Mae hiraeth yn y mor

[catherinem]

I’m feeling so tired and drained today, just enough energy to think about my next creative project. I’m am very much in a reflective meditative mood, I’m suffering from hiraeth, this is a particularly Welsh affliction, there is no English translation, this song by Dilys Elwyn-Edwards sums it up – “My longing for the sea” (I think – but as I said there is no English word for hireath) youtube.com/watch?v=1qdqwv5...(Not working as expected?)

I have a mental mood board in my head, now I would like to stress that despite being a ticcer my composition doesn’t draw from my ticcy experiences, the only thing my music has in common with my TS is that it does come from the same brain. It’s hard to describe what this mood board contains, rather like an interior designer I have a palate of colours in my mind – mainly greys, blues and greens (suitably hireath) and tonal qualities, modal reflecting folk music and of course Welshness. While the interior designer sources swatches of fabric, wallpaper and other materials I draw from my musical influences, one English and one French. Erik Satie, a Frenchman who stood out as an individual both as a person and as a composer, his piano music still remains as relevant today as it was when he first wrote it. Satie was always writing and drawing, his drawings (see picture – it’s a self portrait) were fantastical inventions as were many of his compositions, his most famous piece Gymnopedie No 1 completely did away with bar lines. youtube.com/watch?v=Al5U1WJ...(Not working as expected?) If you saw the film “Moulin Rouge” Erik Satie is the pianist with the glasses and the woolly scarf.

Another composer that I greatly admire is the local Warwickshire composer Howard Skempton, again his music is timeless, elegant, delicate, reflective and meditative, all that I wish to achieve in writing a proper grown up piano sonata, some might say writing a piano sonata would be a bit old hat. I was actually quite surprised to find some of Howard Skempton’s work on Youtube and I was particularly please to find “The Durham Strike” (it starts at 5.13) I’m not sure what the relevance of the logging is but the old footage of the mine yes, this is where the piece is relevant having grown up in Carmarthenshire in the 1980’s where there were many striking miners. I did actually write an orchestral arrangement of “The Durham Strike”, I’ve never heard it played; it would be interesting to hear.

youtube.com/watch?v=HoyxF6M...(Not working as expected?)

I have however as usual been compelled to find out what’s been going on, the Liberal Democrats have having their conference in Birmingham, the cynical side of me thinks that their just after our sympathy and support and then the other side of me think that it’s about time they began to speak out about the ConDems policies, but it’s a bit late now isn’t it, horse, gate, bolted springs to mind particularly with regards to the Welfare Reform Bill which is currently being read in the House of Lords, what do reckon on the chances of it being sent back to the House of Commons, that would be good! Sorry to post yet another link, but take a look at the clips from some speakers at the LibDem Conference. latentexistence.me.uk/good-... I sincerely hope that something positive comes of this but I’m not holding my breath as long as something involves Cameron.