Home New Music Jan Willem de With Releases ‘Shelter’ In Support of Help Musicians

Jan Willem de With Releases ‘Shelter’ In Support of Help Musicians

Jan Willem de With Shelter

Jan Willem de With – Modern classical music with a cause.

Jan Willem de With – Shelter

‘Shelter’ is more than just a title for Jan Willem de With, it’s an idea of comfort for struggling musicians. It’s not often that we cover charity singles on Right Chord Music, let alone contemporary classical ones, but this piece has been released in aid of the charity Help Musicians, and their Music Minds Matter campaign. The music industry is tough at the best of times, and even more so post-pandemic, so the help provided by Help Musicians, including their support line, does not go unappreciated. 

Jan Willem de With is an award-winning composer, producer and musician often found working in film. German and Dutch in origin, he is currently based in London and serves as composer and pianist on this latest piece.

‘Shelter’ is a modern classical piece led by piano and strings, haunting and constantly changing in mood.

It begins with a melancholy piano melody, which is then echoed on violin, but once the tempo picks up, everything moves into a more tumbling rhythm. There’s a disjointedness to the piece, a stop-start sense of suddenly shifting moods, from quiet tension to turmoil. Perhaps this is to echo the mental health struggles it’s dedicated to.

There’s some beautiful, ethereal high strings, supported by sweeping cello, for which a nod must be given to the Ayoub Sisters, the renowned sister string duo featured on the track. Also featured is harpist Stefania Lo Castro. Coming to an abrupt end, listeners might be reminded of the melodic sensibilities of Justin Hurwitz, or Michael Nyman’s work on ‘The Piano’. It’s a haunting little piece with an important message behind it, which any instrumental fans should check out.

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Words Eden Tredwell

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