From the book Inner Sanctum

Watch the video on Youtube

‘Inner Sanctum’ was written at a time when I was travelling quite a lot.  I visited friends in France, gave performances in Russia, and hopped around a bunch of Caribbean islands.  It’s an album which takes the listener/performer inside my world.

‘Captain Sharpe’s Mission’ is based on a character created by Bernard Cornwell.  I read all of the books in the series and thoroughly enjoyed them.  ‘House of Silk and Mist’ is one of my favourite pieces which also includes orchestration.  ‘For Queen and Country’ was written because I am a proud Brit!  ‘Master Ryōkan’ is based on a rather odd Japanese monk who attained enlightenment.  

‘Lady Windermere’ is completely fictitious, but I discovered later that Oscar Wilde named a character the same.  ‘Paradisum’ and ‘Rendezvous À Lille’ were written for friends in France.  ‘The Sage’ was named after the Taoist saying ‘only the fool stands and fights, the sage walks away’.

The album was written during a very happy time, and includes a variety of moods and styles.