Coronation composer writes music for hometown

Iain Farrington wrote a piece of music celebrating the Commonwealth for the coronation, which incorporated lots of different melodies from around the world

A musician who composed for the coronation of King Charles III has written a piece about memories of growing up in his hometown.

Iain Farrington, who was born and bred in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, wrote five movements about five different parts of the town.

He was commissioned to write Talk of the Town for the The Hitchin Chamber Orchestra's 10th anniversary concert on Saturday evening.

He said it was "very tuneful and very upbeat, quite jazzy and hopefully quite fun for them to play".

St Mary's Church in Hitchin hosted the concert on Saturday evening

Talk of the Town was performed at St Mary's Church by the local amateur string orchestra and conducted by Daniel Hogan.

Farrington said he knew some of the players in the orchestra which included local teachers.

The piece is 18 minutes long in total and each of the five movements drew inspiration from the Saturday market, the church, Windmill Hill, his home and the town square.

"I chose locations that were also familiar to other people," he said.

"I just thought about my upbringing and the wonderful times I have had in them and still do."

Farrington played the piano at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics with Rowan Atkinson and the London Symphony Orchestra

The Saturday market movement is about his memories of going there with his mum and experiencing the "hustle and bustle".

He wrote about St Mary's Church because he was a choirboy and had learnt to play the organ there.

His memories of Windmill Hill are about sledging down it which was "both wonderful and also very dangerous because it is very steep and when it snows it can get very quick".

"So that one is a fast movement with lots of hustle and bustle," he explained

Farewell Old Home is a melancholic movement and is about "the idea of separation when you are leaving somewhere".

He continued: "I had to think about what particular locations I wanted to write about because there are so many places that are special."

Farrington remembers dangerous sledging at Windmill Hill in Hitchin

Speaking about the coronation, Farrington said: "I had to write a piece that was a celebration of the Commonwealth so it had to incorporate lots of different tunes from around the world and it wasn't about location - it was about people and diversity.

"I had to do a lot of research into different folk melodies from different countries and I had a certain amount of free rein to do what I wanted and it was a lot of fun."

He said: "It was a really lovely day."