{"product_id":"hymn-and-cocktail-sticks-by-alan-bennett-9780571405640","title":"Hymn and Cocktail Sticks","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\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\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlan Bennett writes: In 2001, the Medici Quartet commissioned the composer George Fenton to write 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 underscored, incorporating some of the hymns and music I remember from my childhood and youth. The text includes both words and music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\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\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48021991817452,"sku":"9780571405640","price":10.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780571405640-hymn-and-cocktail-sticks.jpg?v=1785286002","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/hymn-and-cocktail-sticks-by-alan-bennett-9780571405640","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}