Words, music, spirit of place. Heart of Stone was and is all of these, inspired by real memories and stories of quarrying on Portland when life on the island worked to the rhythms of the stone quarries and stone mason workshops.
The album is available on Bandcamp in the link below – this was recorded at Eype centre for the Arts near Bridport, in 2021 as part of the Heart of Stone community play project phase 1. The community play sparked by huge interest in the oral history research and conversations I had with former quarrymen Rab Stone, Trevor Mccolm and Mr Paul Knight. We were so grateful for Arts Council Funding and support from Dorset Community Foundation Performing Arts Fund to make this happen and toured the following year across Dorset, performing to hundreds of audiences and meeting people in outreach activities. The activity and oral history outreach continue in partnership with Portland Museum.
There are 14 tracks including Portland Blessing, Vikings and Song of Longing. All performed by Island Voices Community choir and our professional theatre team. My words, beautifully set to music and voices by composer Lucie Treacher, choir director Su Lewis and musical director Al Simpson.
photos above by Rob Jayne