letting the light in
Released: 20 September
Music by: Sorcha Pringle, Leon Clowes, Elinor Rowlands, Sarah Lianne Lewis, Jo-anne Cox, Sonia Allori
With performance by Welsh pianist Siwan Rhys
Ben Lunn on disabled composers working in the UK
12th September 2024
Articles NMC RecordingsOur forthcoming album 'letting the light in', is the first commercial album to showcase disabled composers working in the UK, the result of a collaboration between NMC Recordings, Drake Music Scotland, the Disabled Artist Network, and Tŷ Cerdd.
Ahead of its release, Ben Lunn (Drake Music Scotland) shares his reflections on disabled composers working within the UK music industry:
Disabled people occupy a curious position in classical music. There are giant historic figures like Beethoven and Gustav Holst, but they are recognised as great composers and much of the discussion around their disability is avoided, nullified, or erased. Similarly, the history of Disabled composers working with keyboards also is quite curiously rich where figures like John Stanley, Beethoven, Louis Vierne, Jean Langlais, and Erik Satie have made significant contributions to the genre over many centuries.
This history places this album in a unique position, because despite the richness of history this is the first professional compilation release which specifically showcases Disabled composers who have written fascinating works for piano.
The composers featured within this release are a snapshot of contemporary Disabled composers working in Britain, all of whom have a wide variety of musical concerns and interests — but give a hint of the wild variety that is being produced by Disabled composers more broadly today.
Ben Lunn, Drake Music Scotland
Letting the light in musicians: (left-to-right) Sorcha Pringle, Jo-anne Cox, Siwan Rhys (piano), Sarah Lianne Lewis, Sonia Allori, Elinor Rowlands, Leon Clowes.
Working with the incredible teams at Drake Music Scotland and Disabled Artist Network has made us more aware of the extra challenges these talented composers face in their careers. How do you approve a first edit recording of your work if you can't hear? Or prepare for recording sessions and requests for promotional material if it takes you longer to process information or have difficulty with verbal communication?
We are delighted that Ben Lunn approached us to partner in this project and thank him for his trust and belief that NMC was the best home for the album. With the help of Drake Music Scotland we have also been able to include Access materials on our website to support this release, including album liner notes in an easy-to-read document and an audio version of the album booklet with captioning to describe the pieces and booklet artwork.
Eleanor Wilson
Creative Director
NMC Recordings
Support our work
These projects would not be possible without the support of Trusts & Foundations and our individual supporters. To find out more information about how you can support NMC, please click here.
