Claire M Singer releases ‘Gleann Ciùin’ on Touch with Glasgow and London organ concerts
Claire M Singer (Photo by Agnes Haus)
Claire M Singer, the Scottish composer, producer and experimental organist based in London, has released her new album “Gleann Ciùin” on Touch as a CD and digital edition, the second part of her Cairngorms-inspired pipe organ triptych that began with “Saor” in 2023. The new release combines organ, strings, brass and electronics and coincides with concerts at Glasgow Cathedral’s Ancient Well on 5 and 6 December and at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall with the London Contemporary Orchestra on 7 December.
The title work “Gleann Ciùin” – an Ivor Novello-nominated piece first commissioned in 2019 by the London Contemporary Orchestra and the Richard Thomas Foundation for the PRS New Music Biennial – brings together violin, viola, four cellos, two horns and the 1967 Flentrop organ installed beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall stage. Claire M Singer focuses on the rarely heard instrument’s extended overtones, low-frequency drones and close-voiced dissonances, continuing her organ-driven modern classical and drone language first documented on “Solas”, “Fairge” and “Saor”.
“Gleann Ciùin” (“quiet glen” in Scottish Gaelic) traces two linked narratives: Singer’s walks across the Cairngorms in Aberdeenshire and her work with historic pipe organs across the UK. “Gleann Ciùin explores two narratives: my journeys across the vast landscapes and weathered peaks of the Cairngorms in Aberdeenshire, and my exploration of the rich, resonant tones of pipe organs, contemplating the weight of history and the timeless beauty of these majestic instruments,” Claire M Singer says.
The opening piece “Turadh” (“break in the clouds”) layers organ recordings made at Haddo House in Aberdeenshire, Old High Church in Inverness, St James’ Episcopal Church in Stonehaven, Knightswood St Margaret’s Church and Cottiers in Glasgow, with contributions from clarinettist Yann Ghiro, string player Patsy Reid and horn player Andy Saunders. “Rionnag a Tuath” (“north star”) originates from Touch’s 2020 “Touch: Isolation” series and features Claire M Singer on cello, electronics and the 1877 Henry Willis organ at Union Chapel in London. Two short electronic interludes – “57.0908° N, 3.6939° W” and “56.9500° N, 3.2667° W” – reference specific pauses on Cairngorms hikes, while the title track closes the album with nearly 19 minutes of extended organ and ensemble writing.
Additional mixing on the album was executed by Fiona Cruickshank, with mastering by Denis Blackham.
About Claire M Singer
Claire M Singer is a Scottish composer, producer and performer of acoustic and electronic music, film and installations, originally from Aberdeenshire and now based in London. Her work is characterised by an experimental approach to the pipe organ, often combining the instrument with cello and electronics to explore slowly evolving harmonic textures and overtone-rich drones.
Claire M Singer serves as Music Director of the organ at Union Chapel in London and is the founder and Artistic Director of Organ Reframed, the experimental organ festival launched at the venue in 2016, which has commissioned new works from artists including Chris Watson, Éliane Radigue, Low, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Philip Jeck, Craig Armstrong and Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie.
Her debut album “Solas” appeared on Touch in 2016, presenting organ-, cello- and electronics-based compositions spanning 14 years of work. “Fairge”, a single long-form piece for organ, cello and electronics commissioned by Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk, followed in 2017. In 2019 she released the double-LP set “Trian (Recent Works)”.
The 2023 album “Saor” (“free” in Scottish Gaelic) marked the first part of a planned triptych rooted in the Cairngorms and historic organs, released on Touch and recorded across locations including Forgue Kirk in Aberdeenshire, Union Chapel in London and Amsterdam’s Orgelpark. “Gleann Ciùin”, released on Touch in November 2025, continues this series as its second instalment.
Beyond her solo catalogue, Claire M Singer has composed for film, including the score for Annabel Jankel’s 2018 feature “Tell It to the Bees“, and has received awards such as the Oram Award (2017) and the Festival Castell de Peralada Award for best film score (2019). Her work “Gleann Ciùin” was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2020. Performances and commissions have taken her to venues including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Glasgow Cathedral, Tate Modern, the Barbican and churches and festivals across Europe and North America.
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