EVERYTHING CHANGED ON JANUARY 7, 2025 I never imagined we would evacuate our home in the Palisades-a place alive with laughter, music, and the joyful chaos of my husband, our two young daughters, and crazy rescue dog-never to return. So many dear friends lost everything: cherished family heirlooms, photographs, instruments, and music libraries that had taken a lifetime to build-all vanished in moments. That evening, from our hotel window, I watched the fires rage through the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains and sobbed, completely helpless. Yet from the ash and destruction, something profoundly beautiful emerged-much like the glowing fairy at the end of Fantasia, rising from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. I commissioned Eric Whitacre to write a new work for violin and orchestra, and as the world changed, so did his composition. Little did I know that The Pacific Has No Memory would be born from these epic tragedies. This music has become salve for the soul-a warm, healing embrace for my broken heart. Tender and profound, it radiates love, hope, and renewal. I am eternally grateful to Eric Whitacre for creating this musical prayer and to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for breathing life into it together. This recording is dedicated to all who were affected by the Los Angeles fires, and to the brave first responders who risked everything to save lives. - Anne Akiko Meyers

The programme of the latest recording by the distinguished choir 441 Hz brings together works by composers from a wide range of cultural traditions, from Scandinavia to the Philippines. Their shared expressive thread is a meditation on the phenomenon of light-it's symbolism, radiance, and transformative power. These composers write for mixed choir, enriched here by the subtle colours of violin, Tibetan singing bowls, handbells, and even water-tuned glasses. Yet for all it's imaginative scoring, the programme is far removed from the world of avant-garde experiment. Instead, it unfolds in a language of luminous harmonies, deeply affecting solo voices, and expansive musical forms, creating an atmosphere of serenity and inward reflection.