Oak by Alexander Chapman Campbell
The inspiration for ‘Oak’ has its roots in the young oak tree growing at my home in the Scottish Highlands, close to where I have my piano in a small and cosy shed. The first piece of the collection was 'Heart of Oak', written in March 2024 around the time of the Spring Equinox. I completed the album six months later, just in time for the Autumn Equinox.
I composed with the shed door open on most days; my piano was lit with the sun while the summer breezes gusted gently around. I remember finishing late one evening, having just composed 'Green and Growing', and emerged to find the sky filled with the brightest display of the Northern Lights I had ever seen. 'Summer Night' was composed while the setting sun was turning gold over the meadow, and the air was filled with the light of flying insects.
It’s an album about oak trees, but it’s also an album about the light of summer and the power of renewal, which operates so beautifully within both nature and human life.
“The oak’s slow-opening leaf, of deepening hue,
Bespeaks the power of Summer once again”
John Clare
Tracklist
| 1. | Roots | 4:11 |
| 2. | Green and Growing | 3:45 |
| 3. | Inspired By Light | 3:44 |
| 4. | Heart Of Oak | 2:50 |
| 5. | Shelter | 4:19 |
| 6. | Acorn | 4:13 |
| 7. | Turning Time | 4:38 |
| 8. | Summer Night | 3:44 |
| 9. | Golden Leaves | 2:24 |
| 10. | The Gateway | 6:20 |
Credits
Music composed and performed by
Alexander Chapman Campbell
Cover design and artwork by
Alexander Chapman Campbell
Recorded at The Byre Recording Studio, Kiltarlity.
Produced and Mastered by Hugh Carswell at Maker, Isle of Jura
License
All rights reserved.
"Absolutely Stunning" BBC Radio 2
"Beautiful & Lyrical" BBC Radio Scotland
'A musician of the hills’, Alexander lives and composes in the North-East Highlands of Scotland. His music, often inspired by his love of the natural world, has been aired extensively on TV and radio, including on Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and ClassicFM.