I have been revising a piano
piece for its second performance this autumn. It’s called Bayvil – the same name as the small Anglican chapel of St Andrews,
near Newport in Pembrokeshire, built around 1812. The name seems to come from Norman-French Beauvil,
a "pleasant settlement".
It’s a wonderful example of an unaltered
rural church of two hundred years ago.
As you can see, its simple plastered
walls, slate floors, box pews, three-decker pulpit and flagstones hardly seem
to have changed since it was built.
It has been a redundant church for some
years and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches. From its
door the sea in Newport Bay is visible.
As with several
other recent pieces, this eight-minute piano solo reflects the plain unadorned
flat surface of its interior. You can hear it here. Here are a couple of pages from the score.
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