Rick Westhorpe Music

Rick Westhorpe Music

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Music

Hawthornia

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Hawthornia - instrumental music by Rick Westhorpe

It has been an exceptionally beautiful spring here at Pistyll Gwyn. Good weather, multitudes of wild flowers and birds and the crowning glory of the hawthorn blossom. We have many hawthorn trees and this year’s display has been spectacular.

This piece of music evolved over the spring months and has come together today, as the end of May approaches and the hawthorn blossom starts to fall, heralding the start of summer.

Download ‘Hawthornia’

Hawthornia5.mp3 (3 MB)

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A View from a Hill

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Rick Westhorpe - View from a Hill

Originally written for ‘The Time Now Standing” a community theatre production in Exmouth, back in 1995. When I used to work for Exeter and Devon Arts Center. We were creating story snapshots from our own lives, one of which was of a women who used to walk her dogs on a hill near Exmouth, giving her time to reflect, re-energise and escape. The story was worked into the play, with an earlier version of this music.

Twenty years later I am living on my own hill and I find the music has returned as I walk my own dog, reflect and re-energise (not escaping though). The hill lies east of Talog, near Carmarthen in West Wales and we look north-west over the village and the Cywyn valley. The music is simpler despite being asked to stand on its own with no words, unlike the earlier version.

Download ‘A View from a Hill’

A-View-from-a-Hill.mp3 (3 MB)

Dedicated to Liz, her dogs, and hill-lovers everywhere.

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Do you still walk? (2012)

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Bench made from wood from St Peter's Church bell tower in Wisbech

Written in the months after my mother’s death. I haven’t created much since we moved here, but sometimes things need to be written, so it was back to the computer and keyboard.

Download Do you still walk?

do_you_still_walk.mp3 (4 MB)

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Breathing the city (2000)

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Breathing the City music by Rick Westhorpe

Breathing the City is an instrumental reworking of one of my first songs. The tune and chord progression have haunted me for many years so it has been revisited several times. This version is focussing on atmosphere, and was a conscious attempt to start embracing and experimenting with a wider pallet of sounds and textures – elements I had previously used in my theatre work but tended to avoid in songs and personal music.

The mandolin was an important link for me to the first 1979 recording – Swan plane – which can be found here.

Download ‘Breathing the City’

breathing_the_city.mp3 (6 MB)

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Winter Solstice

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Winter Solstice - instrumental music by Rick Westhorpe

This started life as a mandolin piece I composed in 1981. I’ve tried to keep some of that mandolin-y feel to it whilst widening the palette considerably, into guitar and piano sounds as well as tuned percussion.

The inspiration of the Winter Solstice is probably my version of a Christmas song – the turning point at the end of the year always feels very poignant and significant to me. I no longer have any firm religious beliefs, but if I did, this is where they would be – in the dead of night, dreaming of light and warmth as the snowflakes come down.

Download ‘Winter Solstice’

Winter-Solstice.mp3 (3 MB)

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