The First Dragon
A story for narrator and orchestra, with my words and the most wonderful music by Mervyn Burtch. This is the first piece I wrote for a composer, and very close to my heart.
It's about a dragon, some foolish adults, and a wise little girl.
Here's the link to SoundCloud, where you can hear it.
Here is the recording session, with Adrian Partington, who commissioned the piece, conducting. The orchestra are called the Dragon Sinfonia for the purposes of recording, but most of them were members of the National Orchestra of Wales, and they played it brilliantly, as you would expect.
It's had lots of performances, about 30 I think - Mervyn and I can't remember! And it's amazing to me as a writer what composer Mervyn did with my words, weaving the voice into the music as if it was another instrument. I love performing it, and the ending (it is a happy ending) always brings tears to my eyes because the music is so beautiful.
It's been used as part of an education project with Ty Cerdd, the Music Centre for Wales, with children writing their own stories and music, and then coming to hear the original. I am always hoping funds will be found to do it again. Perhaps we need to find the Dragon, and ask him for some of his gold.
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