I had previously written 2 pieces for my daughter, Grace. You can actually find them both on my charity album “A Busy Couple Of Years” as this documented both 2013-14 and the story of our wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy, our first home, welcoming Grace to the world and also our 1st wedding anniversary! The 2 tracks are called “Grace” and Grace's Lullaby".
It had been a little while since I composed a new piece for Grace and its inspiration came from watching Grace dance to “Let It go” from Frozen when she was 3. Those first steps into creativity, trying to be elegant whilst also having a few missteps along the way!
“Grace Dancing” has a Debussy-esque vibe to the piece. I would describe it as painting with watercolours. The effect can be a bit wishy washy but those blurred edges can develop beautiful themes. I like how the piece feels both a little bit elegant with rise and fall as well as a bit clumsy with the chromatic tinges.
I really liked the improvisational movements as it builds to each climatic point, whether that be rising or falling. I generally have these motifs down pat now but they work just as well when I freestyle off of these ideas.
Grace doesn't like to dance anymore which is a bit of a shame but she does like to sing when she thinks no one is listening. She has a lovely voice and it's a pleasure to hear her from a different room singing away! Grace is quite creative and likes to draw, paint and tell and write stories so I think I might have to write the music to one of stories she creates soon.
I use these pieces that are written for my family as photos. They are like a diary of different events and memories that I can look back on to remind me of years gone by. I hope to write many more in the future to tell the story of our little world together.