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The Prince of Wales commissions classical suite to celebrate gardens at Highgrove
9th April 2010
The Prince of Wales has commissioned British composer Patrick Hawes to write a four-movement suite for harp and strings which celebrates and draws inspiration from the gardens at Highgrove.
For the past thirty years The Prince, a keen gardener, has developed a series of gardens within the Highgrove estate, including a wild flower meadow, a walled kitchen garden, a stumpery and an Islamic “Carpet Garden”. The latter won a Silver Gilt Medal at Chelsea Flower Show in 2001.
The Highgrove Suite has developed out of Patrick Hawes’ one-movement work for harp and strings entitled “Goddess of the Woods” which was premiered on The Prince’s 60th birthday in November 2008 by the royal harpist, Claire Jones, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Three new movements have been added to complete the suite, each one inspired by an aspect of the gardens at Highgrove.
The full twenty-five minute composition will be given a royal premiere by Claire and the Philharmonia within the grounds of Highgrove this summer in celebration of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts (CATA).
As part of the commission, Patrick Hawes will be running a number of school workshops with CATA to give children an insight into the process of classical composition.
This educational work will continue the link with CATA, which arranged for 180 10- and 11-year-olds to attend the premiere of the “Goddess of the Woods” in November 2008. The charity aims to bring more children into direct contact with the arts.
Patrick Hawes said today: “It has been a tremendous honour and a real joy to write The Highgrove Suite. It is a work which not only celebrates the beauty of the gardens at Highgrove but also seeks to capture something of the traditions and values which they have come to represent. As an Ambassador of The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, I am delighted that the charity is to be celebrated at the premiere this summer, and I am very much looking forward to sharing my experiences of the creative process with as many young people as possible.”
Notes for editors
1. His Royal Highness is President or Patron of more than 20 performing arts organisations, including the Royal College of Music, the Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English Chamber Orchestra and Music Society, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Welsh National Opera, the Purcell School and the William Walton Foundation.
2. The Prince founded The Prince’s Foundation for Children and The Arts in 2002 to help more children experience the arts first-hand. For more information go to www.childrenandarts.org.uk.
3. Patrick Hawes studied at Durham University before working as a teacher of music and English, being appointed composer in residence at Charterhouse School, where he produced a children's opera and several other choral works. He was Classic FM’s Composer in Residence for 2006–2007. He draws influence from the beauty of nature, English literature, and his Christian faith. For more information go to www.patrickhawes.com.
4. His Royal Highness has previously commissioned two concertos in memory of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother:
• On 9th March 2006, a cello concerto by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett was performed in front of The
Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall by the Philharmonia Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, London.
• In July 2007, world-renowned pianist Lang Lang performed the premiere of Nigel Hess’s piano
concerto at a special concert held in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at
The Church of St James the Great, Castle Acre, Norfolk.
5. In 2000, His Royal Highness recreated the tradition of harpists being appointed to the Royal Court, by appointing an Official Harpist to The Prince of Wales. Claire Jones is the third harpist to hold the post, which recognises the importance of the harp to the culture and music of Wales, and supports young Welsh talent. For more information about Claire go to www.clairejones.co.uk or contact her spokesperson Angharad Wynne on 01443 238270 or 07786 256722 and at angharad@angharadwynne.com.
6. On 17th May 2009, The Prince received the Victoria Medal of Honour from Her Majesty The Queen at the Chelsea Flower Show. This award is the highest accolade the Royal Horticultural Society can confer and only 63 horticulturalists can hold the award at any one time, to commemorate the years of Queen Victoria’s reign.
7. Highgrove House near Tetbury in Gloucestershire is The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall’s family home. The Duchy of Cornwall owns Highgrove, and bought the house, garden and nearby farmland in 1980. The house had been the home of Maurice Macmillan, Conservative MP for Farnham and son of the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, for 14 years.