Big House

Thought it was about time for a blues, and even though today was anything but wet - another glorious day - there have been some wet wednesdays recently, and blues have to be about misery, not joy! [discuss]

Go placidly amid the noise and haste... If there was one good thing to come out of the pandemic for me it was the restoration of a sense of calm (even though people were far from calm). The roads were quieter and the frenzy of day to day life seemed suddenly to be suspended. Not sure it has lasted very long mind, but it's a good thought to hold in mind, so here's a little cue for calm - when it's all getting too much for you, put this on :-)

For those of you who know the countryside around Arundel and its environs you'll no doubt be familiar with Happy Valley, tucked behind Warningcamp on the Angmering Park Estate. It's a beautiful space, very peaceful and panoramic, you feel like you're completely enveloped within the green of nature.

Here's another piano piece that also incorporates the bowed double bass. It's actually a sample of a double bass played on the keyboard, so I'm sure it'll sound infinitely better when Mike gets his hands on it - I've just sent it to him, so we might try to include it at the next duo opportunity.

In case you missed it, we did feature Happy Valley on our (somewhat homemade but it was lockdown and we had to do something) video of Awakening - you can watch it on YouTube here https://youtu.be/IoQlfjslvlQ

Well, obviously it isn't, and yet, the weather has turned so sunny and pleasant that you'd be mistaken for thinking Spring was on the way and we'd fast forwarded past all that Autumn and Winter weather we're due soon.

And of course, the title is a conceit, to allow me to include a piece of that name. I thought we needed something a little more up tempo than the solo piano pieces I've shared so far, don't want to get too maudling.

Here's another in the series of solo piano pieces. I think this is actually my favourite piece. Lots of space - play it late at night, shut out all other distractions and immerse yourself fully in the sound. Works for me, but music is a very personal language and what speaks to one person doesn't necesarily translate universally!

Nothing to do with Debussy I'm afraid, other than that I do rather like Debussy as it happens. In fact, all of those French Impressionists are right up my street. So maybe this piece has a little to do with Debussy after all... I wrote it after a walk with Clare on a really beautiful moonlit evening through the woods that adjoin our little piece of paradise in Crossbush.

It's not particularly a depiction of the walk, more the mood that the whole experience induced in me. I'm beginning to sound a little precious here, just wanted to put some words alongside the music. So here it is...

It may surprise you to learn that my son, Taylor, was recently ordained as a priest in the Church of England. This is a piece I wrote when we got back from a weekend attending the ordination, both of Taylor and of his partner, Edwin, who was ordained as a Deacon the following day. The service was held in Norwich Cathedral and presided over by the Bishop of Norwich and was a very moving moment in the lives of us all. 

I have to confess I was rather pleased with the title, a once in a lifetime opportunity, had to take it :-)