john mcguinness

Where?

Over the past six months I have written some new piano pieces. These “Songs Without Words” are relatively short and are unashamedly romantic in style.

Each track is a composition in its own right. However, they are connected to each other emotionally and intellectually. They are sincere expressions of my inner world, my “inscape” as it interacts with the “landscape” around me.

As I write this, we are still experiencing the demands of lockdown but, at least, there is a semblance of a return to some kind of normality in the not too distant future.

Music is a wonderful gift of communication and I have been touched throughout the pandemic by the way so many people have danced, sung and played music in order to keep everyone’s spirits high, bring us socially together and provide us with dreams of a better tomorrow.

I rather suspect it will take many years for people to absorb the enormity of the pandemic and its effects on our lives. Slowly but surely we will become less “anaesthetised” to the full social, psychological, cultural and economic damage and gradually awaken to the full horror of the death toll and of a world changed utterly. As with all change, however, it will bring positive outcomes as well. One thing for sure is that we will awaken gradually to a fuller awareness of the fragility of our existence.

I have always believed that communication through music can help us to come to terms with loss and bereavement and begin to dream again. It is in this spirit that I wrote these little pieces of piano music.

The songs have a different feel to my last album “Requiem” (2020). Whereas “Requiem” was about a world of loss and sorrow, hurt and anger, my latest set of songs is about a world of conciliation, new beginnings and tenderness.

“Where?” is a little melody that I found myself whistling. I wrote the melody down and then added a simple chord progression. I don’t do words – I’m useless with lyrics. This annoys me intensely because sometimes my little tunes suggest words and I hear little phrases in my head as I hum the song. As is characteristic of me, I select one of these little phrases as the basis for a title. Funnily enough, “Where?” seems to fit perfectly the sense of searching which I often experience as I walk in the woods.

If you are interested in my little piece “Where?”, it is available on most channels – Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Apple and many more… click HERE

Willington, on the Banks of the River Trent

Willington Bridge
The Black Swan
Pastoral Scene

I live in Willington, a thriving village on the banks of the River Trent. There are so many beautiful walks along the river and the canal. As mentioned in my previous blog, these have provided me with many of my musical themes and ideas.

There is a richness and diversity of fauna and wildlife as well as a rich history both ancient and modern. On the other side of the river is Repton, the ancient capital of Mercia, home to one of the oldest public schools in England and St.Wystan’s Church. The crypt of the church was used as the burial chamber for the ancient Anglo Saxon kings and in its grounds were discovered the graves of vikings who had come up the Trent in their longboats and settled in the Repton area.

At Swarkestone, another neighbouring village, one can see the commemorative plaque to Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army. It marks the spot where Charles and his army turned back to Scotland on his ill-fated attempt to win back the British Throne for the Stuarts. Soon afterwards, they were decimated at Culloden!

When I was first widowed, I would walk the fields, discovering so many new things about Willington’s past, its geography, its history, its social and cultural life.

Many of the Piano pieces in “Riversongs” and “Among the Willows” are early attempts to capture the ambience of this place

In the last year, I have written a set of orchestral poems about my countryside “ haunts” entitled “Songs of the Trent”. I have not yet sent these for general distribution but I thought I would upload one or two of these musical poems in advance for you to hear.

I do hope you enjoy them.