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The
Broadwood family founded England's oldest and most famous piano
making companies in West Sussex in the 18th century.
The
founder, Burkat Shudi, created harpsichords for Handel, Haydn, Gainsborough
and has also produced instruments for every British monarch since
George II.
Mark
Read loves pianos, but he was intrigued by one member of the Broadwood
family - Lucy Broadwood.
She
became famous for collecting and preserving folk songs - despite
the fact that sometimes she wasn't told the lyrics because they
were too dirty for young ears.
Although
she died in 1929, Lucy had a major impact on keeping folk traditions
alive. Vaughan Williams was particularly impressed with: "Her brilliant
talents as pianist, singer, composer and essayist."
Ballads
and themes from folk songs can still be heard in pop music today
- even a1's lyrical efforts sometimes have a folk influence.
Mark
Read pays tribute to Lucy as she was an important character in music
history.
Like
Lucy, Mark has outstanding ability as a pianist. While he tells
the story of Lucy's legacy to the nation, he plays many of the rare
and valuable Broadwood pianos at the Finchcocks Museum in Goudhurst.
Mark
impressed the curator by how he was able to play appropriate tunes
for each of the famous Broadwood pianos - including a few a1 numbers.
a1
are taking a break from performing at the moment, so it's given
Mark the ideal chance to explore ways of developing his music and
other interests.
You
can watch the story on tonight's Inside Out on BBC1 at 7.30. Or
you can watch it online here
too.
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