is very talented and has an amazing repertoire of voices, not just Lynda, so I am a fan of hers. She reads or should one say ‘performs’ audiobooks. I’ve got ones of hers, a Ruth Rendell, ‘The Saint Zita Society’.

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I’ve heard some of her books too. She is very able.

I’ve got a version of Facade with Eleanor Bron as the female performer. I really enjoy it. It can all go horribly wrong though if the performers are too self-important and heavy, or can’t get the timing just right. D H Lawrence (I’m not a fan) could have really worked up to poking fun at it at its least successful.

I think Kit and the Widow might have made a fine version.

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Here is the Edith Sitwell version on Youtube:

Sitwell-Walton Facade

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