Eight Bells

John Kefala-Kerr

 

 

This is a music work being presented in a seafront shelter as part of Shimmer. Originally premiered in June 2011 in St George's Church, Cullercoats, by the violinist Helen Critten, Eight Bells: Elegy for Violin & Soundtrack grew out of a Rednile Projects Factory Night event hosted by the Dove Marine Laboratory in Cullercoats.

 

Eight Bells commemorates the centenary of the celebrated American artist Winslow Homer, who from 1881-82 was a resident of Cullercoats. The music takes its title from an 1886 painting of Homer’s depicting two seamen using sextants. In nautical parlance “eight bells” refers to the striking of a ship’s bell at the end of a four hour watch. The expression is also a euphemism for death. The piece echoes the painting’s concern with time, place and finitude. It does so by triangulating three north east coastlines of auto/biographical significance—Cullercoats (UK), Portland Maine (USA) and Pelion (Greece).  The composer collected sounds from these three locations to create this set of eight haunting variations.

 

John Kefala-Kerr is an award-winning composer and sound artist, having written operas, multimedia pieces, orchestral and chamber works. His work has been performed at festivals and venues in Europe, USA, and Japan. Visit his external website here

 

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Check out the other works at Shimmer 2011;

 

Diversiónby NOVAK Collective

Flash Fog by Colin Priest

5 O'clock Shadow by Arcus Studios

Motion Picturesby Infinite Arts

Promenadeby Gavin Lockhart

Drop it like it's Hot by North Tyneside Youth Circus

 

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