In October 2020, Adam Summerhayes (fiddle) and Murray Grainger (accordion) of improv folk duo The Ciderhouse Rebellion announced a new project titled Words of a Fiddler’s Daughter, on which they were joined by Adam’s daughter, poet and wordsmith Jessie Summerhayes.
They self-released their debut album rúnian featuring eight cinematic folk-tone poems set to spontaneously created music and a book of ten poems. They are now planning to release their next album, ‘Colonsay Tales’ (a double album), in early 2022.
Earlier this year, award-winning folk singer, conservationist and curator Sam Lee and author of ‘The Nightingale’ put a shout out on social media for new compositions inspired by the perilous fate of the Nightingales for a Nest Collective online event in May. In response, Adam, Murray and Jessie composed ‘To A Nightingale’ and knew just the atmospheric spot to film and record the piece – at Nine Stones Close on Harthill Moor, Derbyshire.
“Working with Adam and Murray is instinctive and natural – their instruments and my voice seeming to create a cohesive whole every time we perform. In a time of such uncertainty, I turned towards the constant – the natural world around me.” Jessie Summerhayes.
For Jessie, Sam’s appeal provided the perfect starting point for a new poem, following the eco-theme of much of her poetry. As always, the poem was written fast, as an instinctive reaction to what Jessie already knew about the nightingale. She says, “It’s about never having heard the nightingale and hoping that’s for geographical reasons, but fearing it’s actually because of a failing relationship with nature.” Recorded at dusk, it’s a lament for the disappearing habitats and the ecological impact this has on all species facing decline and possible extinction. The video was used by Sam for the online event and was very well received.
The three were so captivated by the location that they returned in the morning to film The Grey Ladies, which we have the pleasure of premiering today ahead of its release this weekend.
Jessie says: “The stones of a stone circle are figured as old dancing grey ladies, picking up on the idea that the nine in the name is a distortion of noon. The story goes that the fairies would dance at noon.”
While Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger are used to improvising as a duo, their instinctive interplay sounding completely natural, Jessie’s poetry blends perfectly, bringing her own tone to the performance as well as carrying an immersive weight. Elemental and equally perceptive, they are quite a unique trio, drawing as much from nature and the land as each other.
The trio are also collaborating for a The Ciderhouse Rebellion (ACE funded) project on the North York Moors – Ironstone Tales which will be featured on Folk On Foot in October and released later this year. The project of improvised music, and Jessie’s poetry inspired by the landscape, explore the echoes of a vanished industrial world and will be filmed and recorded at multiple sites telling the story of Rosedale and the Ironstone Mines.
More here: https://fiddlersdaughter.com/