Songs of Landscape and Legend
by Lisa Fitzgibbon
Ancient Rivals & Murder at the Cross composed by Lisa Fitzgibbon & Jon Fletcher / Rosie’s Reply composed by Lisa Fitzgibbon & Adam Horovitz
Inspired by the landscape, legends & characters made famous in Laurie Lee’s book Cider with Rosie
Down in the Valley
Song-Cycle & Community Project
Inspired by the picturesque Slad Valley in the Cotswolds, this song-cycle composed by Stroud-based singer/songwriter & music producer Lisa Fitzgibbon is informed by the life and work of local writer and poet Laurie Lee, whose writing explored our relationship with nature and the importance of community.
The Songs
Song #1
Swifts Hill
by Lisa Fitzgibbon
Listen below
Song #2
The Death of Florence Tuck
by Lisa Fitzgibbon
Listen below
Song #3
Ancient Rivals
by Lisa Fitzgibbon & Jon Fletcher
Listen below
Song #4
Winter in the Woolpack
by Lisa Fitzgibbon (melody trad.)
Listen below
Song #5
Murder at the Cross
by Lisa Fitzgibbon & Jon Fletcher
Listen below
Song #6
Rosie’s Reply
by Lisa Fitzgibbon & Adam Horovitz
Listen below
"So do I breathe the hayblown airs of home,
And watch the sea-green elms drip birds and shadows,
And as the twilight nets the plunging sun,
My heart’s keel slides to rest among the meadows."
– Home from Abroad, Laurie Lee
“This website is my audio mood-board, my work-in-progress project planner.
Music is usually dished up to us polished and completed. This website is a slow reveal… from the original song inspirations, to the writing process, the draft demo’s to the arrangements & (TBA) final multi-track recordings, video’s, release & live performances. It is a slow, long burn.
Please return to witness the songwriting process & creative evolution of the Down in the Valley songs.”
- Lisa Fitzgibbon
Cultural Recovery
Join Lisa as she researches and writes the songs motivated by the stories of community, legend and landscape from the beloved home and final resting place of the ‘Cider with Rosie’ author.
This cultural recovery project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and is designed to facilitate creative engagement opportunities by composing new music, sharing stories and exploring nature using historic and local narratives.
Performance
Lisa Fitzgibbon & the PowerFolk Quartet will be performing the Down in the Valley song cycle at the Stroud Festival - Saturday 22nd October 2022 at the Lansdown Hall Stroud.
To commemorates the 25th Anniversary of Laurie Lee’s death they will be joined by local poet Adam Horovitz, who will be reading excerpts of “Cider with Rosie”.
Book tickets:
Scheduled activities include:
The Stroud Songwriters Circle in the Laurie Lee Bar at the Woolpack Inn, Slad, Gloucestershire.
Youth music songwriting workshops inspired by landscape and legend at the Music Works in Gloucester.
A bespoke website featuring online video and audio content documenting the research and writing process of the five songs commissioned for the project.
A community concert at the Lansdown Hall, Stroud Sat 22nd Oct 2022, as part of the Stroud Festival to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Laurie Lee’s death. Tickets: https://www.trybooking.co.uk/BSEH
The Song-Cycle will also be performed at arts and literary festivals throughout the UK.
Performance
To commemorates the 25th Anniversary of Laurie Lee’s death in May 2022, an outdoor community concert will be held at Slade Farm in Stroud.
Along with several local musicians and poets, Lisa Fitzgibbon and The PowerFolk Quartet will perform the commissioned song-cycle in the belly of the magnificent Slad Valley, overlooked by the 'great ancestral hump' of Swifts Hill.
