Ian Fletcher – Composer
Ian Fletcher is a solicitor qualified in Scotland and England and spent many years practising law in the City of London. Throughout his life, classical music has played a very important role and he is also professionally qualified as a pianist, organist and choral conductor.
Musical Developments
Since his retirement from legal practice, Ian has developed his musical ambitions by becoming a classical composer reflecting a lifetime passion for classical music. His second career encompasses a number of works starting with The Solitary Reaper based on the words of Wordsworth first performed at The Temple Church in the City of London in 2018 and followed by his oratorio Jonah premiered in The Cadogan Hall in London in May 2023.
The Story of Jonah
During the Pandemic, Ian, emboldened by the success of his song, considered carefully the possibility of writing a more substantial work. Jonah is a full scale oratorio based on the Biblical story and has been reviewed by eminent and distinguished professional musicians. It is scored for a full symphony orchestra, an adult chorus of about 100, a children`s choir of about 40 children and 4 professional soloists.
The soloists sing the parts of the Narrator (soprano), Jonah ( baritone), God (bass) and the Captain of the ship and separately The King of Nineveh (baritone). There were approximately 200 participants and the World Premiere took place in The Cadogan Hall on Tuesday 9 May 2023. The soloists were Katerina Mina, Ashley Riches, Henry Waddington and Morgan Pearse. The other participants were The National Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Chorus, the Farnham Youth Choir and the performance was conducted by John Andrews.
Since then, he has written an orchestral composition “The Carteret Suite” inspired by holidays spent on the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy as his family were growing up. More recently, he has completed his second oratorio “The Spirit of the Mountains” set in the Swiss mountains of Jungfrau, the Monck and the Eiger based on a brilliant libretto by the librettist Jeffrey Lewis. Other compositions are being planned as Ian further develops his compositional career.
The Story of The Spirit of the Mountains
In The Spirit, the Spirit requests milk from the three wealthy giants owning rich pastures – only to be offered water. In fury, the Spirit places a curse on each of the giants causing them to grow and grow into the three mountains as known today: Jungfrau, the Monck and The Eiger. Each of the mountains is frozen but “defrosts” each day but at different times. During the course of the oratorio, it becomes evident that each of the Jungfrau and The Eiger have romantic intentions toward each other with The Monck interspersed between them. In a separate plot, the chorus are wandering around the lower reaches of the mountains in expectation of what they may discover. Eventually, after many pleas to the Spirit to release the Three Mountains from the curse, the Spirit relents amidst much rejoicing.
Testimonials
Critiques Following the World Premiere of Jonah
This section (comprising verse 4) of The Solitary Reaper (words by William Wordsworth) and music composed by Ian Fletcher for his birthday concert in February 2018 within The Temple Church, London appears by kind permission of Justin Pearson and The National Symphony Orchestra who will be participating in the World Premiere of Jonah.
