03-08-2025
Jessica Curry: Shielding Songs
Jessica Curry's first new album in five years, Shielding Songs, which explores themes of vulnerability, tenderness, tolerance, forgiveness, loss and love, is this week's Feature Album on ABC Classic. The English composer is famous for her video game soundtracks, such as Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and So Let Us Melt , and this album contains a selection of new arrangements alongside unrecorded works.
'I am immunocompromised and as such shielded for over two years during the pandemic,' Curry says. 'When I went through my choral works, I found that the same concerns arose time and time again- protection, sanctuary and a dogged determination to believe in the best of people, even through the worst of times. Now more than ever, we have to look after one another and I hope that this music brings hope and solace to listeners.'
'Vulnerability, the strength of human love, dignity and tolerance shines through the album, particularly in the anti-war requiem Perpetual Light , unrecorded since its premiere in 2011 at London's Old Vic Tunnels. It encapsulates the driving themes of the album – that in the face of adversity and trauma, it is love and nurture that will hold us together.'
Curry's music is sung by London Voices, with whom she has previously worked on her famous video game soundtracks, directed by Ben Parry.
