Musical postcards, magical places

Paris, Vienna, and an Enchanted World

Paris in the springtime

I know visitors love to complain about muggers on the metro and supercilious servers, and Parisians turn up their noses at ‘Emily in Paris’ wannabes influencing their way around the city streets. But leaving prejudices aside, surely Paris is just made to be adored? I’ve just spent a few days there working on an upcoming project with some French colleagues, but also took time out to visit the Musée d’Orsay Impressionist exhibition. It’s unmissable and I’ll be writing about it in another email. For now, though, a few street views for some Parisian flavour. Yes, I know I’ve succumbed to the noir allure of Ripley with the photography but somehow the monochrome was irresistibly evocative.

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Enchanted melodies

Late last year John was in China with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, recording the sound track for a video game called Genshin Impact. He did the gig and then, since neither of us are gamers (I imagine this does not surprise you), thought no more about it. That is, until a friend sent us a link to the music video—which to date has been viewed six million times. The animation is quite enchanting and, uniquely, the musicians themselves are part of the video game. Here is a very brief clip of the magical opening piano and organ cues, with John at the organ inside the computer-generated cathedral.

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An die Musik: a lieder album for flute and piano

An die Musik (arr. and ed. Elisabeth Parry and John Alley, pub. Aurea Capra) is now available from music retailers worldwide. This collection of lieder arranged for flute and piano includes works by the masters of the genre, Schubert and Schumann, as well as gems by Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg, Clara Schumann, and Fanny Mendelssohn. Here’s what one reviewer says:

“Transcribing wonderful songs for the flute is always a good idea, especially if the arrangements are as classy as these. The choice of songs is very appealing too. Schubert and Schumann are perennial favourites, and the addition of songs by Fanny Mendelsshon and Clara Schumann to fly the flag for the women, and Richard Strauss and Alban Berg which are more challenging to interpret, give this volume an extra depth. They are all lovely—sing your way round the flute!” (Chris Hankin, Just Flutes)

John and I will be recording pieces from this album soon so I’ll be sharing some excerpts in future emails. An die Musik is available to purchase through the links below or from your favourite music retailer.