Last year I watched a short documentary by Castagnari accordions, an Italian family-run workshop that has been producing accordions since 1914. On their website, they say that some call the instrument “box of the wind”, others “box of the soul”. In a series of short films they showcased musicians who use their instruments, one was Will Pound. Besides offering a beautiful overview of his own passion for the instruments he plays as well as how open-heart surgery first led him into music it also highlighted how music really knows no borders…here were two bodies (one the instrument maker, one the player) connecting over their shared love of music.
It’s quite a beautiful turn of events then that for his next project, titled ‘A Day Will Come’, Will Pound should celebrate the traditional musicians of Europe, as well as their music, many of whom he will have met in his travels. It will feature music from 27 member states of the EU across 14 tracks. He’s been very clear that the project was not about, or driven by politics, “it’s about identity, music and the subject of home… The idea is to discover and celebrate the traditional music of the countries that make up the European Union. It’s been an absolute privilege to learn about the diverse folk music traditions and compose or arrange tunes influenced by them. Although I am familiar with the music of some of the countries I particularly wanted to learn about the music of Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and Malta.”
Before venturing further, if you’ve not yet seen the video I’ve referred to then watch it below, it’s also a great introduction to Will:
On ‘A Day Will Come’ are a number of special guests including Scotland’s Dame Evelyn Glennie (‘the world’s premier solo percussionist’). Says Will: “It is wonderful to get someone of her stature to be part of this project and I am really looking forward to working with her. She will be playing a Bulgarian rachenista and a new tune I have written based on Romanian folk music.”
Also featured is another Scottish musician – 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year nominee Jenn Butterworth (Songs of Separation/Kinnaris Quintet) – an outstanding guitarist.
Joining Jenn will be multi-instrumentalist Jude Rees (Jim Moray, RSC, Pilgrims’ Way) and stand-out fiddle player Patsy Reid, the former Breabach member who has been described as ‘the most in-demand traditional fiddle player in the UK’. The ensemble will tour venues in April/May 2020 followed by summer festivals. Confirmed tour locations include Oxford, Sheffield, Settle, Bury St Edmunds and Warwick.
Supported by Arts Council England, the album and show will also feature new poetry by Polish performance poet Bohdan Piasecki (left). Poland’s first Slam poet, he is now based in Birmingham and the poetry will be inspired by interviews with EU nationals that have made England their home.
To research the project, Will set off on a road trip in May which took in Malta, Bulgaria, Latvia and Croatia.
MALTA: “In Malta I met a fantastic pipe maker and musician called Francesco Sultana – he talked to me about his background, how he got into music and creating bagpipes or Zagg, made from complete animal skins.”
BULGARIA: “In Bulgaria I visited the city of Dobrich and met Zhivko Zhelev, leader of the Dobrudja State Folk Ensemble. He talked about his career and how he had become leader of the ensemble. He also organised a demonstration by dancers, musicians and singers which was incredible and I ended up having a little jam with them.”
LATVIA: “I interviewed Valdis Muktupāvels, a Latvian ethnomusicologist, musician and composer.
CROATIA: In Zagreb I spoke to Dunja Bahtijarevic and Barbara Majnaric about the music of the Balkans. Dunja will guest on the album”
Says Will: “It has been a real voyage of discovery to spend time with fellow European musicians and see them play the traditional tunes of their countries. Now we want to do them justice and record an album that does them proud.”
More here: http://willpound.com/