The following are extracts from a recent interview about the inspiration for my Angel album.
"I had an idea for an album about
angels, which I don't think has been tackled in the classical music world
before," says Patrick. "Then my brother Andrew, who's a priest and a
poet, mentioned to me the Angel of Mons,
which was an apparition that took place right at the beginning of the First
World War, on August 23 1914. I was fascinated by it and I did a lot of
research, and I realised that the Angel of Mons gave me a specific link between
the centenary and my concept for the album."
The Angel of Mons remains one of the most
mysterious and controversial episodes in the First World War. Eyewitnesses
claimed that British troops had been assisted during a retreat from attacking
German forces by, as Patrick explains, "a light appearing and a figure on
horseback pointing them in the direction of safety. It was misty and murky and
a complete shambles, and the apparition saved them."
"Of course I'm human and I have all
sorts of doubts," Patrick reflects, "but I believe the Angel of Mons
occurred and I believe it was the result of an outpouring of prayer. It was at a time in our history like no
other, when the war was about to become a massacre, a genocide almost. I
believe events conspired to bring about a spiritual apparition."
The event is specifically addressed on the
second track on Angel, Out Of The Depths.
It's an extract from a 40-minute work called The Angel of Mons which Patrick and his brother Andrew are
currently working on. "It's on the
album because it's such an important influence," he explains. "My
brother adapted the lyrics from the psalm Out Of The Depths [Psalm 130], which
he thought captured the event beautifully - 'out of the depths we cry O Lord,
hear our voice'. Then the psalm says 'be patient, you will find mercy, you will
find redemption.' It's almost like the voice of the Angel of Mons, and it's
sung as a solo by Grace Davidson."
Elsewhere on the disc, Patrick has
approached the idea of angels from different directions, and with contrasting
musical treatments. "The image of the Virgin Mary being approached by the
angel Gabriel made a big impact on me as a child, and as a committed Christian
I'm aware that was the beginning of the Chr
istian faith," he recalls.
"The concept of angels holds the project together, and this enabled me to
create variety through the use of a choir, soloists, an orchestra, and solo
harp and violin. I thought I'd put a couple of solo piano tracks on it too,
which are the two Angel Preludes, Seraphim and Cherubim. They're the angels who are constantly in prayer in front
of the Almighty."
