Helena Kean - Music and Images

Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter was born at No 4 Brunswick Square in Hove, Brighton, on 1st of November 1877. He was the fifth child and third son of Sir William Cuthbert Quilter, 1st Baronet and Lady Mary Ann Quilter, née Bevington. Queen Victoria had bestowed the baronetcy to William, in her Diamond Jubilee year 1897. Roger’s father was a wealthy stockbroker, a businessman, the founder and director of the National Telephone Company, a politician elected as Liberal MP and afterwards Unionist MP for Sudbury, and the landowner of the Bawdsey Manor estate in Suffolk. With his brother Harry, he had invested in an extensive art collection, which became quite famous. William’s appreciation of the arts lay only in the financial gains to be made and the sale of his collection increased the family’s wealth considerably. The family returned to Suffolk in 1882. Despite his enthusiasm for collecting art, Sir William had little interest in the artistic talents of his son. Music as a diversion...

A Garland of 20 th  Century Composers This album was reviewed and featured on Classic FM radio. “It is an unusual programme of songs and should prove most rewarding.” The British Music Society Helena took 4 years to research and curate 16 songs that would evoke the spirit of Christmas in a different way. Her studies were sponsored by The Vaughan Williams Society, The Rawsthorne Trust and The Ivor Gurney Society, with additional support from The Peter Warlock Society and Women In Music. With her accompanist Graham Jackson, she has performed these songs to great acclaim at many venues across the North West UK. Although not overtly religious, each song is a unique approach to the Christmas message. For example, in ‘The First Mercy’ you have the story of the animals that witnessed the birth of Jesus, describing how they experienced the event. ‘Carol of the Skiddaw Yowes’ draws a comparison between the shepherds and the sheep of Cumbria to those of Bethlehem. ‘Twelfth Night’ evokes th...