Choirmaster Gareth Malone has announced a new album inspired by his work with those who were impacted by the Grenfell Tower fire, as well as a period of personal difficulty.
Featuring self-composed tracks suitable for choirs, piano and strings, and each named after a month of the year, Malone’s new album Music For Healing will reflect the “essential role that the natural rhythms of time play in the process of healing and restoration”.
The album, which he hopes will “bring peace and tranquillity into the homes of those who have endured hardships”, was born after Malone experienced a number of personal challenges in 2018.
He had a busy filming schedule at a time of great change following the death of his grandfather and while he and his wife Becky were expecting their third child.
He then fronted the BBC Two series Our School By The Tower, which followed Malone and students from the Kensington Aldridge Academy – which sits at the foot of the Grenfell Tower – as they prepared for a concert marking the school’s return to its original building after it was forced to relocate following the blaze of 2017.
For Malone, who is credited with transforming the British choral scene through his BBC programmes as well as working with the chart-topping Military Wives choir, making music took on a new, therapeutic quality.
He said: “After many years conducting choirs under extraordinary circumstances, for example the Military Wives choir, I felt that I had neglected my first love: writing music.
“I bought a new piano in 2016, began to practice in earnest and to compose. Around that time, I worked on the Choir for the Invictus Games, an incredible experience but an emotional one.
“I moved from that to work with friends of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire: another life-changing and life-affirming project.
“Music For Healing is a personal journey through the year and is inspired by my own feelings about each month: birthdays of loved ones, marriages, funerals – all are in this music. This music helped me to heal.”
The album will be released on Decca Records on November 8.
Decca Records’ vice president Tom Lewis said: “Gareth has created a tonic for us all with an album that can soundtrack a vital moment of escape.
“His music is intimate, small, pure and personal, yet it has the power to bring calm and to heal. He has revealed himself to be a composer and musician of extraordinary tenderness, and has created a year-long musical companion to help you unwind and relax.
“I hope it reaches and helps as many people as possible.”