Cecilia McDowall Credit: www.ceciliamcdowall.co.uk
The Scott Polar Research Institute is proud to have provided the inspiration for a major new composition by leading British composer, Cecilia McDowall. Every time I read through Scott's 'final' letter it moves me deeply - those words are so alive, so 'present', so heartbreaking." - —Cecilia McDowall Here, in a revealing , McDowall explains how the tragic, but deeply personal human story found in Captain Robert Falcon Scott's last letter to his wife Kathleen became the starting point for a major new commission. What made you want to take on this commission? CM: About two years ago Heather Lane, Librarian and Keeper of Collections at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, invited me to visit the Institute and Museum. At the time the Museum was undergoing an extensive renovation programme. It really was a fascinating and atmospheric time to visit it because there was so much building work going on - bare wires coming out of the walls, a patina of dust everywhere and the outline of where the display cases would eventually be; intriguing stuff. And in the basement I saw artefacts which were being stored there out of the dust, just waiting to be brought back into the light once all was finished. I remember one dark shadowy room especially, where I saw scientific equipment, snow shoes, goggles, bulky clothing, cameras in leather cases, huge wooden sledges - but what struck me then, seeing so much, was how Scott and his team hauled such substantial, heavy equipment across those vast icy distances in the Antarctic.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
