January by Piano in the Woods
In May 2013 a piano was left outdoors in private woodland near Canterbury, UK. Each month for a year the composer Sam Bailey played the piano, improvising in response to the instrument’s changing state.
The wettest UK winter on record meant that the wood of the piano had expanded, jamming all the keys. From January onwards the piano was laid on it's back, allowing e-bows, vibrators and other items to sit on the strings. This month was one of only three solo performances in the project.
The video was made by Ben Rowley on 16mm film using a Bolex clockwork camera.
The titles of the tracks are taken from the book Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. To mark the death of his father, Riddley and his community sing a lament called 'Sarvering Gallack Sea'.
For this month I have included a recording of the complete performance for those who would like to hear how things unfolded in real time.
Tracklist
| 1. | Flaming Nebyul Eye | 1:55 |
| 2. | Sarvering Gallack Seas | 2:27 |
| 3. | the hand what shapit the black | 2:01 |
| 4. | guyd us there and guyd us back | 1:55 |
Videos
Credits
Sam Bailey (piano), Ben Rowley (film), Sean Williams (mixing & mastering)
