Rewild & Slow

Day 3: David Barton

Nature, Landscape and the Composer

 I’ve just taken delivery of a new CD of orchestral and vocal music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). It is no surprise that over half the pieces on the 15-track CD have been inspired by nature and the landscapes around us. Take the first three tracks alone: Burley Heath, The Solent and Harnham Down.

As a composer, I never fail to be inspired by the world and landscape around me. Composer, nature, landscape and music are inextricably linked. But this, of course, is nothing new.

There are composers who’ve sought to capture particular moments in time, such as Delius’s On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring. Other composers have composed in a way as to capture particular sounds of the natural world, such as Messiaen’s Oiseaux Exoqtiques which portrayed, through music, the birds of India, China, Malaysia and North and South America.

But I think the link between music and nature goes much deeper. Sometimes, rather than to emulate the sounds of the natural world, music can capture its atmosphere. Take Vaughan Williams’s Sinfonia Antartica with it’s sparse, almost relentless desolation; you can virtually reach out and feel the chill gripping your hands.

I’ve composed in both these categories. My Three Bird Songs (see below) for flute, clarinet and piano were absolutely about emulating birdsong in a light-hearted and playful way.

In contrast, All Year Round for solo flute (see below), painted a musical picture of each season. For example, Winter sought to capture the stillness of the barren winter landscapes rather than the sound of falling snow.

If we open our eyes and ears, nature can inspire our creativity, sometimes in ways which we don’t fully understand. As a composer, I can testify to this, and I’m sure many artists and creatives would do similar.

Music has the power to transport us to other places. At the beginning of a new year, and indeed, a new decade, why not close your eyes and see where the music takes you. Similarly, whatever creative works you produce, open your eyes to nature and see too where it might take you.

I have compiled a Spotify playlist of some of my favourite pieces inspired by nature, and by particular places and landscapes. Close your eyes, listen in and see where you can be transported this year.

David is a Staffordshire-based music teacher, mentor and composer, seeking to live and grow slowly and sustainably. Through his work, he seeks to embrace authenticity, creativity and simplicity, alongside a desire to situate his work within the natural rhythms of the seasons. You can follow his journey on Instagram here.