Live Recording at St. Gregory's Church, Morville
St. Cecilia's Day 2014
First performance of David Watkins' "The Bells of Morville"
David Watkins (harp)
Jane Leslie MacKenzie (soprano), Michael Bochmann (violin)
Harp Ensemble:
Helen Barley, Eleri Lloyd, David Watkins & Frank Sternefeld
Available from Creighton's Collection £12.00 +p&p
For further information and audio samples please visit www.davidwatkins.info
Tracks
1 The Bells of Morville - David Watkins
2 Pieta Signore - Stradella
3 Allegro - John Parry
4 Ave Maria - Bach/Gounod
5 Siciliano & Allegro - Bach
6 Abendempfindung - Mozart
7 Voi che sapete - Mozart
8 Meditation from Thais - Massenet
9 Two Welsh Folk Songs - arr David Watkins
10 Country Gardens - arr Michael Bochmann
11 Silent Night - arr David Watkins
12 Allegro moderato - C F Abel
13 Still Still Still - arr Adrian Cleaton
14 Bells ringing down
On a visit to Morville, David Watkins was struck by the beauty of Morville and the surrounding area and after reading ‘The Morville Hours’ by Katherine Swift, his fascination with Morville grew. Katherine furthermore inspired David, not only with her insights into gardening and its history, but with her perceptive understanding of the Shropshire landscape and the origins of Morville with its Benedictine monastery. The Tower Captain, Ian Rowe, introduced David to the Morville bells during a weekly bell ringing practice. David became so further inspired by the extraordinary acoustics of the medieval Church and its magnificent set of bells that he began a work for harp ensemble juxtaposed with the bells.
