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In the Wikipædia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_van_Dieren we find the startling suggestion that one composer - the Dutch secret-service man Bernard van Dieren - may have murdered another composer - the Englishman Philip Heseltine (who for some weird reason loved to call himself "Warlock"). In Grove's Dictionary Mr. Chisholm appears to refer obliquely to the matter when he writes "The . . . accusation of his [van Dieren's] having a baleful and indeed fatal effect on some of his friends is . . . unjustified."
How can Mr. Chisholm be so baldly certain that it is "unjustified"? It is more likely that he does not know, in which case he should say just that: that he has no evidence one way or the other. If he is certain that it is unjustified he should tell us why.
Can any one tell us more about the case? Cecil Gray doesn't appear to mention it.
Sounds like a case for Father Brown or maybe Lord Peter Wimsey.
Two versions are on YT. I was listening to parts of one only yesterday and reading about him on the internet. Interesting musically - actually very interesting - but I can't take to him or Warlock as people. Lambert fares slightly better - I have Rio Grande, Horoscope etc - but again reservations, especially re Margot (as in not Jacquelyn) Fonteyn (Fontyn).
It's a fine CD on Lyrita. I've played it a few times now over the last few months and I admit the music sounds better each time I hear it.
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