Each piece is written for a person or an occasion or both. Most are the product of night time noodling on a Blüthner grand in the semi-dark.

Each title uses a key word from the Lenten hymn Forty Days and Forty Nights. It explores the isolation and temptation of forty days and nights, left alone in the desert. Think dark room in a monastery, late night, candles, left with your own inner voices.

'DO YOU SEE ME?' is a touching song which was written in the wake of some distressing events that caused Alys’ move away from Glasgow. Through song, Alys manages to express her emotions.

Composed by John Hardy and performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with conductor Grant Llewellyn. It is dedicated to Helena Braithwaite and all members of the orchestra.

Recorded in an analogue style studio in Borth in Mid-Wales, Alys wanted a real-feel to the music, connecting listeners to what they hear. It is a collection of original songs that are tales of times gone by and lessons for the future.

The music has attempted to relate to the distinctive ‘world’ of the community within the series, evoking the town, and the lived experience of its inhabitants and their hopes and fears.

A sequence of psalms and antiphons for the season of Advent. This album was recorded onsite, at the Pluscarden Abbey. The selection is divided into four uneven parts, which represents the four weeks of Advent.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the feature film 'Steel Country' ('A Dark Place' [N. America]), featuring a completely original score by John Hardy Music.

What started as a collection of music cues from a film that was never released, has become an album of musical pieces that connect with each other in a semi-abstract narrative arc.

Timeless chant from the monks of Pluscarden Abbey, the last medieval monastery in Britain. "Fervent, disciplined and committed singing of a high order."

The soundtrack to Hidden/Craith counterpoints the silent beauty and landscapes of North West Wales, and reflects the darkness within its complex characters.

The music, created by Tic Ashfield & Benjamin Talbott, uses immersive textural soundscapes, along with high-paced beats to evoke the landscape of Patagonia. The soundtrack won the BAFTA Cymru award for ‘Best Soundtrack’ in 2017.

In his isolation from the activity of the world, with the time and opportunity for study and reflection upon the scriptures and conversing with Jesus in prayer, the monk beholds the glory of Jesus. As St Peter said: “Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here”

Much of the music set out on these pages comes from the standard Gregorian repertoire, but adapted to fit words relating to St Columba. A few pieces, however, of which our Magnificat Antiphon is an example, seem to be unique. Could these represent the lost tradition of Celtic Chant, transmitted orally through the centuries, and here preserved for us?

All the singers on this recording are monks. For some items we recorded the entire community singing, excepting nobody at all. If this results in a certain occasional roughness, it is at least the authentic sound of our monastic Choir.

St. Benedict, in his sixth century Rule, makes Easter the central reference point of the whole monastic year. For the Benedictine monks of Pluscarden, then, the importance of the Easter celebration can scarcely be over-stated.

The score, by Ed Scolding, moves from harmony to discord, adding considerably to the tension and sense of foreboding. Elsewhere, percussive elements draw us in to Paul’s obsession and anxiety.