Programme Notes
A Pilgrim's Tale (Educational Project)
A Pilgrim’s Tale was written for three ensembles drawn from local secondary schools: Heath End, Wavell and Weydon. Each ensemble is featured separately during the course of the piece and has its own specific role. However, there are also sections (notably at the beginning and the end of the piece) which bring the three ensembles together.The piece tells the story of a modern day pilgrim/traveller who is retracing the steps of past travellers and pilgrims by walking along the old ‘Pilgrim’s Way’ route from Stonehenge to Canterbury. This, and other ancient routes, meet at a crossroads in Farnham and it is there that the pilgrim arrives one morning and decides to spend the day.
Meeting up with some local residents, he enthrals them with tales of the different types of people that must have travelled through Farnham over the centuries, and what they might have encountered there.
The three tales are drawn from real events that took place in Farnham and each tale features an important local building: St Andrew’s Church, Waverley Abbey and Farnham Castle. The people passing through are fictitious, although based on people who might have travelled through Farnham at that time.