Enid

[Rob MacKillop]

The above photo is one of a series depicting my music students, taken at a time when I was experimenting with camera techniques, in this case slightly moving and shaking the camera when shooting. While I love the image, it doesn’t quite reflect the subject. So…​

Exegesis:

So, my photograph, while interesting, failed to depict Enid the person.

Enid was a harpist, who came to me to study compositional techniques. Her background was in traditional music, which tends to have a constant rhythm and restricted melodic and harmonic palette. Enid was keen to develop her musicianship into new areas, so we discussed varying time values (“time-stretched”) and chords built on more open-sounding fourths (“quartalled”) instead of the usual thirds.

Enid takes her inspiration from nature, and a composition of hers we worked on at the time concerns a flight of red kites (birds) witnessed while walking in the Scottish borders.

“song-drawn” refers to the effect on the eyes when you are drawn-in to a song.

The last two lines are concerned with mortality...thankfully Enid is still with us.

The "Imperial Good Companion" is the name of the typewriter I used...

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Wow! What a touching ensemble of visuals and words. Already knew the excellent "flaming" photo, that I love, but accompanied by the typed poem on paper it gives a new level experience.

Edit: thank you for the exegesis, too.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

My pleasure, Gianluca. Most of my poems require explaining…

 

[Ralph Turner]

A really good, if slightly unnerving image, Rob. I also rather like the attendant poem, particularly the lyricism in the third stanza. My usual odd, tangental way of thinking interpreted the last stanza (particularly the last line) a little differently to how it's intended, reading 'calling time' not in it's usual meaning, but metering the music's rhythm.

Btw when I first glimpsed the title 'The Enid' I thought you were referring to the band..

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, Ralph.

The last two lines have at least two meanings: musical time and the 'beating wings of death'. She retired many years ago from a tiresome job, and wants to spend what time she has left in creative pursuits. That line picks up on that. I was happy to hear a couple of weeks ago that she is getting commissions as a composer now.

'The Enid' is a tongue-in-cheek nod to Virgil's epic poem, 'The Aeneid'. Humour is never far away in my work, though it's never of the laugh-out-loud, side-splitting kind.

 

[Brian Moore]

Although I love them both, I'm not sure which I love more, your photos or your poetry.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Really? I have no confidence about my poetry. You’ve made my day, Brian.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Although I love them both, I'm not sure which I love more, your photos or your poetry.

You are right @Brian Moore. For my nature or ignorance I love Rob's photos more, but I admire his poetry too.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, it all keeps me from going mad.

Voices off: "What do you mean? Going?!"