I've loved the Fal since early childhood, with long summer holidays throughout the 1980s spent journeying around the Carrick Roads and the upper reaches of the Fal and the Truro River, as well as out into Falmouth Bay, in our family's trusty Wayfarer sailing dinghy.  When I commissioned to write this piece I decided to revisit these childhood haunts, and have based my music on the melodic and rhythmic qualities of 30 place-names along the river from Truro downstream to St Anthony Head.  I've split these into five groups of six names each:

                              Truro - Boscawen - Newham - St Clement - Trethowell - Penpoll

                                 Malpas - Old Kea - Trevean - Tolverne - Trelissick - Tolcarne

                                Penperth - Turnaware - Pill - Feock - Restronguet - Greatwood

                          Mylor - Penarrow - Messack - St Just in Roseland - Carclase - Trefusis

                    Falmouth - St Mawes - Carricknath - Pendennis - Black Rock - St Anthony Head

Arfie Treneer, much of whose working life has been spent on the Fal and the Truro River, kindly made an audio recording of this list, and I transcribed his pronunciation into musical notation.  This transcription forms the basis for the whole composition.  Arfie sadly died in the interval between the completion of the piece and its premier - I wish he could have heard it.

The piece is in ten linked sections. Section 1,3,5,7 and 9, all marked Maestoso (majesic) are harmonisations of the original transcription, with Section1 covering Truro to Penpoll, Section 3 Malpas to Tolcarne, and so on.  Each section is lower in pitch, more ornamented and more spaced out then the last, to suggest the broadening and deepening of the river as it runs seawards.

Sections 2,4,6 and 8 are more lyrical, dramatic, and varied in expression and emotion; they are freely based on the qualities of individual place-names, and on explorations of the harmony of the Maestoso section.  The final section is a broad, calm summing up.

Thanks to Arfie Treneer for recording the place-names, and to his daughter Mary for getting the recording to me.  Thanks also to Cornish scholar Russell Trevear Bennett for his generous help with the title of the piece; the title is roughly pronouned 'Han mor-teed mor-len-oh'.  Finally, thanks to my parents Nick and Helen Stephens for their help in finding Arfie and Russell, and in taking me on all those wonderful, vividly remembered sailing expeditions as a child.

Ha'n mor-tyd morlenow was commissioned to celebrate the purchase of a new piano - a Yamaha C7X - for Truro Three Arts at Mylor Theatre, Truro College.  The premier will be given by Philip Leslie; the scheduled concert has been postponed because of the Covid19 pandemic.  I wrote the piece in April and May 2020 during the lockdown.  It was a pleasure to work on it, casting my mind to the beautiful waters between Truro and the sea even while unable to be there in person.

The premiere is dedicated to Catharine English and Guy Dodd, both close friends and neighbours of my parents in their Cornish village, and both people with close ties with the river, and with music.  Tragically, Catharine and Guy both lost their lives - separately - in the spring of 2020.

                              Ha'n mor-tyd morlenow takes about 11 minutes to perform