Farewell to Stromness
Soul Music
BBC
4.7 • 831 Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2019
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Personal stories about Farewell to Stromness, by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Written in 1980 as a protest against uranium mining in Orkney, the music has touched and changed people's lives.
The Orkney landscape which inspired Max's music is described by his partner Tim Morrison.
We hear from Rosalind Newton, for whom the music provided peace after the death of her grandmother.
Conductor Christopher Warren-Green recalls his performance of the music at the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
In Stromness we discover a community coming together to face the threat of uranium mining.
Guitarist Sean Shibe and writer Ivan Hewett consider why this simple piece is so subtle and affective.
And we hear from Jeana Leslie how the music, with its quiet melancholy inspired by folk music, has became traditional , and was a favourite for Peter Maxwell Davies to perform to visitors at his remote island home.
Producer: Melvin Rickarby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2019.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Traitors is back and so is that mysterious cloaked figure with the familiar fringe. |
| 0:06.7 | Yeah, it's me. |
| 0:07.9 | And when you've watched Claudia in the castle, join me, Ed Gamble, for the official visualised companion podcast. |
| 0:13.7 | And remember, I'll be listening. |
| 0:15.9 | Okay? |
| 0:16.7 | No, seriously, I love it. |
| 0:18.5 | What a faithful. |
| 0:19.7 | We'll unpack betrayals and spill scandalous secrets with celeb guests, traitors' legends, |
| 0:25.0 | and murdered and banished players. |
| 0:27.1 | The Traitors Uncloked. |
| 0:28.4 | Watch on EyePlayer, listen for more on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:33.2 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:38.2 | Nine months is a really long time to be waiting to meet a person, isn't it, during pregnancy? |
| 0:43.6 | When Nancy was born, it was that moment that I won't ever forget when the midwives leave the room. |
| 0:51.3 | They dimmed the lights a little bit further. |
| 0:53.9 | And that was incredible, meeting Nancy |
| 0:59.2 | for the first time. Me holding Nancy and my husband sat next to me. Just such a blissful moment. |
| 1:10.4 | I'm Epi and I'm from East Leach in Gloucestershire. |
| 1:17.3 | And we had the radio on in the background. |
| 1:20.1 | It was PM with Eddie Mayer. |
| 1:23.1 | Because it was the day that Sir Peter Maxwell Davis had died, |
| 1:33.3 | he played out farewell to strongness in full at the end of the show. That coincided with the moment that everyone left, |
... |
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