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World Premiere of 'The Falklands Suite' By Alison Inglis The world premiere of 'The Falklands Suite' was performed at Christchurch Cathedral, Stanley on the evening of Friday 11 March. A large audience quietly assembled in the atmospheric gloom, lit only by a few spotlights shining down on 15 empty seats, some music stands and a number of larger instruments. Just after 7.30pm the performers walked out from the vestry to take their places. The expectant hush was broken by a challenging introduction from Jonathan Eato, before the musicians launched into their first public performance. 'The Falklands Suite' has been composed by 12 music students in years 10 and 11 of the Falkland Islands Community School (FICS), under the guidance of music teacher Shirley Adams-Leach and visiting composers Craig Vear and Jonathan Eato (calling themselves ev2). It is intended to be a musical interpretation of 'The Falklands going into the 21st Century'. The project began with a visit to the Falkland Islands in early 2004 by Craig Vear, en route home from time spent in Antarctica. The composer undertook a workshop with FICS music students, and from this the idea emerged of creating a piece of music which would represent the Falkland Islands today. The guiding force throughout has been FICS music teacher Shirley Adams-Leach, who fund-raised tirelessly with the assistance of students and their parents. One successful event was 'The Falklands Suite lottery', where participants paid £10 per ticket for the chance to own a large, attractive, newly-imported dark-green Toyota Landcruiser 4-wheel-drive vehicle. The lottery draw took place live on air in the studio of the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Studio (FIBS), with the fortunate winner being veteran Falklands musician Gordon Peck. Many friends and family members donated to the cause, and generous sponsorship was forthcoming from local businesses The Falkland Advertiser and Seaview Fishing, and from Falklands-registered charities The John Cheek Trust and Argos Challenge Award. The Shackleton Scholarship Fund, an arm of UK-registered charity the United Kingdom Falkland Islands Trust, helped meet the cost of flights for Craig Vear and Jonathan Eato. The Shackleton Scholarship Fund was set up in memory of Lord Shackleton, and his father the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, and provides financial assistance with the cost of bringing academic and 'quality of life' scholars to the Falkland Islands, to carry out research or to share skills with local residents. During the latter part of 2004 the students began working together as a team, meeting every Thursday evening under the guidance of Shirley Adams-Leach, sharing musical experiences, exploring ideas, and recording sounds from around the Islands including spinning wheels, bird calls, elephant seals, and the sound of FIPASS on a windy day which pitched a perfect B flat. With the arrival of Craig Vear and Jonathan Eato, the team moved up a gear, sacrificing their hard-earned 8 days holiday during Camp Sports Week, and meeting every day at FICS to compose and rehearse between 25 February and March 11 2005. Some weeks before the premiere the Penguin News reported that nerves were starting to appear among the students, worried that their work might not be appreciated. Shirley Adams-Leach confessed, "One said to me the other day that people here tend to prefer country music and this is very different." She added that, as with all music, 'The Falklands Suite' would not suit all tastes, but urged people to attend the premiere and listen to the music without any preconceived ideas or expectations. 'The Falklands Suite' is a 24 minute piece performed in one continuous movement, but containing four distinct sections, which blends environmental recordings with live improvised and traditionally composed performances. This was particularly evident during the section entitled 'FIPASS' based on the sound of the wind on Stanley's floating port. In contrast a haunting flute solo was played by Frances Douse, representing 'Albatross'. During his introduction, Jonathan Eato challenged listeners to open not only their ears but also their minds, saying the piece required a switch in perception, and was not something to be listened to whilst doing the ironing or driving the car. The reverse of the flyer handed-out in the Cathedral contained a quotation from Jules Combarieu, "Music is the Art of Thinking with Sounds". The piece has been created from the students' experiences in and around the Falklands, in Jonathan Eato's words "a musical response to the environment of the Falkland Islands and the musicians' experiences of living here". Although warned beforehand that the premiere would be a challenging and unique experience, some members of the audience were taken by surprise by the use of recorded conversation woven through the performance, and particularly the final section entitled 'Dion's grandparents'. The audience remained spell-bound throughout the performance, many moving forward at the end to inspect the musicians' scores, which showed little resemblance to a traditional orchestral score. The musicians themselves, drained, exultant, emotional, withdrew to the vestry together, to take time to come back to earth, before joining their families and friends in the nave of the Cathedral. 'The Falklands Suite' is indeed challenging. Sometimes it is discordant and chaotic. At other times full of harmony and grace. Many of the recordings fitted in so well - the sound of heavy rain on the roof, children playing outdoors - that it was difficult to gauge whether they were coming from the tape recorder or from outside the Cathedral. A typical comment from many members of the audience was "I'm not sure if I like it, but I'm very glad I heard it, and I hope they perform it again soon." Others commented on how strongly the piece impacted on them, and how much they enjoyed it. 'The Falklands Suite' is as far from 'muzak' as can be imagined, a piece which demands active listening and an individual response. Perhaps one day the young musicians/composers will reunite and extend the piece, satisfying the desire of many listeners to hear not only an environmental representation of the Falkland Islands entering the 21st century, but also a lyrical tone-picture. The performance was recorded, and played live on FIBS. Shirley Adams-Leach intends to broadcast 'The Falklands Suite' again on FIBS in the near future, using the opportunity to explain the composers' motivation behind each section of the piece. A CD recording is also to be released. 'The Falklands Suite' was composed and performed by:-
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