Wednesday, 9 February 2022

The Composers Garden: Day 4, Composing Retreat at Aldeburgh


 Day 4: Composing Retreat at Aldeburgh

The Composer’s Garden






Relax and allow the power of TheComposer's Garden to heal and restore you. 


Soundscape by Seawolf


There is something very Zen about a composer’s garden. It is as though their music hovers in the wind and is remembered by the plants. In Britten’s Red House garden there is exquisite detail at every turn and twist. Exploring it is like discovering his personality. Looming near the bottom of the garden is a massive archive built in glamorous red brick. It is an eternal repository for the pharaoh’s riches. Passing by the house, closed for the winter, I can hear chimes driven by a strong wind. They are as alluring as the three abstract sirens set for eternity in granite near the archive. I sit for a moment on the bench where Britten may have sat and then approach his custom built studio. Composition Studio it says in bold letters. Here is a composer who know what he is about. I see a statue of a boy, the head is reminiscent of the composer. I turn towards the pond where a friendly metal duck watches over the tadpoles. The reflected Suffolk sky is epic. Back at the Cosy Nook where Britten’s house keeper lived, I see water from an abandoned plastic table refracted in the concrete wall, it looks like a space ship on a cosmic journey or even a breast! Later I see a double rainbow as I walk near Snape. I have made a simple soundscape to go with this  9 minute film shot on Go Pro. 









No comments: