1. Moonrise over the Sea

2. The Wood in Spring

3. Night Sky

4. The Cliffs in Winter

5. A Kentish Song

 

In 2021 I wrote a ‘A Kentish Song’ for the 80th birthday of my friend John Williams, who as Chairman of the Julian Bream Trust was thereafter responsible for commissioning this suite. As I am not a guitarist, throughout the composition John’s help in showing me what was awkward or impossible to play was invaluable.

 

I live much of my life now in the village of Kingsdown, near Deal in Kent, at the start of the famous White Cliffs. Because the sea faces east, I often see the full moon rising out of the sea, a wondrous moment. Near the village is a National Trust wood, which in spring is full of wood anemones and bluebells, which helped inspire the second movement. It contains a brief reference to Elgar’s ‘Windflower’ theme (another name for anemone) from his Violin Concerto. At night the sky is clear enough to see many stars, the inspiration for the brief third movement. From the cliffs, France is often visible, and in ‘The Cliffs in Winter’ I have quoted a fragment of Debussy’s ‘Rondes de Printemps’ from Images. The last movement provides a lyrical ending

 

D.M.