Musical Extravagance. SEA DOGS, a pirate tale!

One of the best days ever today, performing my musical pirate story for children SEA DOGS, with a great brass ensemble of young players at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. I really like the building, and to perform there is a pleasure.

 Composer Gareth Wood and I wrote Sea Dogs about four years ago, and it's been performed many times, always with an excited audience of children dressed as pirates! Gareth is a wonderful composer, and his music illustrates my story brilliantly. Here I am gazing upon him fondly. I always introduce him to the children as 'the genius Gareth Wood' and he protests, so I tell him it's true, and he's got to live with it!

 Between Monday and Wednesday this week, I visited the eight schools who came to the Millennium Centre to the performances. I taught them a sea shanty and another unaccompanied pirate song, which we sang before Sea Dogs. Here I am with a group of restrained and calm young pirates,

We were actually opening the Ty Cerdd Music Centre for Wales Conference. There is an interesting programme planned for the Conference, but I don't think anyone will have as much fun as we did today. We were in the foyer of the building, which has great acoustics, and is a lovely informal space for children, many of whom are hearing their first live musical performance.

When both performances were done, I walked to Penarth Marina, across the barrage. It's an interesting area, some of it very developed, but still some parts wild and scruffy. I tried to picture Cardiff Bay in its heyday, but couldn't really  get a sense of it, as the sun shone and lots of people walked, cycling, jogged, picnicked and sailed around. New buildings, leisure boats, and clean water. 

This wonderful sculpture commemorates those lost at sea.

I sat and looked at this for a long time.
Home now, and unbelievably tired. But so so happy.

You can hear Sea Dogs on Soundcloud if you'd like,
https://soundcloud.com/francescakaypoet/sea-dogs-a-pirate-tale-for

What my voice looks like

Last week I went to the recording studio at Ty Cerdd in the Wales Millennium Centre, to record three collections of poetry. I have been thinking for a while it would be a good idea to have a cd as well as the poetry packets to offer.

I really like the space. There's something about all the textured soundproofing around the walls and ceiling, the stillness it gives, the big screen in front of the glass looking through to the studio, and the seclusion within.

Here is Jim Unwin, who recorded my reading, and was wonderfully tuned in to the way I wanted to read and make it sound. He made the session very smooth and painless and I appreciated his patience!

I lined my poetry packets up on the stand in front of the microphone. Then I stood in the small space, and read aloud.

It was very interesting to listen to the poems. I'm always too busy reading them either on the page or out loud, to actually hear them. And I was fascinated to see what my voice looks like. This is how the three winter haiku appear.

A fascinating indoor, inward looking, focussed world.

Then I drove home,  took Thomas out on the rain washed road, and listened to the sound of his hooves. It was a great contrast!

Dinosaurs. New music commission. RAAH!

A new commission! From Ty Cerdd, the National Music Centre for Wales, for a piece for narrator and brass trio. It's for young children, from age 4 upwards, and is about the best of all topics for the very young - dinosaurs!

The title is Teri Dactyl and the Meteor Seven.  I am writing the words, and Peter Reynolds the music. The piece will premiere in early 2014 with me narrating, and the Gwent Brass Trio playing. 

If ever you have wondered what would happen if a stegosaurus was to fall asleep on the road and block the traffic, then the story will attempt to answer that question!

At a recent meeting between Charlotte Griffin of Ty Cerdd, Peter Reynolds and myself, we were joined by some interested parties.

Santa is actually on his way to the Crickhowell Craft Fair on 23rd November, but called in to say hallo. 

 

I'm loving writing the story, but being VERY CARFEUL to get my dinosaur facts right - small children are acknowledged dinosaur experts! 

 

 

www.tycerdd.org 

petereynoldscomposer.blogspot.co.uk 

Ahoy Cwmbran! Sea Dogs. Congress Theatre.

ARGH! The final Sea Dogs performance of the summer today in the Congress Theatre, Cwmbran. 

Played by Gwent Youth Symphonic Brass, conducted by Cap'n Sean.

I narrated my words to Gareth Woods fantastic music.

Here is one of my favourite pirates, Midshipman Lloyd.

He's played Sea Dogs with three different bands now!

Here are the crew getting ready to play in the relatively cool darkness of the empty theatre,

and waiting in the Green Room, before a rampaging performance in front of an audience of about 300 very excited and enthusiastic children. Seriously, it's better than a real job!

If you want to hear Sea Dogs, it's on Soundcloud.
https://soundcloud.com/francescakaypoet/sea-dogs-a-pirate-tale-for
Many thanks to all the players, and of course to Charlotte Griffin at Ty Cerdd for organising this summer's SEA DOGS performances. Until next time, shipmates!

The First Dragon. Words and Music.

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. 

http://soundcloud.com/francescakaypoet/the_first_dragon

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.

Sea Dogs ahoy in Swansea Museum

It's Monday, it must be time to perform SEA DOGS!

Today, with the Treherbert Brass Band, performing Sea Dogs before a large audience of children. We were in the Maritime Museum in Swansea, a fitting setting for the pirate story, with my words, and the wonderful music of Gareth Wood.

Absolutely everyone was dressed as a pirate. 

Here we are rehearsing in front of a case full of rather lovely model ships.

The Band looked magnificent.

Here's one of my favourite shipmates.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Thanks to the Museum, to the marvellous Band, of course to Charlotte Griffin from Ty Cerdd, who commissioned Sea Dogs, and continues to support it. Thank'ee, matey.