Published: 23 Feb 2023
Gareth Williams and Deidre Graham, image by Kris Kesiak.
The famous last lines of iconic Scottish texts Sunset Song, Lanark, Peter Pan and Treasure Island are to feature alongside the song from the last page of Jackie Kay’s The Pink House and Kirsty Campbell’s joyful farewell in Ely Percy’s Duck Feet in an intriguing new collaboration between composer, singer-songwriter Gareth Williams and an array of Scottish fiction luminaries.
In Songs from the Last Page, Williams is drawing directly from the final moments of some of Scotland’s most influential and much-loved works of fiction, and inspiring readers of all ages to re-engage with their favourite stories reimagined through music – a 12-track pop/classical album and Scottish tour.
Listen to The Song From The Last Page Of Lanark
Williams comments: “This new suite of songs for voice, piano and string duo captures the moment a reader finishes the last lines of a book and holds on to this feeling for just a few more minutes.
“The album will be a true celebration of the rich musical and literary worlds of Scotland and will include unforgettable and fantastical lines from much-loved historical and contemporary works.
Explaining the origin of the work, Williams said “I’ve always been a big reader and really enjoy working with text. During the pandemic I looked towards my bookshelf for inspiration, delving into the final pages of my favourite works, and dabbling with the notion of using the last lines to create new songs.”
Award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist Jackie Kay commented: “This is a first for me - lines of a story made into song. I'm excited to hear what Gareth Williams makes of the lines from The Pink House. The story was originally published in my book Reality, Reality. I love the idea of these lines fashioning a whole new reality through music.”
Some of the stories set for potential inclusion on the album include: How to be Both by Ali Smith, At the Loch of The Green Corrie by Andrew Greig, Lanark by Alasdair Gray, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Duck Feet by Ely Percy, News Of The Dead by James Robertson, Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers, Peter Pan by J M Barrie, Pink House by Jackie Kay and The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Listen to Gareth Williams on Songs from the Last Page
The full album will be recorded in April this year followed by its launch at a week-long residency at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, where each evening, a new song will be written specially for that concert - taken from a suggestion submitted by the public in the weeks leading up to the Festival.
Songs from the Last Page is among 37 receiving a total of £791,837 National Lottery funding in this latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards. At a glance, projects also include:
Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland said: “This month has seen the launch of two new funds: the National Lottery Open Fund for organisations and a new time-limited National Lottery Extended Programme Fund, marking an important step in the delivery of our new approach that will enable even more innovative and exciting creative activity to unfold in the year ahead and beyond, inspiring people of all ages across Scotland.”
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