Notes from the Undergrowth: an ecosystem of piano miniatures (DXL 1223) Digital Booklet

Notes from the Undergrowth is the debut album of pianist Hannah Watson Emmrich. Conceived as an “ecosystem” of miniatures exploring a day and night in the forest, it combines well-known voices such as Schumann and Ravel with lesser-known works and new commissions. As Emmrich explains, “I leaned toward pieces that paid attention to individual species or moments rather than broad landscapes, that were evocative but not ‘merely’ beautiful, that had some irregularity or strangeness, some quirk that caught the attention.” The intimate recorded sound draws the listener into Emmrich’s extraordinary rapport with the sonority of the piano, giving the music the vibrant colours and intense detail of nature photography.

Hannah Watson Emmrich’s performances have included solo, chamber and song recitals at the Barbican, St Martin-in-the-Fields, LSO St Luke’s, Sinfonia Smith Square, Cardiff’s St David’s Hall and the Royal Festival Hall, as well as performances on Radio 3’s In Tune and Afternoon on 3, and in the film The Lady in the Van. From 2017-2021, Hannah worked as Music Director at All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, leading a team of around 200 musicians. Hannah studied Modern Languages at Cambridge and piano performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, taught by Martin Roscoe and Caroline Palmer.

Catalogue No: DXL1223
Title: Notes from the Undergrowth: an ecosystem of piano miniatures
Artists: Hannah Watson Emmrich, piano
Barcode: 0666283122329
Playing Time: 64:49
UK Release: 5th June 2026
UK Distribution: RSK, Tel: 01488 608900
Packaging: 1CD, Digipak; Box 35

Track list
1. Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
On an overgrown path book 2 no. 1 3:20

2. Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Le rappel des oiseaux 3:01

3. Fannie Charles Dillon (1881-1947)
Birds at Dawn 2:57

4. Marion Bauer (1882-1955)
White Birches 2:24

5. Dora Pejáčević (1885-1923)
Blütenwirbel 2:26

6. Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
From the diary of a fly 1:28

7. Joshua Borin (1989-)
Grex* 4:04

8. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
La colombe 1:59

9. Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
A blown-away leaf 2:57

10. Mel Bonis (1858-1937)
Il pleut 2:22

11. Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Young birches 2:24

12. Amy Beach (1867-1944)
A hummingbird 1:12

13. Margrit Schenker (1960-)
Chinesischer Kirschbaum 2:02

14. Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Vogel als Prophet 3:17

15. François Couperin (1668-1733)
Les ombres errantes 3:19

16. Maki Gajic Murata
Fireflies* 5:32

17. Emahoy Tsegue Mariam Guebrou (1923-2023)
Evening Breeze 3:25

18. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Noctuelles 5:31

19. Timothy Salter
Midnight Mushrooms* 1:55

20. François Couperin (1668-1733)
Le rossignol en amour 3:40

21. Margrit Schenker (1960 – )
Palme mit Schnee 2:51

22. Dora Pejáčević (1885-1923)
Nocturne 2:44