What a thing to think about, being marooned on a desert island, all alone, and nothing but eight pieces of music to both keep you company and remind you of your life before the shipwreck! Having spent many hours walking my dog on Royston heath I know the beauty of the sounds of nature and if I ever tire of these recordings I’m sure that I could quite happily sit on the beach, listening to the sea, the sound of the gentle breeze and the birds.
Now to my choice of eight recordings:
Firstly, I would like a selection of J S Bach’s Sacred Cantatas, how many am I allowed? My favourite recordings are by The Netherlands Bach Society, Bach’s settings of scriptural text would connect me with my faith and the church; to lift my spirit if I ever felt down at being marooned. But, who knows, I might enjoy it.
My favourite cantata is BWV 106 Actus Tragicus especially the opening Sonatina so please could that be included. I hope the recording sleeve has the translations on it, my German is rather limited.
I have allowed myself two choices to remind me of my teenage years, the days when we had juke boxes and vinyl records. We listened to Radio Caroline broadcasting from a ship off the Essex coast (can anyone else remember how the records used to jump when the sea was rough?) I considered Moonlight Shadow by Maggie Rilley, Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks, Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues, Albatross by Fleetwood Mac and all of Cat Stevens but the winners chosen to represent the soundtrack to my youth are Simon and Garfunkel, especially Bridge Over Troubled Water and Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield.
My forth choice would remind me of my time spent with the Classical Guitar - studying, playing and teaching it for most of my life, I would choose music by Andres Segovia - for me there is no one better. I would like as much as you can fit on one recording please, including Recuerdos Del Alhambra by Tarrega such a wonderful work.
My next choice is Ralph Vaughn Williams whose music would remind me of home, the land of my infant nurture, my England, it’s hard to choose which piece, I think I would like a double disc or one of those box sets that contain a number of records, is that allowed? My favourite has always been Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis which sends a shiver down my spine.
I have greatly enjoyed my membership of the Choral Society over the last ten years and would like something to remind me of my time with the choir so, for my sixth choice, I choose Haydn’s Creation, which I enjoyed learning, performing and listening to the solos. I’m not going to choose a recording that would leave me subject to criticism, I would likely choose one that is out of vogue!
That leaves me two recordings left, and it is so hard to make a choice, I’m going to choose two historic (or to use the modern phrase “iconic”) recordings which I think are quite outstanding. The first is Jacqueline Du Pre’s playing of the Elgar ‘Cello Concerto and the second is Glenn Gould’s recordings of The Goldberg Variations by J S Bach (the 1955 and the 1981 recordings are both on one disc). I know that his interpretation isn’t to everyone’s liking and many experts look for greater historic authenticity but it’s my desert island and I know what I like!