MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A quick Christmas message from me! 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CLASSICAL ADVENT CALENDAR - HALFWAY POINT!

Halfway through Advent already and I'm really enjoying the countdown to Christmas with my Classical Advent Calendar!  

Each day I've been adding a new track to the Advent playlist in Spotify and it's been so tricky deciding the selection. All the tracks to me sum up Advent and Christmas and have had a real impact on me over the years.  

Click here to access the Classical Advent Calendar.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS - CLASSICAL ADVENT CALENDAR

Starting tomorrow I'll be counting down to Christmas with my Classical Advent Calendar!  

Each day I'll be adding a new track to the Advent playlist in Spotify - all the tracks to me sum up Advent and Christmas and have had a real impact on me over the years.  

It would be great to know if you enjoy my choices!  

Click here to access the Classical Advent Calendar.

CLARINET CONCERTO RECORDING

Having a GREAT time recording my new clarinet concerto with Emma Johnson, conductor Philip Ellis and the BBC Concert Orchestra. It's sounding so beautiful!

CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS FREE DOWNLOADS

     

I've just released this new video about the FREE SHEET MUSIC AND MP3 of Christian Soldiers.  This piece is an excerpt from The Great War Symphony and will feature in the final four-movement symphony.

In the video, I encourage you to download the sheet music and guide track to perform Christian Soldiers to commemorate the soldiers and survivors of World War One.  The sheet music is available for SATB choir & organ, brass band, and orchestra, and I’d love to see videos from your rehearsals or performances.  Share them online using #greatwarsymphony or post them to me via the Contact page.

If you would like to stay in touch with the progress of The Great War Symphony, please visit www.thegreatwarsymphony.com and sign up to our newsletter.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS MP3

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS SHEET MUSIC

CLASSICAL MASTERCLASS ALBUM RELEASED

The Classical Masterclass album has been released!  This is the album for which I produced arrangements of pieces by, amongst others, Handel, Mozart, Pachelbel and Wagner for strings and Alex James on his bass guitar.

I'm REALLY pleased with how they sound - so sexy!

In case you missed it earlier in the year, you can CLICK HERE to see great behind the scenes footage posted by the English Session Orchestra from the recording with Alex James.  It's the strings section recording my new arrangement of Praeludium from Grieg's Holberg Suite - amazing!  Alex James is in the foreground (back to camera) and we're recording in his barn.

And this is a photo of the whole team, including, on the left, Alex James, me, Sarah Pickering from Sony and our fantastic engineer Steve Price, and the brilliant English Session Orchestra players.

CLICK HERE to download the Classical Masterclass album  from the Sony / EMI website.

POETRY & SONG CONCERT

A very special evening last night at Swinstead, Lincs performing English songs with the soprano Elizabeth Adams interspersed with poetry readings by my brother Andrew.  

This is our rehearsal of my setting of Remember, the beautiful poem by Christina Rossetti.

Remember me when I am gone away, 

    Gone far away into the silent land; 

     When you can no more hold me by the hand, 

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. 

Remember me when no more day by day 

    You tell me of our future that you plann'd: 

    Only remember me; you understand 

It will be late to counsel then or pray. 

Yet if you should forget me for a while 

    And afterwards remember, do not grieve: 

    For if the darkness and corruption leave 

    A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, 

Better by far you should forget and smile 

    Than that you should remember and be sad.

The music scores for Patrick's setting of Remember for 

SATB choir with Piano/Organ are also available from MusicRoom.

ONCE UPON A RHYME

Really pleased to have heard that the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet are using tracks from my Pastoral Album. 

Their new ballet Once Upon a Rhyme uses four tracks from the album that I wrote for West One Music in a great story woven together using all the classic nursery rhymes!

The Pastoral Album is available on iTunes.

THE BIG FEASTIVAL!

Have just heard that some of my Classical Masterclass arrangements for Alex James are going to be played at The Big Feastival this weekend!

The event is run by Alex and Jamie Oliver and mixes great music with great food and takes place on Alex's farm at Kingham in The Cotswolds.  

My pieces are going to be played by Alex on Sunday around 12:30 so if you're there keep a listen out!

And if you haven't already seen it CLICK HERE to see great behind the scenes footage from the strings recording session earlier in the year.  The video is the strings section recording my new arrangement of Praeludium from Grieg's Holberg Suite - amazing!  Alex James is in the foreground (back to camera) and we were recording in his barn.

CLARINET CONCERTO

I'm now in the final throes of writing my concerto for top clarinetist Emma Johnson.  I've been working on the three movements on and off through the year and I'm now just finishing off the last movement which is going to be a triumphant and majestic ending to the work!

Emma will be recording the new work later this year - more details to follow.

ANYONE FOR YOGA?

Classic FM have just released their 50 Classical Yoga Tracks featuring my track Reflexionem sung by Voces8! 

Available on Spotify, Amazon and iTunes.

AN EVENING OF POETRY & SONG

Tickets have just gone on sale for a concert in one of my brother Andrew Hawes' churches in Swinstead, Lincolnshire.  I'll be on the piano with upcoming soprano soloist Elizabeth Adams and poetry read by Andrew. 

We'll be performing some of own song collaborations as well as the works of other English authors and composers from a variety of periods. 

A beautiful evening of music in a beautiful rural setting!

Box Office now open.  Click here for tickets and more details.

FINAL ALEX JAMES RECORDING SESSION

I've just finished the last recording session with Alex James (Blur) for the Sony ATV 'Juice' label and it's sounding amazing!

We recorded the strings section a month or so ago with Alex but we've just finished off a few bits to complete the set.  CLICK HERE to see great behind the scenes footage posted by the English Session Orchestra from the strings recording session.  The video is the strings section recording my new arrangement of Praeludium from Grieg's Holberg Suite - amazing!  Alex James is in the foreground (back to camera) and we're recording in his barn.

BBC INTERVIEWS

A busy morning recording an interview for BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Look East ahead of the concert tomorrow night at Ranworth Church in Norfolk!

Started this morning at Barton House where most of the Norfolk Wherries are moored, on a Live broadcast with Thordis Fridriksson for the popular morning programme.  Hear it on the iPlayer (scroll to 02:19:25).  It was great to see the wherry White Moth in all her glory sailing on the river and on beautiful summer's morning as she headed on her journey to end up at Ranworth later today.  I can't wait for the world premiere of the new work I've written about this wherry tomorrow night!

Then the BBC Look East team came to film a feature which will go out tonight at 6:30pm.

A few tickets are still available for the concert at Ranworth Church, Norfolk at 7:30pm.  https://secure.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk/Online/default_Other.asp?show=Water  The concert will feature a new work by Patrick plus music from Handel, Britten and Gibbons.

ABBEY ROAD RECORDING (THE GREAT WAR SYMPHONY)

Here's a taster video of the recording from last week at Abbey Road Studios in London.  We were there recording a selection of tracks from The Great War Symphony and I was conducting the English Session Orchestra for Audio Network.  Later in the day the National Youth Choir were recorded in Studio One - the same studio used by Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Thomas Beecham, The Beatles and Pink Floyd!

It was thrilling to hear some of the music come alive whilst I continue to write the rest of the work ahead of the big premiere in 2018!

BBC RADIO NORFOLK INTERVIEW

It was a real pleasure to be speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk's Anthony Isaacs this Sunday morning about writing The Great War Symphony.  A really interesting interview giving a glimpse into the creative journey I'm on.

If you missed it or want to listen again visit the BBC iPlayer and scroll to 2:43:12 for the relevant part.  

And don't forget you can still download the FREE MP3 of the taster track Christian Soldiers and the FREE SHEET MUSIC!

EVENTIDE LONDON PREMIERE

Tickets are now on sale for the LONDON PREMIERE of 

Eventide: In Memoriam Edith Cavell.

Tickets £18

Click here to purchase your tickets.

The work honours the heroism of Edith Cavell, a nurse celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides in World War I without discrimination.  The London concert is to be deeply poignant since the performance will take place exactly 100 years to the day after her death by a German firing squad in 1915 for helping Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium.

The concert will feature the Brandenburg Sinfonia and Addison Singers under the baton of David Wordsworth.  Tiffin Boys Choir will provide the semi-chorus singing the haunting melody of the well-known hymn Abide with Me which permeates the whole work, and are the last words Cavell recited with her chaplain hours before her execution.

Click here to see the BBC's feature ahead of the World Premiere in Norwich Cathedral last year.

FREE CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS DOWNLOADS

          

The Great War Symphony is an epic new work from British composer, Patrick Hawes, written to commemorate the First World War.  Using text compiled from diaries, letters and other first-hand accounts, the symphony has been composed as part of the national Remember WWI project.  The symphony, for choir and orchestra, will be in four movements with each movement depicting a year of the war, to be premiered in its entirety in 2018.

We want as many people as possible to become involved in the evolution of this project, having the opportunity to participate in the genesis of The Great War Symphony and eventually the full premiere and commemorative events in 2018.  The first part of this process is the release of a FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD of an excerpt from the work - Christian Soldiers and FREE SHEET MUSIC for performance.  Patrick has created versions of Christian Soldiers for Orchestra, SATB choir & Organ and another for Brass Band, all available to download for free using the links below.  

If you would like to stay in touch with the progress of The Great War Symphony, please visit www.thegreatwarsymphony.com and sign up to our newsletter.

And don't forget, if you do perform Christian Soldiers or would like/intend to, please let us know!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS MP3

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS SHEET MUSIC

CLASSIC FM INTERVIEW and FREE DOWNLOADS

Don't forget to tune in to my interview with Charlotte Green this afternoon at 4pm on Classic FM's Culture Club all about The Great War Symphony.  

The interview will feature the premiere broadcast of an excerpt from the work called Christian Soldiers.  

This track and the sheet music for it are NOW AVAILABLE as FREE DOWNLOADS!

Click here for the FREE MP3

Click here for the FREE SHEET MUSIC

And if you haven't already read it, click here for the Daily Telegraph feature about The Great War Symphony.

About The Great War Symphony 

The Great War Symphony is an epic new work from British composer, Patrick Hawes, written to commemorate the First World War.  Using text compiled from diaries, letters and other first-hand accounts, the symphony has been composed as part of the national Remember WWI project.  The symphony, for choir and orchestra, will be in four movements with each movement depicting a year of the war, to be premiered in its entirety in 2018.

We want as many people as possible to become involved in the evolution of this project, having the opportunity to participate in the genesis of The Great War Symphony and eventually the full premiere and commemorative events in 2018.  The first part of this process is the release of the FREE DOWNLOADS detailed above.

If you would like to stay in touch with the progress of The Great War Symphony, please sign up to our newsletter.  

And don't forget, if you do perform Christian Soldiers or would like/intend to, please let us know!

www.thegreatwarsymphony.com

CONCERT TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets are now on sale for a special concert in the heart of the Norfolk Broads on 11th July 2015.  

The concert, Water Music for a Summer's Evening, will feature the World Premiere of my new work specially commissioned to mark the centenary of the Norfolk Wherry White Moth.  I will be conducting an evening of English music for choir and strings inspired by water, including works by Handel and Orlando Gibbons.

All proceeds from the concert will be going to the Wherry Yacht Charter charity.

Box Office now open: Online or Telephone 01603 63000

And why not follow news about the concert on Facebook.

CHARLOTTE GREEN CULTURE CLUB INTERVIEW

It was great to be in the Classic FM studios again today to talk to Charlotte Green all about The Great War Symphony.  

The broadcast will go out on her Culture Club programme this Sunday and will feature the premiere broadcast of an excerpt from the work called Christian Soldiers.  This track and the sheet music for it will also be available as FREE DOWNLOADS available after the interview.

PSALM 91

Really pleased to see my new a cappella work Psalm 91 for SATB choir and SATB quartet in print. 

It has been commissioned by the Lancaster Chorale, Ohio, USA to mark the retirement of the Artistic Director Bob Trocchia.  I had the pleasure of working with Bob and the chorale in 2011 when they commissioned the Te Deum from me and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the premiere in the USA.

This new work which uses words from Psalm 91 will be premiered by the chorale in October 2015.

CLASSICAL MASTERCLASS (SONY) - BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE

CLICK HERE to see great behind the scenes footage posted by the English Session Orchestra from this week's recording with Alex James. 

It is the strings section recording my new arrangement of Praeludium from Grieg's Holberg Suite - amazing!  Alex James is in the foreground (back to camera) and we're recording in his barn.

And this is a photo of the whole team, including, on the left, Alex James, me, Sarah Pickering from Sony and our fantastic engineer Steve Price, and then the brilliant English Session Orchestra players.

GREAT WAR SYMPHONY ENDORSED BY WWI CENTENARY PARTNERSHIP

The Great War Symphony has just featured on the World War One Centenary website (led by the Imperial War Museum). It's great to have their endorsement.

Read the full article here.

THE GREAT WAR SYMPHONY IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

(L-R) Classic FM presenter John Brunning, Patrick, Lord Astor (grandson of Field Marshall Haig) and Lady French (great-grand-daughter of Field Marshall French)

I'm over the moon to see the large article in the Arts section of today's Daily Telegraph about The Great War Symphony. Written by the Telegraph's Arts correspondent Ivan Hewitt, it really captures what we are trying to achieve with the project and how exciting it all is!

Read it online here.

The interview took place at the Classic FM studios where we will be releasing the first taster of music from the symphony at the end of May.  We were delighted to be joined by Lord Astor and Lady French who are both descendants of First World War commanders (grandson of Field Marshall Haig) and great-grand-daughter of Field Marshall French, respectively).

CLASSICAL MASTERCLASS WITH ALEX JAMES FROM BLUR

An amazing project is brewing! 

In an exciting new avenue for me, I'm teaming up with Alex James from Blur to produce 14 new arrangements of well-known classical pieces for Sony/ATV Music Publishing.  Entitled 'Classical Masterclass' Alex will amaze everyone with his skills on the bass guitar and, set against strings, harp and horns, the soundworld should be something quite unique! 

The photo above is of me and Alex with Sarah Pickering from Sony and our engineer Steve Price at our meeting yesterday in London.

WHITE MOTH

Great to have finished the vocal score for my new piece White Moth.  Written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the building of the Norfolk Wherry 'White Moth', it will be premiered in a concert on 11th July in Ranworth Church in association with Wherry Yacht Charter - more details to follow later in the year.

BLUE IN BLUE - THE RE-RELEASE

Really really pleased that after a long time of being unavailable my debut album Blue in Blue from 2004 is to be re-released by popular demand.  

The official release for iTunes, Amazon etc is set for 20th April 2015, but you can get signed copies of it from my website store two weeks ahead of that date!  Click here to order your copies now.

The album features the Classic FM favourite Quanta Qualia, as well as Italian Song, Reflexionem and my Blue Bird Variations.  

Nominated for a Classical Brit award on its release, made CD of the Week on Classic FM and being the highest ever new entry in to the Classic FM Hall of Fame it really helped launch me in to the public eye.  So, it's a very special album to me and for those who didn't get it the first time around I hope you enjoy it.

THE DANE TREE - WORLD PREMIERE - TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Tickets are now on sale for the WORLD PREMIERE performance of my new work for Daventry Choral Society The Dane Tree.  The concert also features works by Parry, Stanford and Vivaldi, plus I'll be guest conducting and playing a selection of my piano pieces.  

TWO ENGLISH SONGS

Hot off the press are my new Two English Songs for soprano Elizabeth Adams.  

Based on the poem My Song is Love Unknown by Samuel Crossman (1624-83) and Echo's Lament by Ben Jonson (1572-1637) I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.  

They'll be premiered by Elizabeth at her Postgraduate Final Recital in the Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire 11am 18th May and I can't wait to hear her sing them!