Back in December 2020, Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott came together to collaborate in making the classical music album Songs of Comfort and Hope. It is inspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Ma began sharing in the first days of the Covid-19 lockdown in the United States. Throughout the spring and summer, Yo-Yo Ma’s #SongsofComfort grew from a self-shot video of AntonĂn Dvořák’s “Goin’ Home” into a worldwide effort that has reached more than 18 million people.
Ma and Stott mark the next chapter in the project, offering consolation and connection in the face of fear and isolation. The album includes 21 new recordings, which span modern arrangements of traditional folk tunes, canonical pop songs, jazz standards, and mainstays from the western classical repertoire.
“Songs are little time capsules of emotions: they can contain long-lost dreams and desires, and feelings of great spirit, optimism, and unity,” Ma and Stott write of Songs of Comfort and Hope.
“Songs bring a sense of community, identity, and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation, and encouragement… This is music that tells stories, that marks occasions private and public, that gives voice to celebrations, remembrances, and all of life’s mysteries. These are songs that pay tribute to musical champions of social justice — like Paul Robeson and Violeta Parra — and to the troubadours of our joy, imagination, and sorrow — like Francis Poulenc, Wu Tong, and Benjamin Britten.”
Ma and Stott’s recording partnership began in 1985, and NPR writes, “Over those many years, they’ve developed a wonderfully warm and mutually responsive musical partnership that has blossomed in performances that are both generous and incisive.”
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share the warmth of decades of music making again with Songs of Comfort and Hope, offering audiences new paths into treasured musical memories and a few notes of hope for a better future.
We have only a week left of term and the School (and certainly the music department) is absolutely buzzing with activity. From the Gym and Dance Displays, to three full days of ABRSM exams, to what feels like hundreds of rehearsals for the Spring Concert, this week has definitely felt overwhelming to many of us. As one of the busiest weeks of term draws to a close, with another very busy week approaching, I hope you can use this album as some light relief, allowing yourself to be serenaded by these two brilliant musicians. As we battle on through the pandemic, this album remains very powerful and relevant to us all, and for me as a composer and performer, I find these short tracks remind me how powerful music can truly be.
To listen to the album, visit YouTube or Spotify:
You can also find Yo-Yo Ma’s original homemade videos here:
Maki Gajic Murata, Composer in Residence
