Libby Phippard – Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay (2021)
As we get older, we often outgrow the people around us and grow into ourselves. These are themes that Libby Phippard has taken up in her music including her single ‘Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay’. While she has touched on this with her previous releases, she is drawing more on her classical background for this folk song.
Using a choir and strings, she brings her choral career to the traditional folk structure of the track. Spanning over a decade, her choral experience has taken her to some of the most impressive venues around the world including the Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House. With the pandemic shutting down the live classical music industry, she has turned her feelings of loss, love and letting go into captivating new music.
‘Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay’ draws you in with Phippard’s haunting vocals. Her classical training is clear in her performance as the melodics bring a touch of opera to the folk stylings of the single. Through her performance, the emotions of the lyrics soak into your skin. There is a timeless sound to her voice that beautifully wraps around the modern folk elements. The power of her voice is enthralling while the crystal-clear dictation is an absolute pleasure to listen to. Close to the end, she layers the performance for stunning harmonies that add this delightful delicacy to the music.
Beneath her enchanting classic tones is a somewhat stripped-back melody. The piano line that opens the music has a musical theatre feeling to it. You can easily imagine the music playing as she stands on stage to sing to a packed theatre in the middle of a play. The tender swell of orchestral elements brings that classic grounding to the music. With the swell, the piano takes on an earthy and folky feeling that blends wonderfully with the classical sounds.
Libby Phippard blends classical tones with folk sensibilities for a timeless sound that is utterly captivating in ‘Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay’. Her classical training comes through on the vocals which are clear and touching. The music blends folk sensibilities with classical orchestral swells for a timeless sound that offers a modern edge.
Find out more about Libby Phippard on her website, Instagram and Spotify.
