{"product_id":"hymn-and-cocktail-sticks","title":"Hymn and Cocktail Sticks","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt''s  a dwindling band; old-fashioned and of a certain age, you can pick us  out at funerals and memorial services because we can sing the hymns  without the book. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlan Bennett writes: In 2001 the Medici  Quartet commissioned the composer George Fenton to write them a piece  commemorating their thirtieth anniversary. George Fenton appeared in my  play \u003ci\u003eForty Years On\u003c\/i\u003e and has written music for many of my plays since, and he asked me to collaborate on the commission. \u003ci\u003eHymn\u003c\/i\u003e  was the result. First performed at the Harrogate Festival in August  2001, it''s a series of memoirs with music. Besides purely instrumental  passages for the quartet, many of the speeches are under-scored,  incorporating some of the hymns and music I remember from my childhood  and youth. The text includes both words and music. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHymn\u003c\/i\u003e is coupled with \u003ci\u003eCocktail Sticks\u003c\/i\u003e, an oratorio without music that revisits some of the themes and conversations of Alan Bennett''s memoir \u003ci\u003eA Life Like Other People''s\u003c\/i\u003e. A son talks to his dead father as his mother yearns for a different life. It''s funny, tender and sad.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe pinnacle of my social life is a scrutty bit of lettuce and tomato and some tinned salmon. Mind you, I read in \u003c\/i\u003eIdeal Home\u003ci\u003e  that if you mix tinned salmon with this soft cheese you can make it  into one of those moussy things. Shove a bit of lemon on it and it looks  really classy.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481544171893,"sku":"9780571405640","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571405640.jpg?v=1786089813","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/hymn-and-cocktail-sticks","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}