Pete’s Trees – Henderson:Hooper [CD]

Description

Pete’s Trees is the first full-length CD of fiddle and guitar duo Henderson:Hooper (Judith Henderson, fiddle, and Nick Hooper, guitar). It traces our journey as a duo, and includes a dozen tunes that we have written – and one composed by our daughter Rose whilst humming into a tent pole. There are also traditional or ‘anon’ tunes we picked up along the way, and tunes composed by fiddlers Pete Cooper, Bruce MacGregor, and Emma Peters.

The inspiration for our own tunes is diverse – a non-verbal message from Nick to Judith (Let Me Down Gently); a reflection of the movements of our baby daughter (Peppercombe Lullaby); Nick’s being misidentified by a fellow walker on the Scilly Isles (The Weymouth Postman); the light falling on the floor in our home (The Pool); a script about a young boy caught up in the second world war holocaust (Milkweed); and newly added (Farewell Aragog) from Nick’s score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The collection of recordings centres on Pete’s Trees, which Judith wrote in the Ruskin Mill valley near Nailsworth during an English Acoustic Collective summer school, whilst wondering where the trees might be that were planted in that area after the war by her neighbour’s father, Pete Pritchard, together with Laurie Lee’s uncle and cousin. The cover and sleeve note photographs and line drawings are by Pete’s grand-daughter, Jebet Mengech, and the design is by Peter Beatty.

[Judith’s] playing is a total delight throughout, a textbook demonstration of how the simple combination of guitar and fiddle can speak volumes. The tunes defy boundaries between folk, classical and the wider palette of film music for which Nick Hooper is renowned. He may be the famous composer of Harry Potter film music, but he’s also an expressive guitarist, a perfect match here with Judith’s sumptuous fiddle.Jon Bennett, Shire Folk

To read the full review, click here.

Absolutely beautiful … A fabulous album. I just love it … Music pours from the fiddle and guitar. Very atmospheric.Chris Leslie, Fairport Convention

CD running time 62.28