A Plaque for William Baines, Composer (original) (raw)

AT 12.45 p.m. today, the Mayor of Wakefield unveiled a plaque at the birthplace of composer William Baines (1899–1922) at 11 Shepstye Road, Horbury. The Civic Society, with the enthusiastic support of the Friends of Horbury Library, hope this will be the first of several plaques they have planned for the town.

After a buffet lunch at the library, I led a group of 30 people on a walk around the Bainesian corners of Horbury;

and finally we stopped at William’s grave.

At the Grave of William Baines

Although it’s exactly 85 years since William died of tuberculosis, aged only 23, today felt like a celebration. The floral tribute was arranged by Joan Fawcett of the Civic Society; she went for the natural look, to reflect William’s love of nature which is so evident in his music, to which she added a large treble clef fashioned from metallic tubing.

Robin Walker, who also added a small floral tribute, is the composer At the Grave of William Baines, first performed in Manchester in January 2000.

Student Project

In 1972, the 50th anniversary of William's death, I did some research, talking to his surviving friends and relatives as my final project at Leeds College of Art. This resulted in a leaflet (still available from me!), two concerts and an ambitious exhibition for the Harrogate Festival which included a slide show set to some of his music and reconstructed rooms representing the phases of William’s life.

Going through my Baines files to find material for this afternoon’s walk, I came across these pen and ink drawings (below) from an early rough for the leaflet. They’re my interpretations of his composition for piano, Paradise Gardens, inspired by the view from the walls of York on a summer evening, Goodnight to Flamboro’, in which you can hear the rhythm of the waves, and The Lone Wreck. I was more adventurous with my colour in those days. Perhaps Baines was a good influence on my imagination.

I also see a strong influence from Victor Ambrus, you can see I've tried to go for his wiry line, tumbling compositions and lively use of thumb-prints.

Robin Walker, composer; Robin Lawrence, Friends of Horbury Library & Joan Fawcett, Horbury Civic Society at the grave this afternoon.