Nathan has written a guest blog for Gramophone, reflecting on his lifelong connection with choral music and the experiences behind his debut album, i breathe.
In the article, Nathan writes about growing up in Tonyrefail in the South Wales Valleys, where singing was an important part of his life, and how an invitation to write music for a service at Llandaff Cathedral, aged 18, first set him on the path to composing.
He traces the origins of i breathe to a conversation with singers from the Cape Town Camerata in South Africa, whose interest in hearing more of his music eventually led to the two-year process of making the album. Released on Signum Classics earlier this month, the recording brings together music written for three choirs with whom Nathan has developed close working relationships: the National Youth Choir of Wales, the Choir of Royal Holloway, and Manchester-based Kantos Chamber Choir.
The article also looks beyond the album to consider the place of community singing in contemporary Wales. Drawing on his own experiences, Nathan reflects on the importance of the local choirs, chapels, and churches that sustain Wales's identity as the 'Land of Song', and raises questions about the support needed to ensure these communities continue to thrive.
The blog concludes with a reflection on the people behind the music, and the singers and communities to whom i breatheis dedicated.
Read the full article on Gramophone: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/content/blogs/i-breathe-a-welsh-composers-tribute-to-choral-music-blog
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