Paul Lewis

Decospherics

Four Jazz Age Dances for harp.
'Decospherics' is the name of a circle of ebullient Art Deco enthusiasts revolving around the fabulous Art Deco Weekends in Napier, New Zealand. Every year devotees of the 1920s and 30s descend on Napier from all over the world, dressed to the nines in period style, to spend three riotous days attending fashion parades, shows, dances and vintage car parades and having a generally rollicking time amongst the Deco architecture of this iconic seaside resort. The members of 'Decospherics' adopt a nom de guerre for the weekend and each of my dances is dedicated to a different member.
Charleston Chic - dedicated to 'Penelope', aka Lee-Anne Freeman, proprietor of the colourful Charleston Chic boutique in Napier, a veritable Aladdin's Cave of Deco attire.
Silent Movie Rag - dedicated to 'Charlie', aka Max Patmoy, whose unexpectedly anarchic impersonations of Charlie Chaplin enliven the Napier Art Deco scene.
Cocktail Blues - a sultry serenade dedicated to 'Forget-Me-Not', aka Sharon Elizabeth, cabaret artiste and composer's wife, whose one-woman shows have been a highlight of many a Napier Art Deco Weekend.
Flapper's Foxtrot - dedicated to 'Last-to-Leave Leigh', aka Leigh Gillard, evergreen epitomy of latter-day Deco, reputed far and wide to be the last to leave a party and never to go to bed on the day she got up!
Two of the melodies were inspired by my wife's and my participation as singer and pianist in the Napier Deco Weekends, and the other two were written for the 2010 National Jazz Festival to accompany vintage silent movie footage from the NZ Film Archive. By recasting them as harp solos I hope to provide harpists with a rare chance to let their musical hair down and recapture the spirit of the Roaring Twenties! 'Paul Lewis'
Duration about 11 minutes

With thanks to harpist Gabriella Dall'Olio, not only for her generous editorial assistance, but also for premiering 'Decospherics' in the Swiss Harp Festival, Ligerz, on May 6th 2017.