Q & A with Thomas Hewitt Jones on his collaboration with Laura Wright
The track 'Can You Hear Me?' will raise funds for mental health charities
Last updated 18th May 2020
This week Scala Radio has played composer Thomas Hewitt Jones' new track Can You Hear Me? - a collaboration with lyricist Matt Harvey, soprano (and previous Scala Session performer) Laura Wright, and the Choir of Royal Holloway.
Written to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing during the global pandemic, we spoke to Thomas earlier this week about what the impetus was for writing the track, and what how he and his wife are managing parenthood in lockdown.
What can you see out of your nearest window? What can you hear?
Trees in the wind, an unkempt garden, nature reclaiming the open space (entirely a good thing). Seagulls (yes, they are somehow appearing in South London during lockdown). The hum of this laptop.
Tell us why you wrote the track.
Rupert Gough, Director of the choir of Royal Holloway, called me about an idea for a lockdown single.
We toyed with an NHS fundraiser, but so many were doing that already that we wanted to release something that tackled the silent yet vital issue of the COVID age - that of mental health during lockdown.
The pandemic is already generating widespread psychological trauma, and we felt that the message needed to be emphasised that there is never any shame in seeking support at times of distress, and never more so than now.
For the lyrics I turned to my long time collaborator Matt Harvey, whose turn of phrase brought the right poetic yet weighty message that this project needed.
We are donating proceeds from the song to a selection of mental health charities by partnering with the excellent support website www.staystrong.org.uk which provides comprehensive information about where people can obtain support and help if and when we need it.
Working with singer Laura Wright has not only brought this track into the mainstream, but also she has worked with a myriad of mental health charities herself in various capacities. So, the whole thing chimed.
Mental health is a subject you’re particularly interested in. How do you think the conversation about it has changed over the past few years?
It has become far easier for people to talk about the fact because a) we all HAVE mental health, and b) most people in their lifetime will experience difficulties of some sort, at some point.
There is much work still to do, but celebrities like Stephen Fry have played a really important part in increasing the dialogue. As a composer expressing ideas through music which words cannot, I feel it is important to reflect on the important issues of our time, and if one of the positives of the COVID pandemic is an increased willingness of people to come together and speak about these things, that is a good outcome in the circumstances.
How does the conversation need to develop now?
If the arts can return to their proper place - that of being able to reflect on the human condition with all its love, rage and fragility, humanity will benefit hugely as a result. Music at its best is not a product. It, like the arts in general, can reflect on the very essence of what it means to be human.
You’re a new father, aren’t you? Tell us how you’re both experiencing parenthood in lockdown
My wife Anny was a saint and gave birth in lockdown. All the medical staff were her colleagues, and we were very grateful for the party atmosphere in the operating theatre. It's amusing when medical staff have operations done on themselves - they keep pressing buttons on machines and stuff! We are loving our little Elliott. So far he's a good boy!
Finally, what aspect of lockdown life would you like to keep? What aspect of pre-lockdown life do you want to leave behind?
I hope we keep kindness. We have to be kind across the board. No human being is more or less worthy than another. I don't know about you, but I don't miss the capitalist approach to life at all. I hope the business world can learn to value human compassion above money.