Paul Lewis

On Pevensey Levels

The solo part may be played either by harmonica or violin or flute (doubling piccolo).

Whilst walking 'twixt castle and coast on Pevensey Levels one sunny winter's day a melody played incessantly in my head, leaving me no option on my return home but to write it down and compose this piece.
In all seasons and all weathers the Levels are an area of great beauty and abundant wildlife and are haunted by the ghosts of history. They were once under water and it was at Pevensey that the Romans built their great fortress of Anderitum and here that William the Conqueror landed some 800 years later. In Tudor times Pevensey was a bustling seaport and the castle was re-armed in anticipation of the Spanish Armada, but by the 18th century the sea had receded and the area had become the natural home of smugglers. The coastline today is dominated by the Martello Towers that once guarded against the threatened Napoleonic invasion, and the castle was refortified with military pill boxes and occupied by Allied Forces during World War II. The Levels are now a place of peace and solitude, shared by walkers with all manner of birdlife including swans and herons, and the inevitable rabbits, foxes and grazing livestock, not to mention other walkers and their dogs. Paul Lewis
Duration 4 1/2 minutes
A version of this piece with string orchestra accompaniment is also available - Goodmusic GMCO124.