Even though we didn't know it at the time, this project started in 1987.

Carl Doy and Murray Thom

My wife Anne and I were having coffee one evening at an Auckland hotel, enjoying the music being played on the other side of the lobby. I said to Anne, "Whoever is playing that piano I am going to record." I introduced myself to Carl Doy and we arranged to meet the next day.

When Carl Doy and I first met, neither of us anticipated that the Piano by Candlelight albums would be released in over 40 countries.

The music we recorded on our first Piano by Candlelight album, released back in 1987, bears little resemblance to the quality of the recordings produced for this Collection. In fact none of the early tracks are included here. Having said that, it was the best we could do at the time. Our first album was produced using only samples - the piano being the only real instrument - and was recorded on 24-track analogue. Digital recordings, of course, were still a few years off.

We have come a long way - every note you hear on this Collection is played by a living, breathing musician.

When we embarked on the Together project, our vision was to produce a series of albums that not only sounded wonderful, but were presented to a standard not previously experienced.

We are not interested in producing an album because there may be a market for it; we want to produce music that we love.

Working with Carl on Piano by Candlelight for all these years has been an absolute delight and this Collection is the culmination of a large part of our life's work. I don't think there is anything more satisfying in life than to be kept busy doing what you love.

We thought it would be a real treat to include Espresso Guitar as part of this Collection, not only because it has been so popular, but also because it is very much part of "the family". Espresso Guitar, produced by Carl Doy, is performed by the very talented guitarist Martin Winch, along with members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

We have released two Espresso Guitar albums, but for this Collection we have compiled a single disc, taking tracks from both albums, along with brand new recordings.

Espresso Guitar was conceived one evening when Anne and I were having dinner at the home of our dear friends Mark and Vicki. Vicki was playing a dreadful guitar album and I told her so. She challenged me to do better, so that night I declared that we would record a wonderful guitar album.

Less than two months after that dinner party Vicki passed away. She was 38. I dedicated Espresso Guitar to her and wrote in the liner notes:

So, now you have the story behind this sentiment, we felt it should live on in this Collection.

Murray Thom Executive Producer
murray@thommusic.com