Programme Note
I had a phone call one day out of the blue. It was a fellow artist, the photographer Graham Mathews. He knew of my work and suggested a collaboration between me and the visual artist Catrin Webster to mount a performance at the new Galeria Comunale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. At this point I did not know Catrin’s work but I was soon able to visit her studio and attend a couple of exhibitions. What was apparent was creative work of immense vitality and profusion.
Two main strands quickly emerged. The first of these was apparent in the very large abstract paintings, broadly internationalist in outlook and influenced by Catrin’s time in Italy. The second strand was more intimate reflecting her connection with the Welsh landscape and with journeying in Wales. Both were a rich source of inspiration for this project.
There was little preparation time before the planned performance in Rome in December 1999 and only two movements of ‘Transports’ were given, under workshop circumstances. In early 2000 I completed the work and it comprises four movements as follows:
VENICE : DIPTYCH 1 & 2 / YNYS LAS (BLUE ISLAND) – NOCTURNE / WALKING / MAPPING
The first two are inspired by specific paintings. The third is an evocation of Catrin’s journeying in Wales – a Celtic ‘Songlines’. The fourth is the short series of diatonic chords on which the entire piece is based. It is a map of the piece, the innocent eye which observes or ear that hears.
A number of organisations jointly provided funds to commission the work:
– Arts Council of Wales
– Swansea Festival Patrons’ Association
– Friends of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
– West Wales Arts Centre, Fishguard
Thank you to all of them.