Love Songs and Shanties
Love Songs and Shanties was commissioned by Annabelle Pattinson as a 50th birthday present for her husband, Martyn. Having known and played in brass bands with Martyn for many years it was an honour to write a piece for such a great friend and fantastic person.
Martyn and Annabelle share a love of folk music and regularly attend concerts and festivals throughout the year. It was this love of folk music and sea shanties that I wanted to capture in the music.
Love Songs and Shanties is in five sections, which run continuously. Weaving together well-known folk melodies and shanties the music moves between calm and manic moments over an ever-changing sonic background.
Throughout the piece, the music is often interrupted by the drunken sailor - who interjects and disrupts the music with his ever-increasing inebriated motif. Indeed, it is the drunken sailor who helps the music to continually move forward and go to places that are not immediately expected.
Paul McGhee