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Farewell to Stromness
My connection to this piece
I fell in love with this piece by Peter Maxwell-Davies many years ago and it was one of the first pieces I played on lever harp when I rekindled my passion for this wonderful instrument having only really played pedal harp for most of my professional life.
I arranged it from the piano version to lever harp and then made a video which I put up on YouTube. It wasn't a particularly great recording, just a quick video on an old camcorder of me playing it in my living room on my 27 string Camac Bardic harp. But somehow the video ended up being quite popular on YouTube which was always a bit of a mystery to me considering the recording quality wasn't great.
I then had the great pleasure of playing this piece for a family members wedding back in 2012 on the Isle of Iona which is a tiny island in the Hebrides, just off the Isle of Mull.. It was really special moment being able to play my little harp in the Abbey, it is an astonishing building standing as tall as a cathedral. *side note - if you ever get the chance, go to Iona it's an absolutely incredible place, plus Fingal's Cave is a short boat ride away*
I arranged it from the piano version to lever harp and then made a video which I put up on YouTube. It wasn't a particularly great recording, just a quick video on an old camcorder of me playing it in my living room on my 27 string Camac Bardic harp. But somehow the video ended up being quite popular on YouTube which was always a bit of a mystery to me considering the recording quality wasn't great.
I then had the great pleasure of playing this piece for a family members wedding back in 2012 on the Isle of Iona which is a tiny island in the Hebrides, just off the Isle of Mull.. It was really special moment being able to play my little harp in the Abbey, it is an astonishing building standing as tall as a cathedral. *side note - if you ever get the chance, go to Iona it's an absolutely incredible place, plus Fingal's Cave is a short boat ride away*
I then recorded the piece on my debut album which came out in 2020 and my one tenuous Scottish connection with this piece (despite my surname being Scott, I'm not Scottish) was my playing it for this family wedding back in 2012 on the Isle of Iona.
Or so I thought....
Or so I thought....
DNA testing
During Covid, my sister, who has always had an interest in ancestry decided to get seriously into DNA testing to fill in the gaps in our family tree and find some missing relatives. Through the DNA testing and subsequent genealogy research she discovered that our maternal grandfather (who was born out of wedlock and his background was always shrouded in mystery) was in fact Scottish.
So my family have Scottish roots after all!
But, even stranger then that, was the further discovery that our grandfather's family come from the Orkneys.... and specifically from Stromness !!!
So my family have Scottish roots after all!
But, even stranger then that, was the further discovery that our grandfather's family come from the Orkneys.... and specifically from Stromness !!!
About my arrangement
Over the years I've had many people asking me for my arrangement for lever harp of this piece. If you'd like to have a go and play it the file is below.
I do ask however that you please don't pass this arrangement on to anyone else and please do buy the original piano version HERE
I have written the lever changes in red diamond notes exactly where you need to change them. I have taken off tied notes for ease of reading, so please assume that all notes are to ring through and not damped.
I hope playing this piece on lever harp gives you as much joy as it has to me over the years.
It's a truly wonderful piece of music by Peter Maxwell Davies
I do ask however that you please don't pass this arrangement on to anyone else and please do buy the original piano version HERE
I have written the lever changes in red diamond notes exactly where you need to change them. I have taken off tied notes for ease of reading, so please assume that all notes are to ring through and not damped.
I hope playing this piece on lever harp gives you as much joy as it has to me over the years.
It's a truly wonderful piece of music by Peter Maxwell Davies
| farewell_to_stromness_-_full_score.pdf |
Here's a new video I've done, combining the audio recording from my album with footage of the Orkneys. Look out for the cheeky seal!