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Welcome to my Blog! Music and God coming together

These regular weekly blogs are giving me an opportunity to share my life-long passion of discoving how the great themes of Music and Theology can come together, and I want to express my deep appreciation of my good friend Dr Paul Kybird for his encouragement, wisdom and deep insight in this adventure.
I have found that the telling of a story by a violin – through its many years of varied experiences – has created a fascinating way of engaging with these ultimate concerns of life.
So here goes –
I am a Violin, with a great story to tell, and on this platform I want to present and play the events of my long life –
By telling about my origins, how I was made, and where I feel my unique sound comes from, engaging with my whole body – mind & heart, violin and bow – in the pursuit of beauty, truth and goodness;
By including the historical soundscapes of the different places I have lived in, and sharing how it feels to be touched and embraced by the rich variety and diversity of musicians who have owned and played me over these many years;
By giving a voice to my emotions at times of suffering, when I was broken, and when I was ‘stolen’, sharing my feelings about the damage inflicted on my body, the permanent blemishes and unexpected ‘growths’;
By sounding out clearly, not supressing or muting, times of rejection, isolation and abuse;
But most importantly, by playing my story for the sheer joy and delight of it, and daring to hope that echoes and whispers of the mystery of God might be caught.
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1915 – 1918: War Music Movement 2
I recall many other ‘artistic’ and aesthetic activities in the trenches, including the playing of records (Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner) in an officer’s ‘Quarters’. This was before that…
4 min read
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1915 – War Music: Movement 1
Charles Woodhouse & I were aware that, during his stay in 1915 at Thomas Beecham’s Watford home, Frederick Delius came to know some of the teachers at the…
4 min read
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Interlude – a bit of a fiddle!
All this talk of my friend Frederick Delius has reminded me of some unexpected and surprising memories. In 1910, Thomas Beecham conducted the premiere of Delius’s new opera…
4 min read
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1914 – Musickings around the Great War
Before the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Charles Woodhouse played with me in an increasing number of works which had been inspired by Folk Songs, many…
4 min read
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Variations on a Theme – God or Superman?
Whenever I am involved in performances of Edward Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ or Frederick Delius’s ‘Mass of Life’ I cannot avoid the question of God. If ever there…
4 min read
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1900 onwards – A new century and conflicting rumours
With Charles Woodhouse’s ownership, my life took on yet another dimension. I now enjoyed the experience of being played in The Queen’s Hall Orchestra, in the newly instigated…
4 min read