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PETER GRAHAM

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The North Cheshire village of Alderley Edge is dominated by  a 600 foot wooded escarpment (known locally as the Edge) where
evocatively titled  landmarks such as Wizard's Well, Stormy Point and The Devil's Grave have inspired storytellers for centuries

This work presents a musical portayal of many of these sites and also recalls some of the legends which have arisen from them.
In  dealing with  the subjects of the forest,  myths and  folklore, parallels  with the German  Romantic  Opera tradition  became
apparent  to me and it seemed  appropriate to  draw upon sources  and in some cases the  language of that  particular period in
music  history.  Hence  the  references  to Weber's  masterpiece  Der  Freischütz  and the  ideas of a  redemption theme and the
triumph  of good  over evil.  This latter  notion  also have has  a resonance  with  the  brassband  test-piece  tradition  of Perccy
Fletcher,  Cyril  Jenkins etc.  It is  therefore perhaps doubly  fitting, as we  approach the millenium,  for a nostalgic  reminder of
both the ethos and style of this period in the development of the brassband repertoire.

The music itself could be considered  to be a series of  tone pictures.  The  Armada Beacon  the highest point on the  Edge from
where the advance of the Spanish Armada was signalled) presents some musical  fireworks with a Spanish twist. The timeless
nature  of the  ancient Golden Stone  (reputed  to have mythical  properties)  is evoked by a chaconne  while the  machine-like
drive of the  Engine Vein  Mine  is represented by  a meccanio section.  The Holy Well  is outlined by the  redemption  theme (a
pastiche aria) while in  Stormy Point  fragments of the Dies  Irae can be heard  against the brooding  storm music.  The Devil's
Grave (making  reference to  the Wolf's  Glen scene from Der Freischütz)  completes the core of  the work wich is  framed by a
Prologue and Epilogue.

The Prologue sets the forest scene in the offstage horn call which also makes reference to the most enduring of the legends of
Alderley Edge. A subterranean cavern is said to house a sleeping army  who will rise if ever the country is in peril.  Entrance to
the cavern is by way of iron gates which are hidden  in the landscape.  Locals have their own ideas  of the whereabouts  of the
gates  and it  is said  that  music (the  horn call) from  the cavern  can still  be  heard  at nights.  In true  local  tradition  I have
signposted the entrance with a melody woven into the fabric of one of the landmarks. The mystery continues!

Peter Graham, June 1997

I like to thank Edward Naber for providing this information.

Last Updated on 2017
By Steven Ritchie

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