Premiere at Wigmore Hall: 'The Book of Hours' (20/01/25)

We are approaching the Winter Solstice, the deepest night of winter. And while, technically, the days being to get longer and lighter from then on, we all know how enduringly dark and dreary this time of year can continue to feel well into January.

But is the darkness always so bad? It depends which way you look at it. 

On Monday, January 20th, long-term collaborators and dear friends of mine Jess Dandy (contralto) and Dylan Perez (pianist) will premiere three brand new songs of mine as part of a thrilling recital they are giving at Wigmore Hall, London, entitled “In the dark times will there still be singing?”

This urgent question was posed by Bertolt Brecht on the eve of the Second World War and the recital does not shy away from exploring the brutal and difficult answers to this question. However, the three songs of mine they will perform offer a different interpretation of ‘darkness’. They are part of a longer song cycle I have written called ‘The Book of Hours’, setting poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke in mesmerising translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows. The texts are in praise of the night, celebrating our inner depths, our own darkness and, perhaps, the treasures that can be discovered there. 

I hope to see you at the recital! Tickets are more information can be found here. 

In deep nights I dig for you like treasure. 

For all I have seen 

That clutters the surface of my world

Is poor and paltry substitute

For the beauty of you

That has not happened yet.