Vendelas Christmas song (2:55)
Vendela Gold/David Kettlewell

with harp, guitar, bass, accordion, flutes, clarinet

The week before Christmas, Linnea, who was 8 then, was going to make a video-film of their two cribs and asked me to play the harp to it. Then it turned out that Vendela, who was 5 then, was going to tell the Christmas story too, it was a remarkable experience which led my thoughts in the direction of the old Viking saga tradition; it started off with my playing rather free notes to create an atmosphere, and her intoning in a freely sing-song way, but after about 10 minutes it turned out that I had drifted into repeating some bits of her phrases so that it became a recognisable tune, while Vendela drifted more and more into singing and picked up what the harp was doing; so this is the final version of the tune that we evolved together. The whole saga is on the DVD.

'The Dark Island' (2:12)
trad. Benbecula, Hebrides

with harp, guitar, bass, accordion, clarinets

Away to the west's where I'm longing to be,
Where the beauties of heaven unfold by the sea,
Where the sweet purple heather blooms fragrant and free,
On a hilltop high above the Dark Island.