LAND ART PAPA WESTRAY

James Hesford : THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF PAPA WESTRAY

"The Entire Population of Papa Westray" was commissioned by Land Art - Papa Westray in 2008.

I noticed that many of the Scottish tunes are named after people. I decided that I would write a very long tune giving 4 bars of music to each person on the island of Papay. There are 70 people living there, which makes 280 bars of music without repeats..

As well as writing music I also write words - forming ideas through flow of consciousness. I wanted to approach the composition in the same way - writing a single line melody from left to right which would
flow from my pen as easily as words do. My starting point was the fond memories I have of playing with Margaret Rendall (accordionist) in the Papay pub on Saturday nights so the beginning melodic curves and rhythms are reminiscent of the Scottish and Island tunes we played together for the Papay dances.

I soon found the melody took a life of its own and steered me into darker tonal areas. I suppose I could not escape the changing moods of the weather in the Islands which was unknowingly influencing me. The melody became as unpredictable as the wind, weaving into the brightness of the diatonic folk tunes and out into territories more akin to Ornette Coleman's free jazz improvisation or early twentieth
century attempts at atonalism.

I decided that the tune should be played by a fiddle and flute player, two percussionists playing military snare and hide skin drum, and a non musician improvising on accordion to add a layer of familiar texture, and to be as disruptive as the ever blowing wind.

James Hesford. 2009