King’s Singer David Hurley reflects on the death of Steve Martland

“We were sad to hear of the untimely death of the hugely talented British composer Steve Martland. We commissioned him to write a set of songs for our CD and concert tour with percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, and his “Street Songs” provided us with the title of the project. He was best known for his incredibly rhythmic music, and the movements “Oranges and Lemons” and “Poor Roger” illustrate this style. My favourite “Street Song” is his achingly beautiful setting of “Jenny Jones”. I also have a couple of CDs of The Steve Martland Band, and I occasionally listen to these following Steve’s instructions to turn the volume up to the max. I did have them in the car for a time, but they made me drive too fast.

We send our condolences to his family and friends, and to the many young composers who have benefitted from his uncompromising and inspirational teaching. We count ourselves lucky to have had a commission from someone with such a unique musical style.”