Tag Archives: Erland Cooper

Arcana at the BBC Proms – Ultimate Calm

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Alice Boyd (soundscapes, synthesizers, vocals), Belle Chen (piano, synthesizers), Lucinda Chua (cello, vocals), Erland Cooper (electronics, piano, presenter, tape machines), Katherine Tinker (piano, synthesizers), Isobel Waller-Bridge (piano), BBC Symphony Chorus, City of London Sinfonia / Alexandra Wood (violin)

Royal Albert Hall, London
Thursday 20 August 2026

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood Photos (c) BBC /

The role of classical music in modern society is changing. With the need to ‘unwind’ greater than ever before, thanks to an age of conflict, hardship and technology –  constant visual and audio bombardment from our devices, among many other things – there is a space where calm and undemanding music can make its understated mark.

This can of course happen in operas and substantial Prom concerts, but that Radio 3 should introduce Unwind, their digital counterpart to the main station, says a lot about the mental health of our generation and our short attention span, constantly fraying at the edges as we deal with anxieties, the media and too much attention to social media (I’m speaking for myself here!)

Ultimate Calm is a programme residing on the new channel, beginning on Radio 3 itself under the guidance of the well-qualified Olafur Arnalds before finding its new spiritual home. So how do the BBC Proms achieve ultimate calm, and is it better in person or experienced at home?

The first sounds on arriving in the arena at the Royal Albert Hall were those of blackbirds, surely the idea of Orcadian composer and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper – who, as a regular Unwind contributor, curated this Prom. The music was in the most part enhanced by the birdsong and other field recordings, reminding us of the importance and appreciation of natural beauty.

The published programme proved helpful to a point, listing the pieces but not in the order they were performed. Cooper’s music secured a sonorous and comforting start, his Music for Growing Flowers (Nocturne) presented in a new arrangement blossoming like its subject. The yearning tones of the BBC Symphony Chorus were supplemented by cleverly wrought percussion with the hands imitating rain and wind and complemented by the soft bed of City of London Sinfonia strings.

This curtain raiser / light dimmer was the first work of what became a streaming playlist in live form, with little between the tracks save for field recordings, allowing the listener to picture a natural space. The musical language was largely simple – not a criticism – as it allowed the mind to wander, and – ultimately – to unwind.

Pianist Belle Chen chose well with her pieces, two excerpts from the excellent Ravel In The Forest album that included evocative forest noises from a synthesizer positioned on top of the piano. Moonrise, the first excerpt, leant on Barber’s Adagio for Strings for its inspiration and proved effective in this context.

Lucinda Chua’s cello (above) then explored rich, multitracked sonorities on I Left the Earth, while a vocal number, Something Other Than Years, provided a musical affirmation with its catchphrase, “show me how to live this life”. At this point, even allowing for the plaintive Symbiosis from Alice Boyd (below) and the deep resonance of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s A Pile of Dust, we were walking a fine line between background and foreground music, the audience a mixture of calm and fidgeting, as though in the half hour before sleep. Oddly, the unwinding music also drew vivid parallels with coffee shop culture rather than the Royal Albert Hall.

Standing out in the foreground was the craftsmanship of Finzi, Sibelius and Debussy. Finzi’s gorgeous Romance stole the show in a passionate performance from the string orchestra, who also captured the warmth of Sibelius’s Andante Festivo along with its elusive emotions. Meanwhile a sensitive arrangement by Erland Cooper of Debussy’s Clair de Lune also hit the spot, with a special solo from cellist Will Schofield. The City of London Sinfonia strings played dreamily under the direction of Alexandra Wood, the 55-year-old ensemble infrequent Proms visitors but extremely welcome here. The BBC Symphony Chorus, used more sparingly, contributed a brief but moving Abendlied from Josef Rheinberger.

The principal problem with experiencing such a Prom in the flesh was the approach of the midnight hour, and with it the anxiety that the last form of transport home was imminent, making it impossible to unwind completely. With this in mind your correspondent took his leave just as a world premiere was beginning, a new arrangement of Isobel Waller-Bridge’s Solitudes (after Satie) for two pianos, wordless choir and string orchestra. Listening back on BBC Sounds, it proved an affecting piece whose ripples spread out far beyond the hall with waves of wordless singing from the chorus.

As an advert for Radio 3 Unwind, this concert was a strong promotion and will hopefully propel the right audience to its channel. As a way into classical music it is persuasive and low maintenance, especially with the natural link. Yet it is to be hoped such an audience can blossom in the way of Erland Cooper’s flowers, encouraged to explore more substantial works by the composers whose relaxing sounds they have heard. Debussy, Ravel and Sibelius in particular have all written music with great kinetic energy! Yet that is for another day…for this Prom, sensitively staged if somewhat out of place for the live visitor, will leave a lasting legacy online.

Repertoire:
Cooper Music for Growing Flowers (Nocturne)
Belle Chen Ravel In The Forest: Moonrise; Three Birds
Finzi Romance for string orchestra
Lucinda Chua I Left the Earth; Something Other Than Years
Jóhannsson A Pile of Dust
Sibelius Andante festive
Rheinberger Abendlied
Alice Boyd Symbiosis
Debussy arr Cooper Clair de Lune (Suite bergamasque)
Isobel Waller-Bridge Solitudes (after Satie)

You can listen to this Proms concert on BBC Sounds until the end of September 2026.

Published post no.2,998 – Friday 28 August 2026

#AmbientAugust no.27 – Erland Cooper & William Doyle – Murmuration

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by Ben Hogwood

Murmuration is the companion album to Erland Cooper’s debut as a solo artist, Solan Goose. It was written with William Doyle, and shows off the ability of both in a ‘less is more’ musical environment, with sonorous drones for each of the three movements, known as migrations.

Here they are, designed for continuous listening – and with Doyle’s comments in mind: One of the most enjoyable collaborations I’ve been involved in. Murmuration drifts in and out of consciousness. It’s a seamless sonic poem that not only evokes the place and memory of Erland’s original compositions, but hopefully of the new frontiers we pushed it towards together.” 

Published post no.2,997 – Thursday 27 August 2026

On Record – Erland Cooper: Carve The Runes Then Be Content With Silence (Mercury KX)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is no ordinary album. In 2021, having made a recording of his new extended work for violin and string orchestra, Erland Cooper destroyed all digital evidence of its existence, then buried the sole surviving analogue tape in the Orkney soil. The significance of his decision to return the recording to earth lay in its subject matter, for Carve The Runes was written to mark the centenary of Orcadian poet George Mackay Brown. Cooper grew up near Brown’s house, and his voice could be heard on the new recording, giving it a keen sense of time and location.

In 2022, the surviving tape was found, exhumed and restored, the surviving recording transferred – warts and all – to digital. Bearing the indelible imprint of the Orkney soil, it was now a historical relic, and we hear the very earth on the retouched recording, carefully restored and timed for the September equinox.

What’s the music like?

Cooper’s most substantial piece yet is effectively a concerto, beautifully essayed by violinist Daniel Pioro, with support from the Studio Collective. It is bisected by timely interventions from Mackay Brown, his profound verses matched by the intensity of the writing for strings. Pioro commands the piece, which is based on small, folk-based motifs, but grows to become a work of intense meaning.

The earth makes its contribution too, though the music is actually incredibly well preserved. When there are layers of distortion, or the music becomes muffled, the effect is akin to hearing a piece of old vinyl, and creates moments of charm and ruffled appeal.

This is open air music, the violin on the wing for much of the half-hour duration, while the strings – often earthbound – provided an anchor of musical surety and poise.

Does it all work?

It does. Cooper has the measure of this work’s structure, and it peaks at just the right spot – with a phrase whose telling melodic turn burns into the consciousness. It is an ambitious piece, but one that works..

Is it recommended?

It certainly is. Carve The Runes…is a remarkable document of time and place, and with Mackay Brown’s verses it has a great deal of profound meaning within its confines. It is Erland Cooper’s finest work to date, offering further evidence of his ability to communicate through pictorial music – in the way the best classical music can.

For fans of… Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, Hauschka, Thomas Newman

Listen and Buy

You can explore purchase options at the Mercury KX shop, and you can listen on Tidal below:

Published post no.2,310 – Monday 23 September 2024

New music – Erland Cooper: Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence (Mercury KX)

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by Ben Hogwood

The story behind Erland Cooper’s new work Carve The Runes Then Be Content With Silence is by no means an ordinary one – it is a deeply personal document.

On his website, Cooper himself describes the work as “a meditation on value, patience and time, as well as the often disposable nature of music. It seems fitting to me that the tape will slowly return and dry out between Orkney and London, in those safe havens of record shops that bring value to mine and my peers’ work.”

Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence will be released on the Autumn equinox, 20th September 2024, following its premiere live at The Barbican in London on 8th June. This first public reveal comes 3 years after the only master tape was planted deep in the soil of the Scottish Highlands and Islands of Orkney and all digital copies were deleted. It will be released exactly as it sounds from the earth. The recording is Cooper’s new three-movement work for solo violin and string ensemble.

After digitisation, the composer will complete the score for live performance as a true collaboration with the natural world. The piece was written to mark the centenary of celebrated Orcadian poet George Mackay Brown, as 2021 marked 100 years since his birth.

Inspired by natural landscapes and ruminating on time, hope, community and patience, the sole recording of the work – on ¼ inch magnetic tape, with the digital files permanently deleted – was planted, to grow and be nurtured or “recomposed” by the earth, before being exhumed and released. A treasure hunt of clues was slowly revealed by the composer every equinox period for fans and his record label alike to search for it if they so wished. In three years, if not found, the composer would return to dig it up himself.

In late 2022, the tape was found on a hunt by Victoria and Dan Rhodes. The album will now be digitised on the spring equinox in a special ceremony captured on film and released, exactly as it sounds from the earth, with nature having collaborated in the compositional process. The final score will then be completed and performed by live musicians at special concerts scheduled across the UK, Europe and America.

You can explore purchase options for the limited edition vinyl release of Carve The Runes Then Be Content With Silence on the Mercury KX website

Published post no.2,124 – Thursday 21 March 2024

Arcana’s best of 2022

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by Ben Hogwood

How has 2022 been for you? It has been a difficult year for so many, and I don’t know about you, but I find music takes on an even more important part of our lives when the going gets tough. This year we have been able to rely on a consistently strong line of releases, giving us extra resolve and relief from the day-to-day.

Arcana has reviewed a lot of music this year. What we tend to do on these pages is concentrate on music and artists that we know are likely to be good – and we assemble our thoughts on them so you can then make your own investigations. Classical music is usually our starting point, but from there we travel afar to the outer reaches of electronica, dance and contemporary music.

It was another strong year for electronic music of an ambient dimension. Switched On is the area of Arcana concentrating on new music in this area, and without putting too many musical names on these albums, we really enjoyed a good deal of slower stuff. Starting with a single instrument, Vanessa Wagner’s Study of the Invisible (above) made an understated but lasting impression, particularly with Caroline Shaw’s Gustave Le Grey at its heart. Vanessa plays with poise and expression, and this wonderfully curated selection worked so well.

Meanwhile long term favourite Erland Cooper charmed with his pure, still music written to soundtrack the Superbloom installation at the Tower Of London, Music For Growing Flowers (above). Speaking of earthy sounds, Sonic Cathedral gave us twilight wonders from Pye Corner Audio and, with a little more country in the mix, Sunset Dreams from Mark Peters.

At the hottest part of summer, Arthur King’s music was extremely evocative in Changing Landscapes – as was that of Deepchord, making a return to the long player from Detroit with Functional Designs. Steve Davis, meanwhile (yes, that Steve Davis!) was busy enhancing his reputation as part of the electronic trio Utopia Strong and their excellent album International Treasure

More studied electronica gems should also be shouted from the rooftops – we are lucky to have British artists of the calibre of Bibio, Gold Panda and Plaid, each returning with excellent new albums. Meanwhile Clarice Jensen took her cello as a starting point on new album Esthesis, making music of great colour and descriptive power to counter the onset of lockdown. Also facing the elements head-on was Daniel Avery, whose new album Ultra Truth was a powerful statement indeed:

There were some very strong releases on the classical side of things, as record companies dusted themselves down and started to include orchestral recordings again on their release schedules post-pandemic. Leading the way were the Sinfonia of London under John Wilson, a throwback to the golden age of orchestral recording in their challenging schedules for Chandos. With Hollywood, British and French music all covered, one in particular stood out, with the orchestral music of John Ireland given its rightful place in the spotlight:

Speaking of French music, a charmer from the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and Pascal Rophé proved the ideal hot weather soundtrack as it explored orchestral versions of Debussy keyboard works. Their accounts of the Petite Suite, La boîte à joujoux and Children’s Corner were full of colour and character.

This year saw the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the finest British composers of the 20th century. Somm Recordings made a memorable tribute by way of the undervalued string quartets, these lovely autumnal works given vibrant performances from the Tippett Quartet.

Contemporary classical music put in some very strong appearances this year, and few more than Stuart Macrae, showing off the quality of his chamber music on an album from the Hebrides Ensemble on the excellent Delphian label. We enjoyed a number of online and in-person concerts from the English Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Woods, which were capped by an outstanding recording of Adrian Williams’ Symphony no.1, a commendable raising of the flag for new British music

During 2022 we made a couple of visits to the outskirts of jazz, in the company of super group Flock – their excellent self titled debut – and a triumphant and experimental return from Szun Waves.

On the dancier side of things, Heavenly Recordings excelled themselves this year with no fewer than six collections of remixes! We loved the first two instalments, which acted as a prelude to the utterly essential third and fourth volumes which brought together remixes from the much missed Andrew Weatherall.

The Haçienda celebrated 40 years since its inception with a handsome package from Cherry Red, while the best DJ mix honour goes to Cinthie – her contribution to !K7’s DJ Kicks mix series really was a thing of pure dancefloor enjoyment. So, too, was a John Morales-edited compilation devoted to the art of Teddy Pendergrass, vocalist for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

Cultured music for the discerning dancefloor came our way from Au Suisse, a welcome reunion for Morgan Geist and Kelley Polar, and also from Hot Chip, who further explored their emotions with an excellent and heartfelt eighth album. Moderat, returning after a long absence, went more for the jugular with the thrilling More D4ta

With all that said and done, what would an Arcana album of the year look like? Something like this…the most listened to long player of the year in these parts, Fleeting Future – a vibrant offering from Akusmi which channelled all sorts of intriguing influences into something wonderfully original:

We will have a few more reviews to come over this week – but for now, we thank all our readers for your visits and wish you a happy, peaceful and regenerative Christmas holiday season. Oh, and a Happy New Year for 2023!