Jeff Stonehouse ‎- Mariner's Willow (2015)

This piece is written in memory of my mum, who passed away earlier this year. She lived in a little village, nestled at the foot of the South Downs, and the nature sounds in the recording were taken on the evening of the last day that she spent at home. The natural sounds are combined with treated guitar and piano sounds. I tried to combine the piano with guitar sounds to try and give the impression of the ebb and flow of the sea, which played an important and very influential role in her life. If you listen very carefully, you might hear a beautiful voice drifting in and out on the breeze. Mum was especially fond of the vocals of Alicia Merz, so I asked Alicia if she would allow me to use a snippet of her vocal in the piece. She went one better, and very graciously sent me one of her original vocal stems to play with, and the result is what you can barely hear. It's not supposed to be a sad piece, despite its inspiration, more a celebration of the things my mum loved the most. I hope you enjoy it. (Jeff Stonehouse).