The composer of the piece of music played by the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte on Christmas Eve has described their ‘incredible bond’.
Catherine was joined by her 10-year-old daughter for a special joint piano performance to launch her Together at Christmas carol concert broadcast on ITV1.
She personally requested its creator, Erland Cooper, accompany them at Windsor Castle earlier this month as they performed his piece Holm Sound.
On witnessing mother and daughter sharing the stage together for their joint performance, he said: ‘It was just lovely. I think I was there for a little bit of encouragement. I mean, imagine anybody performing a piece of music in front of a film crew, and then the person who wrote it.
‘Princess Charlotte played beautifully, she really has a wonderful way of playing the lighter notes just beautifully. So we were able to celebrate in that together.
‘It’s certainly one of my favourite winter solstice moments. To walk into the Castle, to be greeted by a Steinway grand piano, and then to have a really poignant recital and performance.
‘It was a very special, sort of quiet moment. There’s a power in reaching out to people, and that’s what they did here.’
The award-winning composer and producer, from Orkney in Scotland, is cited as ‘one of the most unique, consistently engaging composers of his generation’, and is renowned for taking inspiration for his work from nature and connection.
The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte played a piano duet aired for the Together at Christmas programme
The mother and daughter played Holm Sound, by renowned composer Erland Cooper
The whole family went along for the carol service at Westminster Abbey earlier in the month, on December 5
Speaking of his shared passion for the natural world with the princess, who has credited immersing herself in nature as a marker in her recovery from cancer treatment last year, Erland said: ‘It was such a treat, such a lovely, warm and inviting day to be present with Their Royal Highnesses. It completely took me by surprise.
Erland Cooper composed the piece with his own mother in mind
‘I’m used to rambling around the ruins and brochs of the Orkney Islands, but to go to Windsor Castle itself was a slightly different architectural wonder.’
Erland, 43, wrote his classical piece in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, taking inspiration from the wild environment of the Orkney islands.
The Princess of Wales, who has played the piano since the age of 10, first wrote to Erland to express her love of his music and thank him for his dedication to promoting the beauty of the natural world through his craft.
Through their exchange of messages, the future queen revealed how she had enjoyed teaching Charlotte his compositions at home, creating a special bond between them.
As she planned to create a special moment as part of her fifth annual Together at Christmas carol concert, celebrating hundreds of community heroes at Westminster Abbey, the princess requested to play one of her favourite pieces with her daughter as part of the television on ITV1 on Christmas Eve.
‘I’m always in the head and hearts and back gardens of others. I often think, in this case, this little piece of music sort of landed on her shoulder like a bird,’ Erland said.
‘And when you write a piece of music and you share it with the world, you’re sort of letting that out, and you’re letting it go, and you have no idea how far and wide it might fly. So it’s always a great surprise when people write to me or call me, and this was, you know, one of those great surprises. I didn’t expect it at all.’
Kate and Charlotte performed the stunning piece in the inner Hall of Westminster Castle last week
Erland Cooper said Charlotte played the lighter notes particularly skilfully
The composer added that Kate and Carlotte shared an ‘incredible bond’
The Royals led those gathered in singing carols at the fifth annual ‘Together at Christmas’ service
Describing the moment as ‘a wonderful bit of serendipity’ after originally composing the piece for his mother, Charlotte, Erland said: ‘We had a very warm, creative conversation earlier in the year, which was lovely, and then it culminated with an invitation to Windsor Castle. The princess asked “Would it be okay if we perform this piece of music that we so enjoy together?”
‘It was such a lovely request so I said absolutely no problem at all. I was invited to witness this incredible bond between mother and daughter performing together and for that I am so grateful.
‘And there’s a wonderful bit of serendipity as the piece was composed and dedicated to my mum, also called Charlotte, they didn’t know about, that it’s about motherhood, and how family plays such an important role and such a key part to all of this.
‘The Princess and I both have a sort of shared love of music that celebrates the natural world and its rejuvenation and the wonder that you know that comes from it. There’s so much joy and warmth and creativity and ideas surrounding those themes.’
Erland, whose work combines field recordings with traditional orchestration and electronic elements, is renowned for burying the only copy of his first classical album as part of the ‘return to the natural earth’ process.
Prince William gave a reading at the service
Princess Charlotte, with Prince Louis and Princess Kate at the concert
Hundreds of community heroes were celebrated at Westminster Abbey
The Royal service aired on ITV1 on Christmas Eve
In 2021, after deleting all digital copies of his composition, he planted the master tape in peaty soil in Orkney, along with a ‘cheap violin’, the original score in a biscuit tin and a note to return to sender if it was ever found.
Erland posted clues on his website, but said if no one found it he would dig it up himself and release the music in 2024, no matter how much the recording had changed.
The score was discovered by two fans who found the soggy spool of magnetic tape buried in Stromness and returned it to him.
The record, titled Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence, later became a number one classical album, in collaboration with nature, topping the UK official charts in 2024.
Erland added: ‘I merely tap into the energy of the natural world, and I’m very grateful for it. It is a constant source of inspiration. It’s the life blood of my work. The idea behind my first piece was to compose, decompose, and then recompose.
‘The finished piece would be a collaboration with Mother Nature. We all have this incredible connection to the natural world and I find it so warming that the Princess of Wales has found solace and such comfort in nature.’
