This album will be / is published in February2023. A large part of it is devoted to exploring mirrors, inspired by Terry Pratchett’s insight, itself inspired by folklore, that all mirrors are connected. The rest of it is inspired by the usual wish to entrance, inspire, entertain, or at least amuse.
Tracklist is as follows:-
- Take me home
- Winterjoy
- Seren’s dance
- Hilaria (April Fool)
- Celwyddog (Tell me lies I can believe)
- Scrying the glass
- Conjuration
- Sisters of the well
- Invocation
- Through every human heart
- See his face
- Sirioldeb (Serenity)
- Reflectoin
- The moth and the candle
Take me home
This is about wishing we could go back to the back end of 2019 when things were going quite well for most of us, until Covid and its attendant response hit and the Government (And most others) panicked. The casual manner in which our rights to go out and meet and mix with each other were cancelled at the stroke of a press conference, based on :-
- The fear that Covid 19 was a bio-weapon, or
- The desire to appear to be doing something grown-up and managerial in response to a global panic the reports we were all seeing from China and Italy of people falling dead in the street and dying in queues in hospital corridors.
is remembered by many of us and will be a constant warning to watch out for such a response being suggested again.
Once previously unimagined sums of money had been spent on doing something in a big theatrical way, and after every petty bureaucratic busybody had had their day in the sun threatening the people who pay their wages with stiff fines for going for an unauthorised or extravagant walk, once we all had to deal with shops closed, mask wearing, social distancing etc. , the emphasis moved to finding and implementing vaccines which would “allow” us to regain our freedoms. Then followed the endless promises to “Build back better” recited in a co-ordinated manner by governments all over the free world.
This song is a rejection of all this and a plea to return us to late 2019, when governments hadn’t got a taste for all this power to remove our historic freedoms at stroke whenever they declare a health, climate or other emergency.
Don’t build back “better”, whatever that is, build back “proper” and put things back as you found them.
Winterjoy
Inspired by Katherine May’s lovely book “Wintering” this is about making the most of the dark, damp, windy and cold months following autumn’s glory.
This includes the brave stark trees waiting until the daylight hours and warmth of the sun make it worthwhile putting on leaves again, crisp bright mornings with frost crackling underfoot, snow with its eerie silence and ability to make any vista beautiful, hot slow cooked stodgy foods, and cosy evenings.
Christmas takes up most of December with the decorations, preparations, carols and family visits, the comes the darkest part as we wait for the daffodils trumpeting the arrival of the first inklings of spring.
Seren’s Dance
Seren breaks her day by celebrating the completion of each of her chores by having a quick dance with her cat.
Hilaria (April Fool)
A celebration of spring, rejoicing at the end of the cold fallow season and the seemingly endless emergence of new shoots and leaves signalling the lengthening of the days and the arrival of the pleasant and fruitful days which will extend all the way to early autumn.
Celwyddog (Tell me lies I can believe)
Illustrated by Welsh proverbs, this is a plea to those who appoint (Annoint?) themselves as people who are able or duty bound to take on all our concerns and woes, and then describe in detail how they empathise, understand and sympathise and will promise with the highest priority to bear them in mind as they carry on doing what they always intended to.
Scrying the glass
Scrying is the process of seeing visions, of the past, the future, or the present in some other place through the medium of a mirror or crystal ball, or even a basin of still water. Probably needs a lot of practice.
Conjuration
The process of using an incantation or spell to perform or achieve something supernatural. Often done in front of a mirror, presumably to make sure you’re holding your mouth just right or making the appropriate expression.
Sisters of the well
Wells or springs were often regarded as sacred in the distant past if they supported a community’s domestic or farming needs. A reliable spring, come fair weather or foul, would achieve special reverence. Guardians of such springs would arrange for gifts or sacrifices of a suitably propitious nature to be accepted at the best times and in the most appropriate manner to ensure the continuation of the blessing that is a consistent supply of fresh clean water.
Invocation
To begin or call forwards. Mirrors have been historically used as a receiver and focus of invocations or requests as they were believed to be portals to other realms.
Through every human heart
It has become commonplace for many to accuse others of being evil in some form, mainly for holding different views to their own. Perhaps a reflection on the words of Solzhenitsyn would help.
“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart — and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
There has to be hope for us all.
See his face
A conflation between the ideas of looking into a mirror to see our parents / ancestor’s faces within / behind our own, and “the beatific vision”, that if we are worthy we will see God.
Sirioldeb (Serenity)
Serenity is a state of mental calm and clarity, where you feel at peace in the present moment, able to focus on what matters.
Reflection
The image returned by a mirror is a reflection which is itself the product of simple and complex reflections occurring within the glass and the silvering. Old mirrors have a more complex and beautiful appearance as the components of the mirror age and decay.
The moth and the candle
The moth flies towards the light seeking the moon. The candle, produced the the makers of sweetness and light (Bees as described by Hattie Ellis in her lovely book), attracts and entrances. The moth seeking warmth and brilliance meets the flame which only seeks to give back the sunshine it has stored within itself, and in a flash both the moth and the candle are extinguished.
Windrince: aka Jon Moncrieff 