Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

Conductor  Garrett Keast  joined me for a delightful conversation about music, Berlin and specifically the debut album from the  Berlin Academy of American Music .     Transatlantic  is a wonderful album and I highly recommend it for the dedicated classical music fan and for those looking for something new to listen to. There's new and more traditional American compositions, including Copland's  Appalachian Spring  and Stravinsky's  Dumbarton Oaks .      Thanks to Garrett for allowing me to use tracks from the album alongside our conversation.

My interview for this Christmas special is with Daniel Hyde, Musical Director of  The Choir of Kings College Cambridge . The choir's album -  In the Bleak Midwinter  - reflects the extraordinary Christmases of both 2020 and 2021.      The next tracks I discuss in this episode are a variety, all released in time for Christmas this year and I hope you enjoy the work of these artists: *  Sancta Nox: Christmas Matins from Bavaria  from the  Seminarians of Wigratzbad *  The Mass  by  Patrick Cassidy *  More Honourable than the Cherubim  by  PaTRAM Institute Male Choir *  Winter Tales  by  Various Artists *  Boogie Woogie Santa  from  Lyn Stanley     Thanks to all these amazing artists for allowing me to use clips of their tracks in this special Christmas episode. Please do let me know which tracks you enjoyed the most.     Merry Christmas to you all.

I was delighted to be joined by soprano sax player  Jane Ira Bloom  for our second interview alongside her collaborator, drummer and percussionist  Allison Miller .     Tues Days  is the pair's album of improvised sax and drum duets recorded in March and April 2021. The music is both rhythmic and lyrical, displaying a very clear exploration of their productive Tuesdays playing together.     Thanks to Jane and Allison for allowing me to start and finish this episode with tracks from the album alongside our conversation.

Orchard   starts and finishes this week's episode of Harmonious World , as I discuss the writing and recording of the track with writer and radio host  Binnie Klein .      Binnie’s brand new collaborative project is very exciting and includes  a video for  Orchard ,  which features the voice of Australian artist  Tartie .     Thanks to Binnie for allowing me to start and finish this episode with the single alongside our conversation.

This week's episode of Harmonious World starts with a composition by my guest,  John Finbury  and the glorious bass of Christian McBride.      John has three singles out now -  Look at What a Mess You Made of Me ,  Boulevard  and  Ring the Bells , the latter of which was composed in memory of the late, great, Chick Corea.      John talked through the composition and recording process behind each of the tracks and it was a fascinating conversation.      Thanks to John for allowing me to play extracts from the three tracks alongside our conversation.

I've been meaning to write this blog for several days. Suddenly, it became particularly apposite.     At the October meeting of my book club, we needed to choose our November reading material and we settled on David Harewood's 'Maybe I Don't Belong Here'. There were several books suggested, but we were intrigued by the story of an actor who appeared to have struggled with his mental health and discussed it publicly. At that point, none of us had seen Harewood's BAFTA-nominated, BBC documentary 'Psychosis and Me'.     When we gathered in November at our beautiful venue, Hitchin's historic Kite at the Red Hart, there was an overwhelming sense of appreciation for the book, for the honesty of the writer, and for the way this autobiography resonated with so many of us.     I'm choosing not to attribute any of my comments to real people - if members of the book club choose to tell their own story and give their own response to the book, I'd be deli...