Renowned for her melodic power and rhythmic propensity, Charlotte Bray is a leading light in British contemporary classical music.
Exhibiting uninhibited ambition and desire to communicate, her music is exhilarating, inherently vivid, and richly expressive with lyrical intensity.
Charlotte's Where Icebergs Dance Away will receive its UK premiere on Friday 27 August in the BBC Proms at 7:30pm with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo.
In the run up to the big night, we asked Charlotte to make us a playlist. Tune in below for ‘Contemporary music by living composers, with a slightly softer edge (on the whole), yet a playlist for deep and thought-provoking listening.’
Kaija Saariaho - Circle Map VI: Day and Night Music
Saariaho’s music holds a life of it’s own within. It’s a multi-dimensional, luscious world to sink into.
Sean Shepherd - Express Abstractionism 4. The Sun, The Moon, Mondrian
A richly diverse and dynamic sound-world wholly immerses the listener in Shepherd’s music. Highly defined and super colourful, I find it utterly alluring.
Meredith Monk - High Realm
I adore the earthy, timeless quality of Monk’s music, which is quite often totally wacky. How she manipulates material is brilliant. Honestly what I love is that whatever I am doing this music really makes me listen.
George Tsontakis - Sonnets: No.1, Sonnet 30 “When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought”
Now we sink into a mystical, beguiling world, lyrical and colourfully defined. The captivating cor Anglais melody, which continues throughout, sees instruments flourishing around it like flowers in bloom.
Richard Causton - The Persistence of Memory
Causton creates an elaborate sonic world. Delicately woven together, the music is beautifully crafted in an utterly mesmerising way.
Erkki-Sven Tüür - Synergie
The simple beauty of line in Synergie is breathtaking. The music is tightly entwined yet remarkably free.
Mark-Anthony Turnage - Lullaby for Hans
Lush and lyrical, Lullaby for Hans is exquisitely woven together. Mark’s music inspired me since my early days of composing, long before I studied with him. The combinations of instrument pairings are stunning, creating striking soundscapes.
Helen Grime - Night Songs
Ardent and highly coloured, Grime’s music is always immaculately crafted. The energy is potent, with scintillating layers threaded throughout.
Anders Hillborg - Exquisite Corpse
A piece that I find exquisitely beautiful. Hillborg makes the orchestra float, suspended in the air, whether fast moving or slow. His rhythmic transitions are gripping later on in the piece, such energy and momentum.
Matthias Pintscher - en sourdine
The music hangs in the air, inquisitively. Mysterious and a place of deep beauty. Words are not enough.
