Australia Day!

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I'm a few days late but Happy Australia Day to you all! (The big day was 26th January). A day for the best this fine country has to offer- the cricket, and a barbie.

And music!

So it seemed fitting to have a YouTube day with Australian harpist Marshall McGuire playing music by Australian composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks. Her Sonata from 1952 is standard fare in these parts but I gather is lesser know in the wider harping world. 

It is a great piece to play, by and large falling nicely under the fingers. Each movement has a distinctive character which keeps you listening to the end.

Special thanks to Stephen for sharing this one with us on YouTube. Click here to purchase a copy of Marshall's CD 'Awakening' (TP071) which features the Sonata and other fantastic Australian music.

YouTube Faves- Queen's Love of my Life

I saw a documentary last week about Queen which was just fantastic. Apart from all the obvious hits I don't actually know too much about their songs and so it was a good chance to learn some more. I came across this gorgeous one- Love of my Life.

It's a great example of lyric song writing and and shows off Freddie Mercury's voice to perfection. And it was originally recorded with harp! You can hear in the YouTube clip of the 1975 track how the harp just adds highlights, but it could easily have done so much more of the accompaniment.

Either way, I'm looking forward to adding it to my (ever growing) music collection. Enjoy!