Orcadian composer receives royal commission

An Orkney-born composer is royally chuffed to have been selected to help mark HM Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Erland Cooper, who originally hails from Stromness, has been commissioned to create an original piece of music to soundtrack the floral transformation of The Tower of London.

Entitled Superbloom, the forthcoming installation will celebrate 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

The project is named after a rare and incredible natural phenomenon, where whole landscapes are miraculously transformed into sheets of vibrant flowers.

A “superbloom” occurs only once every few decades, when favourable weather patterns coincide and activate dormant seeds. The forthcoming “designed” Superbloom event will celebrate nature by turning one of London’s most built-up areas into a blossoming, living flower field.

Erlandhas been chosen to produce a gentle accompanying ambient soundscape for this urban garden, which will be played continuously through speakers, softening the noise of the city.

He explained: “Music For Growing Flowers aims to enhance the Superbloom’s emotional impact by rebalancing the dominant city noises and intertwining specific audio frequencies to uncover harmony in the most bustling environments.

Since music itself is nothing more than vibrations, perhaps it will help us enter more deeply into this subtle appreciation of place, curiosity and calm.”

For his most recent album, the composer returned to his Orkney roots, actually planting the only existing Carves the Runes Then Be Content With Silence at a hidden location in the county.