Richard Trethewey - Sons of Cornwall

After the success of his first two solo albums, Cornish singer, fiddler, cittern player and visual artist Richard Trethewey is back with a new short, but very significant EP. Sons of Cornwall is made up of two tracks, composed to celebrate two sometimes forgotten personalities associated with his home county and delivered with his trademark original style.

The first of them bears the name of its main character, singer Richard Jose (1862-1941), who emigrated as a lonely kid to America to become, after making his own way in bars and taverns, an acclaimed celebrity in Broadway and San Francisco; he eventually came back to his native area as a star in 1895. His story is here presented through moving words on a traditional sounding cittern-led arrangement.

The second track is a celebration of Methodist preacher William Stephen (1740-1822), a charismatic figure who effectively founded the still standing Leek Seed Chapel in St. Blaze. This time the tale is presented on a soft and syncopated piano substrate, enriched by Pete Bazeley’s playful touch on Eb bass horn, a sign of continuity with his excellent work Two Halves in which brass instruments provided a fitting contribution.

Poignant lyrics, evocative stories and lovely settings: once again, Tretheway treats the listener to some hidden gems of Cornish history with the skills of a natural storyteller and the class of a talented musician. We sincerely hope there will be more in the near future.