By Mark Squibb/June 9, 2022
Listening to the lush instrumental covers of popular songs on Heart to Heart, you would assume that the album was recorded by an ensemble group — but that’s not the case.
Mount Pearl musician Korona Brophy plays the violin/fiddle, cello, bass, piano and tin whistle on the album, a collection of her own original arrangements.
“I had so much music, so many of my own arrangements, I said I have to do something with it,” said Brophy, who began recording the album in November of 2020 with producer and friend Vaughn Sutton. “I’m 67, and I have friends who can’t play anymore, because they have arthritis, or some other disease, or cancer, or Alzheimer’s,” said Brophy. “And I said that I need to do this while I mentally and physically still can.”
The 13 songs on the album, don’t reflect any one particular genre or style of music, and include instrumental arrangements of popular Newfoundland tunes such as Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s and I’se the B’y, the Broadway tune Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz, and contemporary hits such as Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love and The Beatles’ In My Life, amongst others.
“I picked those because they had some meaning to me, or my children or grandkids, or something that happened in life,” said Brophy.
Brophy said the album, which was released earlier this year, overall could be classified as easy listening, and that the relaxing and peaceful arrangements can (and have been) used to soothe kids at day care and calm operating room nurses driving home from a hectic day at the hospital.
She said that in an era where people stream their favourite music over their personal devices, she misses the days when families would listen to (and play) music together.
“I grew up in a house with music playing all day long,” said Brophy. “It was always on the radio, we had a record player each, and there was music. My mother played the piano and the accordion, and dad sang, and there was always music.”
Family is at the heart of Heart to Heart; the album is dedicated to her four grandchildren.
Those grandchildren are boys Cohen and Myles Brophy (who lend their voices to the album’s last track, Twinkle) and twin girls Eleanor and Billie Hoyles.
If you’re looking to purchase the album, you can find it at Musically Inclined in Conception Bay South, Fred’s Records, O’Brien’s, or Crafted Treasures, or you can drop Brophy an e-mail at k.brophy@nl.rogers.com.
Brophy, of course, is a familiar face in the local music scene, having taught music for over 40 years, including a 13-year stint at Memorial University.
Outside of the classroom, she has lead choirs such as St. Peter’s Church Adult Choir and Youth Choir of Mount Pearl.
In 1993, Brophy formed The Celtic Fiddlers, a group which still tours actively and performed during last month’s Royal Visit. The Celtic Fiddlers have released six albums and have toured Canada, Ireland, and the United States.
