From Gardens Where We Feel Secure by Virginia Astley.

It is Friday afternoon and I am listening to my new album which finally arrived yesterday. It is a wonderful thing entitled From Gardens Where We Feel Secure by Virginia Astley. Originally released in 1983, this is the reissue CD from 2003. I was complaining recently that it was unavailable and the very next day I saw a copy for sale on eBay, so I snapped it up. It is the most expensive recording I have ever bought, but worth it.

The album opens in the morning.  With My Eyes Wide Open I’m Dreaming, has the natural sound of birdsong before Virginia joins in on piano. There is also woodwind on this album. I thought that might be her friend Kate St John, but there is no mention on the sleeve notes of any other musician. The album evokes the mood of a lazy summer day from dawn until dusk. There are no vocals apart from some wordless harmonising on one track called A Summer Long Since Past which also has the sound of church bells. This moves seamlessly into the title track From Gardens Where We Feel Secure. Some people might be confused with the title of the next track Hiding in The Ha Ha. Not me though because I know that a ha ha is a hidden ditch which, without obstructing  the view from the house often surrounds country houses to stop wild animals like deer getting onto the lawn, or eating the flowers. The flute sounds make me think it could almost have been written by Mozart, or perhaps I'm getting carried away with myself saying that.

Afternoon begins with Out On The Lawn I lie In Bed. The beginning of which seems to have the sound of a creaking rusty swinging gate. There are all kinds of natural sounds on the album, you can hear lambs bleating, owls, rowing boats and other sounds that I am not quite sure of. There is one repeated animal noise on track 6 Too Bright For Peacocks that slightly irritated me for a brief moment, but I soon got over it. Summer Of Their Dreams perfectly captures an afternoon long ago. The last two tracks are When The Fields Were On Fire and It’s Too Hot To Sleep.  The sound of a solitary owl brings the album to a close. I can see why composers like Delius have been mentioned in reviews of this music. I think as time goes by the reputation of this album will grow and grow. I still think it should be reissued, so that more people can enjoy this wonderful music.

ps, leftover words that I forgot to use, bucolic, pastoral, ambient, neo-classical. nostalgic.