Eden Rock - which was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for Mark and Morgan - is based on poems by the Cornish poet, Charles Causley.
Charles Causley
Stephen McNeff wrote: I knew Charles Causley well and worked closely with him from the late 1970s for about 15 years. Although we worked mainly on theatre pieces, he was also keen that I should set his poems and often made suggestions which he thought would work well or be particularly interesting. After his death in 2003 I did not want to rush into memorializing Charles (though I had written an orchestral work called Secret Destinations for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra which contains a movement entitled ‘Eden Rock’) but, for his centenary in 2017, I wanted to compose something that would bring together his words and my music once again. I was spurred on by the chance to write for Mark Padmore – one of the finest interpreters of English song – and the adventurous guitarist Morgan Szymanski for whom I have written a number of works. These songs - which were a BBC Radio 3 commission - are not a reverence or memorial, but I hope embody the energy of Causley’s vision and find a musical equivalent of his colour and imagery.
