An amazing, uplifting, moving, memorial service for Deborah Rogers today. She was married to the composer Michael Berkeley, so I expected good music but - wow! St Martin in the Fields was full: several people estimated perhaps 1000 people; the minister said he had never seen the church so full. Music by Bach, a Catalan folk melody, Schubert, Poulenc, Handel, Berkeley (both Michael and Lennox): exquisite. Steven Isserlis. cello; Julius Drake, piano, Ian Bostridge, tenor; Nicholas Daniel, oboe (he played the very moving Siciliano from Sonata in G minor by Bach which I have playing while I type this) and the churchs own choir. The speakers were a wonderful balance of serious and funny: Peter Straus from Debs own agency, Ian McEwan, Gail Rebuck, Kazuo Ishiguro, Bob Gottlieb, Paul Bailey, Peter Carey, Michael Berkeley. And Liz Calder and Carmen Callil sang an irreverent a capella song which brought the house down. Book world folk from around the world then walked to the Connaught Rooms & tried to drink London dry. Someone said we could have done all our deals in that room and called off Frankfurt. A wonderful way to remember one of the most admired agents I ever had the privilege to know.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:17:44 +0000