Song Without End

The inspiration for this album came about from Ruby Hughes’ first collaboration with the Manchester Collective in the spring of 2020. During the first Covid lockdown, they built the programme of this recital for the purpose of touring the UK and uplifting their audiences at a time when we were all being confronted by challenging notions of mortality and isolation. As artists, they asked themselves what music might attend to the prevailing concerns of this time. Their answers came in the form of this offering. The title of this album, End of My Days, comes from Errollyn Wallen’s song; a resounding celebration of life that embraces death without regret or sadness but with great verve and acceptance. The other songs, each in its own way, evoke silence and separation, but also love and hope and even the reassurance that we will return whence we came and light shall lift us into eternity. The concluding song, Deborah Pritchard’s Peace, is a message of hope, willingly received as the world emerged out of lockdown in 2021. Luminous tranquillity moves us into the light, towards eternity.

The charismatic Abdullah Ibrahim is South Africa's most distinguished pianist and a world-respected master musician. He releases the solo piano album 'The Song Is My Story' to celebrate his 80th birthday, 2014 also marks 20 years since the end of apartheid. Abdullah Ibrahim visited Sacile, Italy in the summer of 2014, played on the legendary "Fazioli" grand piano and visited the workshop where these pianos are crafted. There is a concert hall in Sacile with fantastic instruments, which sound as if they were created especially for Ibrahim…

At the End of a Perfect Day is a title that is all too apropos, since the music that fills the album is comprised of mellow ballads that are both relaxing and serene. The songs are typical of his soothing style, sung in de Burgh's suave demeanor making their simplistic makeup sound that much better. Without the narrative allure found in Spanish Train, de Burgh uses his haunting voice to enhance these average-sounding pieces, resulting in only a couple of mediocre standouts. The charming "Broken Wings has de Burgh's lonely voice fluttering amidst lyrics about his lost love.

At the End of a Perfect Day is a title that is all too apropos, since the music that fills the album is comprised of mellow ballads that are both relaxing and serene. The songs are typical of his soothing style, sung in de Burgh's suave demeanor making their simplistic makeup sound that much better. Without the narrative allure found in Spanish Train, de Burgh uses his haunting voice to enhance these average-sounding pieces, resulting in only a couple of mediocre standouts. The charming "Broken Wings has de Burgh's lonely voice fluttering amidst lyrics about his lost love. While the words may seem a little honeyed, his sedating air throughout the song's entirety is front and center.

At the End of a Perfect Day is a title that is all too apropos, since the music that fills the album is comprised of mellow ballads that are both relaxing and serene. The songs are typical of his soothing style, sung in de Burgh's suave demeanor making their simplistic makeup sound that much better. Without the narrative allure found in Spanish Train, de Burgh uses his haunting voice to enhance these average-sounding pieces, resulting in only a couple of mediocre standouts. The charming "Broken Wings has de Burgh's lonely voice fluttering amidst lyrics about his lost love.