#13 Hey Google, Play Classic FM

Two recommendations from listening to Classic FM this week

Hey Guys

Hope you have had a good week!

This week I’ve had Classic FM playing on my Google Home smart speaker while doing my day job.

By saying “Hey Google, play Classic FM” at the start of each day, it’s given my productivity a boost, if not then at the very least brightened my spirits when I most needed it!

As I type this at a quiet outdoor sitting area of a local restaurant on a warm Saturday late afternoon in Singapore, a refreshing locally-brewed SevenDaze Mango-Lychee beer in hand, AirPods Pro on in noise-cancellation mode, every so often turning my head right and left to people watch and stare at nothing in particular, I am re-listening to two tracks that made me stop what I was doing and Shazam them instantly.

I think they are a reflection of how the creative arts can inspire to be the best versions of ourselves and I wanted to share them with you this week. I am feeling a mix of emotions - nostalgia, gratefulness, regret, hope - all at once as I listen to them again.

AVE MARIA (Vavilov / Caccini)

Performed by Sumi Jo with the Gürzenich Orchester

Sumi Jo is a Grammy Award-winning South Korean soprano.

I remember first coming across her when my Dad bought a Sumi Jo CD when I was in high school and blasted it on through the speakers at home.

Her voice was (and still is) amazing.

Have four minutes to spare? Soak in the track below. Heart melting stuff. Truly.

GODDESS OF THE WOODS from THE HIGHGROVE SUITE (Patrick Hawes)

My first time hearing this piece, as well as the composer.

At first, I thought it came from a movie soundtrack. In fact, my initial thought was that it was from the soundtrack of the latest Marvel movie, Shang-Chi! The use of the harp with strings in certain sections gives it that magical, floating, almost oriental, mood that I just love. If I had to name a scene or picture that first comes to mind when I listen to it, it would be exactly like some of the mountainous, green and peaceful countryside scenes in Shang-Chi. I could also picture myself listening to this piece on a plane, travelling to a far-off destination, flying above the clouds at dusk (pinkish-red horizon), staring out through the window.

I later found out that it was composed by the British composer, Patrick Hawes, and inspired by the Highgrove Gardens, the private residence of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, as the below excerpt from Hawes’ personal website sets out:

The Highgrove Suite began as a one-movement piece entitled Goddess Of The Woods and received its premiere at Covent Garden on the occasion of The Prince Of Wales’ sixtieth birthday in November 2008.  

Three further movements were commissioned, each inspired by a different area of the gardens at Highgrove.  The suite was first performed by the Royal Harpist Claire Jones and the Philharmonia in June 2010 at Highgrove in the presence of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and invited guests.

When I first visited the Highgrove gardens in the summer of 2008, I was looking for inspiration for a new work for harp and strings.  

To my mind, the florid sounds of the harp and the rich texture of a string orchestra immediately lent themselves to a horticultural theme, and so it was The Stumpery with its mystical, timeless atmosphere that gave rise to Goddess of the Woods, named after the beautiful statue which sits in this wooded glade surrounded by ferns, gnarled tree stumps and a pair of mischievous leprechauns.

Patrick Hawes - Excerpt from website

Hope you enjoy them and have a great week ahead!

David