Borders: Perseverance by Glacis

n December 2015 I moved with my family to the Scottish Borders. Having lived my entire life in cities this was my first time living in the countryside. It was remote, living in a cottage on a farm up a single track road. Out the front window was an old farmhouse, looking down on these quaint workers' cottages. Out the back window were endless fields along with the sound of silence. And yet the countryside is never silent. We simply cannot hear the incredible noise made by animals and plants that exist all around us.

One of the first things I did when we moved to the Borders was source and purchase an upright piano. I’d not had access to one since I lived at my parents house in Dundee. Overstrung. The only choice. It took time to source one and to ensure that it was capable of being tuned. It was a beautiful creature too. Simple on the outside but when the front was removed the inner detailing was like a snakeskin - something that my piano tuner commented he had never seen before. However, it wouldn’t tune to concert pitch, due to its age. So, while in tune it was half a tone out and, as such, when working with other musicians I had to constantly explain the need to transpose. Still, it was my piano and it was on this piano that I wrote all of the movement one of Borders entitled Perseverance.

The titles come from Yoko Ono. Essentially, they were her way of saying Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Innocence, Exuberance, Reverence, Perseverance. The seasons resonated as a logical way in which to structure a 4 movement work about the Borders. The music itself, is without a doubt also deliberately reflective of each season. However, the record explores much more than this. It’s about history, heritage, identity, and citizenship. As I started writing it Donald Trump became a serious candidate for the White House, Scotland had denied itself independence from the rest of Britain, David Cameron agreed to a vote on the lunacy of Brexit and the idea of what a border was in the ever shifting political landscape became a fascination for me.

PRESS

"The quietude of the center pieces, especially “When the Sun Goes Down,” are redolent of winter. The short wave radio at the end of the piece is like an unintelligible, unanswered cry. Clouds of distorted drone cloak “Dusk Hides The Body,” like hate speech drowning out polite discourse. A single note is struck like a funeral procession or the tolling of a bell. The grief peaks in “Sorrow of Sorrows” before the concluding “Mourn the Dark,” whose title suggests that one may acclimate to darkness, winter, or sorrow to the extent that one is unable to move forward. Field recordings of waves and wind offer cold consolation. Fortunately, we know the artist is about to travel through all four seasons, and we’re looking forward to making the journey with him." A CLOSER LISTEN

glacis is a Scottish composer based in England.