THE BIG FREEZE, by Huw Parsons

THE BIG FREEZE

by Huw Parsons

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1.	INTRODUCTION AND SHETLAND 03:40	info	buy track
2.	ORKNEY 01:05	info	buy track
3.	SCOTLAND 01:38	info	buy track
4.	GLASGOW 01:23	info	buy track
5.	NORTHUMBERLAND 02:43	info	buy track
6.	YORKSHIRE 01:32	info	buy track
7.	THE COVENTRY CAROL (Trad.) 01:25	info	buy track
8.	THE BLACK COUNTRY 04:25	info	buy track
9.	THE HEREFORDSHIRE CAROL (Trad.) 02:14	info	buy track
10.	BRECON AND BRISTOL 06:08	info	buy track
11.	THE SOMERSET CAROL (Trad.) 02:42	info	buy track
12.	HUNTERS IN THE SNOW 04:52	info	buy track
13.	FIELDFARES 01:20	info	buy track
14.	DECEMBER 05:03	info	buy track

about

In 2010, at the end of November, Britain began to experience the worst weather for decades. It came straight down from the Arctic and went on to last for two months solid. As it engulfed the country I was sat at home in Mid-Wales imagining the scenes in other parts of Britain. In my mind's eye I could see the blizzard make first landfall up on the Shetlands at dusk, with millions of snowflakes caught in the sweeping cone of light shining from Muggle Flugga's red-banded lighthouse. I saw it too in Glasgow, with the flakes as frozen polka dots on the black dresses of late night revellers. Then I imagined it as a powdery elegance turning the Black Country purest white.

Thus the poem was born and in the following days I went on to write scenes in many other places, trying to capture a cinematic vividness as before. Then the poem was put away and it languished in a draw for a few years, but during that time I was out and about meeting many fabulously talented people.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER:

'Birds of a Feather' are a very loose alliance of people who have come together to make this CD. None of us, except for the notable exception of Sting*, are that well known and some of us are amateurs in the sense that we make our livings elsewhere. Not one of the performers has been paid a single penny for their work, so this disc is, first and foremost, a simple testimony to everyone's unreserved and unconditional generosity.

As well as being an example of what can be achieved with a huge dose of goodwill, this CD also shows what can be done with modern digital recording equipment. Apart from Sting's* contribution, the voices and music here have been recorded in homes, makeshift studios and remote country churches.

So, now that this CD's been made we can only hope that you'll enjoy it – and if we can do this then so can you!

*Sting appears by courtesy of Cherrytree /Interscope/A&M Records.

credits

released June 3, 2016

INTRODUCTION AND SHETLAND: Voices – Huw and Mary Blance. Violin Drone – David Cooper Orton. Bells – Brecon (Saint Mary's) Hand-Bell Ringers. Violin (The New Rigged Ship – Trad.) – Caitlin Barrett.

ORKNEY: Voice – Lynn Campbell. Guitar, Bass and Strings – Remi Harris.

SCOTLAND: Voice – Eric Rollo. Stretched Piano – Cornelia Rahdes. Flute – Thomasin Toohie.

GLASGOW: Voice - Graham Leggat. Keyboard - Cornelia Rahdes. Violin Drone and Electronic Effects – David Cooper Orton.

NORTHUMBERLAND: Voices – Brian Teviotdale and *Sting. Violin – Jan Hurst. Guitar and Electronic Effects – David Cooper Orton.

YORKSHIRE (EAST & WEST READINGS:) Voice – Mark Amadeus. Didgeridoo, Jew’s Harp, Drums and Guitar – David Cooper Orton. Stretched Clarinet and Soprano Sax - Tom Selway.

THE COVENTRY CAROL (Trad.): Guitar – David Cooper Orton.

THE BLACK COUNTRY: Voice – Dave Wm Reeves. Guitar and Electronic Effects – David Cooper Orton. Flute – Thomasin Toohie.

THE HEREFORDSHIRE CAROL: (Trad.): Flute – Thomasin Toohie. Guitar – David Cooper Orton.

BRECON AND BRISTOL: Voices - Huw, Laurie Pyle and Mark Venus. Percussion, Guitar, Violin Drone and Electronic Effects – David Cooper Orton.

THE SOMERSET CAROL (Trad.): Guitar and Percussion – David Cooper Orton.

BONUS TRACKS

HUNTERS IN THE SNOW: Voice – Huw. Violin – Jan Hurst.

FIELDFARES: Voice – Christine Williams.

DECEMBER: Voices – Huw and the ghost in the mix. Guitar – David Cooper Orton with the clock of Saint Mary's Church in Brecon.

Special thanks to: Ian O'Regan – Marva Jackson Lord – Angus Kings – Rob Parfitt – Nicole VanGiesen – and Sting* for his generous contribution – and David Cooper Orton for his tireless work, and his unique compositions and arrangements, on this and many other CDs.

*Sting appears by courtesy of Cherrytree/Interscope/A&M Records.

Written, Produced and Directed by Huw Parsons.
Musical Direction by David Cooper Orton.

Email: peevishbeebooks@yahoo.co.uk

'Aye, it's canny like!' Sting.

'It's lit a fire within and I'm keen to find the fuel to keep it burning!' Mark Amadeus.

'A wonderful meditative journey around a wintry Britain.' Jill Pryce.

'Farbluss!' Jeff Evans.

'It lifts my heart.' Christine Williams.

'Every now and again you come across a gem celebrating the richness and diversity of the human spirit. The Big Freeze CD does just that and is a wonderful addition to anyone's collection of poetry and music.' Lisa Pryce.

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about

Huw Parsons Hay On Wye, UK

Huw Parsons was born in 1954, grew up in Llyswen, near Hay on Wye, and educated at Brecon Boys’ Grammar School and Chelsea College of Art.

He feels neither wholly English nor particularly Welsh, with his life’s diversity a social impostor and a cultural chameleon.

His influences: the poems of John Betjeman & Phillip Larkin, the novels of Leslie Thomas, the song lyrics of Sting & Jake Thackray. ... more