I was listening to the conductor Joshua Weilerstein's podcast 'Sticky Notes' the other day. It was an episode on Ludwig van Beethoven's 8th string quartet. He was playing the second section and he described the music as having a sense of 'consolation'… and there was something about that which really struck me. So I started looking into music connected to the idea of consolation but the more I delved the more I realised that wasn't quite what I was hearing in the Beethoven. For me it was not about the small gift or healing gesture to balance a loss… it was more about the small supportive joys that hold us up… keep us going… replenish optimism… and regardless of circumstances makes each day worthwhile. And I think 'Solace' is a better word for what the music said to me. And that led to a slightly different search for music for this show and I think the 'solace' theme delivers some really wonderful music… that does… as the subtitle says… 'hold you'.
