Sad Waltz at Montserrat Palace — Frances Shelley Rework

I’ve just released a new track, a rework of a piece by the wonderful composer Frances Shelley. The piece is called “Sad Waltz at Montserrat Palace - Garreth Broke Rework” and you can find it here.

I first met Frances when touring Healing around the UK, we played a lovely gig in Gateshead together. She is a fascinating composer, a bit of a nomad (she currently lives in the hills above Lisbon), a descendent of the famous romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and a fabulous, emotive pianist.

I really loved her evocative 2022 album CHILD and was delighted when she asked me to rework "Sad Waltz at Montserrat Palace". You can take a listen to the original piece that I'm reworking here.

When reworking it, I transformed the original into a duet, by layering my own piano over Frances’ original and adding digital effects.

Montserrat Palace itself is a gorgeous building. There are some great photos on Wikipedia and Frances' photo below is a great introduction. We've talked about trying to play a joint concert there — seems unlikely, but fingers crossed!

Enjoy being transported to the distant glamour of this wonderful palace!