Single Review: Hope In Your Heart

Here we have the second single from Samuel Philip Cooper, the Wellington-based pianist who will be releasing his debut album Breaking The Silence next month. This was originally inspired when a friend of his told him he was suffering from cancer and was having to undergo chemotherapy. Hearing that someone you know has been diagnosed with that awful disease is a massive shock to the system, and Samuel took solace the only way he knew how by sitting at a piano and improvising a melody.

That melody forms the main part of Hope In Your Heart, with plenty of triplets and nuances it again reminds me of water going through a brook, the light shining on the water as it ripples and moves over the stones. “Ultimately, this song is about stepping out of the dark/speaking up about various health struggles will enable more hope and brightness to be put in your heart, especially by your friends, family or GP. Their hope, love and support can put and lead you on a path to a brighter and happier place, instead suffering silently alone in darkness”, Samuel says.

It certainly does that, but for me this number is just too short, as it is less than two minutes in length. I would have preferred for the themes to be more fully developed and extended to at least double that length, allowing for more breadth and depth. The introduction also feels as if it was originally a separate piece of music and although this may be a deliberate mechanism on the part of Cooper to have darkness moving to light it does not work as well as he may have wished. However, he has a deft touch on the keyboard, and I look forward to the album with interest.