Paul Lewis

Echoes of Olden Times

A collection of pieces evocative of an age of wandering minstrels, kings and castles, by a composer with a lifelong fascination for all things mediaeval. Having composed many works for pedal harp, Paul Lewis was inspired to write these pieces when his wife, Sharon Elizabeth, took up the lever harp, an instrument very much at home among the oak beams of their Tudor house.

MONASTERY BELLS: Solemn bells call the monks to prayer. A gentle introduction to slow right hand scale passages.
TROUBADOUR: Troubadours were mediaeval minstrels who travelled from court to court, singing of romance and chivalry. The melody is evocative of the middle ages.
TIBBY TELOR by Sharon Elizabeth:Telor is the Welsh name for the warbler bird, and is also the name of a lever harp made in Wales by Teifi Harps. Sharon Elizabeth is Paul Lewis's wife and plays a Telor. The day the harp arrived she named it Tibby and composed this charming piece in ancient style to welcome him to his new home. Hints of warbling can occasionally be heard!
GREENSLEEVES: Contrary to popular belief, this is one of the songs that Henry VIII didn't write as it is thought to date from 1580, 37 years after his death! Greensleeves was popular in Shakespeare's time and is mentioned more than once in A Midsummer Night's Dream. This arrangement gives the left hand a chance to play the melody.
SARABAND FOR SHAKESPEARE: The Saraband was a slow dance, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. Paul Lewis wrote this one in the 20th century to accompany a reading from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
LAMENT FOR A KING: Richard III made headlines in 2012 when his skeleton was found beneath a car park in Leicester where it had lain since the king was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
LAMENT FOR A CASTLE: After standing deserted for three hundred years, the remains of Cathcart Castle were demolished in 1970. Horn calls introduce a melody in the style of a Scottish Strathspey, quiet at first but growing stronger as we approach the castle standing proudly on its hill.
HUNTING HORNS: Huntsmen sound their horns, calling to one another through the forest as they pursue their prey. French huntsmen still play music like this, keeping up their ancient traditions.
BLOW THE TRUMPETS: Echoing trumpets on castle walls announce the approach of a royal party.