Paul Lewis

Ecclesbourne Glen

Orchestration: Harp, Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)
Ecclesbourne Glen is a beauty spot on the south coast of England: a wooded valley with a stream toppling over sandstone cliffs to the sea near Hastings. In the 1960s and 70s I lived in Hastings Old Town and often walked with my dog across the East Hill through Ecclesbourne Glen to the Firehills beyond. In 1977 a writer friend, Alan Pemberton, equally enamoured of the landscape, wrote:
' I walked across the hills one day,
I thought I heard them talking;
The voice, it was the heart of man
That beat as I was walking.'
I set the verse to music, and the melody of that unfinished work has, like memories of the glen itself, haunted me ever since, and forms the basis of 'Ecclesbourne Glen - an Elegy for Strings and Harp.' Sadly the title might well have been 'Elegy on the Spoiling of Ecclesbourne Glen,' for, partly due to the unauthorised development of the adjacent caravan site and the felling of protected trees, in 2014 a disastrous landslip engulfed the glen, burying footpaths and resulting in the closure of the entire area to the public. Though I no longer live in Hastings I often visit and always feel indescribably sad that I can no longer walk where I used to find so much joy and inspiration.
The piece is dedicated to fellow composer Polo Piatti, who lives in Hastings Old Town and is similarly bereft at the loss of Ecclesbourne Glen. 'Paul Lewis'

A PACK includes a full score, string parts 4/4/3/4/2 and a harp part.
'Duration 6 minutes'