Anna Hill's 'Unofficial' Desert Island Discs

Back in 2007 I wrote the post, 'Robin Hill's 'Unofficial' Desert Island Discs'.

For those unfamiliar with the Radio 4 programme, you can read all about it here.

After this blog post I was asked by a Twitter friend, egoboss, what my choices would be...
As one of the founders of the personalized news site 'Ensembli', and also the online business development company, 'Egoboss', and after a nudge from Carl over Christmas, I thought I better get on with it.

So over the holiday period I gave it some thought.
I must say the task was far harder than I had initially anticipated.
A lifetime of listening to music, and being involved in the music industry, makes narrowing down to just 8 pieces a real challenge.

But here are my choices:

1) Take Five: Dave Brubeck Quartet

'Take Five' was written bu Paul Desmond and performed and recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet on numerous occasions. Written in 5/4 time it has endured as a jazz classic.

This piece of music is so familiar to me and brings comfort and sorrow in equal measures.
As I grew up this piece was repeatedly played by my stepfather, Tony. Looking back I now realise what a significant role he played in my musical education.
He had exceptionally eclectic tastes, and many hours were spent listening to all styles of music.
This partially resulted in my musical tastes being completely out of step with my generation, which was possibly one of the greatest favours he did me.
To hear music from all eras and styles was the best education I could have asked for.
Take Five was such a significant piece to all in our family, that on the terribly sad occasion of Tony's funeral, Robin performed his own arrangement of 'Take Five', live, accompanied by saxophonist, Munch Manship.
How they ever managed to perform so beautifully under such sad and emotional conditions I shall never know, but will always be very grateful. My only regret being that Tony wasn't able to hear it as he would have been delighted.

2) Schubert Piano Trio No.2 in E flat major, D929 (Op.100)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was a prolific, Austrian composer known for his melodic and harmonic writing.
As the rules of 'Desert Island Discs' only allow me one movement, it is without hesitation that I choose the 2nd movement, Andante con moto.
I actually remember the very first time I heard this movement.
I was driving the car with the radio on and despite reaching my destination I simply couldn't turn the radio off. I remained in the car until the piece had finished, and was consequently late for a lecture, but it was worth it!

3) The Beatles: All My Loving

Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to find a Beatles track in my list.
It's another example of being out of kilter with my peers as I was only a baby when The Beatles split.
The problem was choosing a song.
It could have been 'Something', 'She's Leaving Home', 'Here Comes the Sun', 'Eleanor Rigby' or any of them really.
But choose one I must, so I have decided on, 'All My Loving'.
The reason being that the energy and enthusiasm of The Beatles shines through, even though the song was written in 1963!

4) 'Eternal Dance' by Robin Hill

I am in the enviable position of being married to a musician. People generally seem very interested in musicians, which is one of the reasons this blog started in the first place!
But Robin is not only a performing musician but also a composer.
I added 'Eternal Dance' to the list, not out of a sense of loyalty, but, because I think it is the first movement of a fantastic concerto.
As Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) said, "Composers should write tunes the chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle."
'Eternal Dance' certainly fulfills this requirement as our chauffeurs and errand boys have never ceased to whistle it since its creation....
You can read more about 'Eternal Dance' here.

Needless to say, if any orchestras are interested in adding the concerto to their programme then please feel free to get in touch, and likewise, if any guitarists out there are interested in performing or recording this new and exciting guitar concerto, don't hesitate to contact me!

5) 'God Only Knows' The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys released 'God Only Knows' in 1966. Its complicated melodic structure and vocal harmonies made it one of the most technically sophisticated songs of the time.
As Sir Paul McCartney is known to have listed it as one of his favourite songs, then I'm in good company.
It's also one of the songs I have listened to for most of my life and continue to listen to today.

6)Violin Concerto in D minor Op.47: Jean Sibelius

The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius made his mark early in my musical development.
The movement I choose , I, Allegro Moderato, would often be played when I was home alone as a teenager, loudly, whilst I marvelled at the sheer brilliance of the music.

7) 'Say a Little Prayer' Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin has to be the greatest soul singer of all time.
This is a difficult song to sing, and believe me I've tried...
If you haven't got a copy in your collection then I suggest you rectify that immediately.

And finally,

8) 'Hissing of Summer Lawns' Joni Mitchell

Both Robin and I love all Joni's work, particularly from 'Court and Spark' to 'Travelogue' and consider her one of the greatest song writers of our times.
The track 'Hissing of Summer Lawns' from the album of the same name is on the list because it is a highly significant song for Robin and I. Say no more.

I am also allowed to take a book.
I have selected, 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
I have read this before, many years ago, and it is such an incredible story that I would like to read it again.

My luxury item:
This would have to be a never ending supply of writing paper and a fountain pen with a lifetime's supply of ink.
If I'm going to be stranded on a desert island at least I would finally have time to write all the stories that constantly circulate in my imagination!

So there you are, a small insight into my musical tastes....

Centenary Celebrations for the Scouts and Backwards Bach...

The life of a musician is certainly varied.
This morning Robin found himself taking part in centenary celebrations with the Scout Association.
It was 100 years ago today that Baden-Powell formed the scout movement and the event was marked by scouts in 216 countries and territories renewing their vows at 8am this morning.

As son number one is a cub his local pack had arranged to join in the occasion with a dawn hike up the nearest pike.
The group started their walk at 6.30 in order to be at the top in time to acknowledge the dawn of a new century for scouting.
You can read more about 'Scouting's Sunrise' here.

You can see that it was worth the walk for a lovely view.


On the monument at the top of the pike they found this.
It's nice to see that the graffiti artists of 1885 took a little more time than their modern day counterparts.



Both Robin and son were home again by 10am.
As we relaxed with a cup of coffee Robin showed me the Bach piece that he'd put into his Sibelius programme.
We made a discovery.
You can play the pieces backwards!!!
To save you the trouble of inputting all those notes, if you are lucky enough to have Sibelius that is, I can tell you it sounded pretty good.
I'm sure the same couldn't be said for most compositions but it works with Bach!

World Premiere - 'Wheatfield under Troubled Skies' - Robin Hill

So, here it is.
We finally managed to sort out our technical difficulties, and you are now able to listen to the world premiere of, 'Wheatfield under Troubled Skies'.
But first, let me set the scene.
This piece was composed about three years ago and it may surprise you to find that there isn't actually a guitar within earshot!
It is from a work for piano and orchestra - 'Three Van Gogh Portraits'.
The first movement, (The Journey South) depicts Vincent's train journey from Paris to Arles, and the third, (Yellow House) describes the frenzied creativity and energy of the artist's studio. The second movement, which can be listened to today is 'Wheatfield under Troubled Skies'.

Robin has always had a fascination for Vincent Van Gogh. The title, 'Wheatfield under Troubled Skies', is taken from one of Van Gogh's most dramatic works painted during his final creative period in Auvers.
The painting depicts a wheatfield, literally under a dark, oppressive, and threatening sky. There is an uneasy, brooding feel about the whole image, which reflects his sombre and desperate mood. The sun tries to break through occasionally but is doomed to failure.

With that in mind, we approach the music.
The opening theme is sparse and bare, stated on solo piano, and reflecting a scene of great beauty but all here is not well.....

As the movement progresses it has a rural, pastoral feel, with each appearance of the piano, getting ever more complex and involved, yet retaining the dark mood and reflecting the inner struggle in Van Gogh's mind.
The movement culminates with a rumour of thunder represented by a distant glissandi on the timpani.

The score itself was composed using Sibelius software and, on this recording, is played through a Roland 1080 sound module.
This is, of course, a pale substitute for a real orchestra, but gives a rough impression of the how the work sounds. We hope to record this piece for real in the very near future.. all we need is an orchestra and pianist...anybody out there?....

Listen, and I hope you enjoy. (Click on play and wait a few seconds for the piece to start)


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The Frustrations of a Modern Day Composer

Robin put his new pieces on a disc yesterday and we sat back and listened.
For him this is a frustrating process, as what you hear from any computer generated programme, is not as it sounds in his head.
Sibelius is a fantastic tool, and the orchestral sounds are pretty realistic, but nothing can replace real musicians.
An orchestra brings a piece to life, and allows it to breathe at the appropriate moments, interpreting the composers intention under the guidance of a skilled conductor.
But as we have neither orchestra or conductor stashed away under the stairs, for now, we'll have to make do.
However, today, Robin did have a play around with the programme, and managed to add more expression, so we are another step nearer to what he is trying to achieve.
It did prompt a discussion on the advantage/disadvantage modern composers have compared to their predecessors.
Until recently the technology just wasn't available for them to hear their scores played back.
For me as the non-musician, I felt it must make life easier for the modern day composer.
Robin, as the musician, wasn't as sure. It certainly is nice to hear your work, but, he already knows in his own mind what it is going to sound like, and until that is achieved by real orchestral musicians, he will always be disappointed.
However, as Frank Zappa once said, even when your music is recorded by a real orchestra, there will still always be parts you're not happy with.
I guess that for musicians, as they evolve, so does their music. It's part of the artistic process.