Farewell To Stromness (Peter Maxwell Davies)

Stromness is a town in the Orkney Islands, off the northernmost tip of Scotland. Davies is not only a composer, but also an environmentalist and he wrote this piece in protest at plans to mine uranium ore in Orkney. "The slow, walking bass line that pervades the Farewell portrays the residents of the village of Stromness having to leave their homes as a result of uranium contamination. The Revue was first performed at the St. Magnus Festival, in Orkney, by Bron, with the composer at the piano, in June 1980. Stromness, the second largest town in Orkney, would have been two miles from the uranium mine's core, and the centre most threatened by pollution, had the proposed development been approved." (Wikipedia)