Description

Programme note –

Fewston is a small village set amongst rolling hills and green valleys of West Yorkshire. It is located nearby several reservoirs, between Swinsty and Fewston beyond Lindley Wood. A parish church stands on the side of a hill in the centre of the village. The piece simply aims to evoke this beautiful location. One hears the mists in the morning, the stormy winds in the afternoon, and the calm sunset in the evening.

A broader theme of the music is a nostalgic and romanticised view of England in the past. Fewston is located only a dozen or so miles away from the large and bustling city of Leeds. And though Fewston stands as the perfect escape from busy modern life, I’ve often wondered how many people are even aware of it’s existence. The anxiety of this peice is the fear that places like Fewston may all one day be subsumed by urban modern life and lost completely.

Two hymn tunes are adapted in this piece. Fewster is first heard at bar 22, while Rockingham is slowly introduced throughout the piece and heard in full at bar 148.