Peace- Land : reflection-remembrance-response.
A visitor to Orkney, by great good fortune I attended Peace- Land in
the tranquil setting of St Nicholas Kirk by the shore in East Holm, on
Thursday 20th June.
The narrated piece of one hundred verses,
written by Gabrielle Barnby, was supported by four striking glass panels
that told the story of the German high seas fleet which went to its
ultimate fate in the waters of Scapa Flow one hundred years ago.
Gabrielle’s gentle reading was interspersed with verses translated into
German, read by Andrea Freund, and a section in Orcadian spoken by
Marlene Mainland. The evocative music of the Borealis hand bell group
and the violas of Elizabeth Duncan and Francesca Barnby created a
haunting atmosphere as the evening sun filtered into St Nicholas and lit
up Ralph Robinson’s glowing glass panels.
Gabrielle’s depth of
research was impressive, catching deep truths, and I was left feeling
profoundly moved by the flaws in humans which stain our history.
Keep memory honest, And peace safe, A whisper, In the noust of the heart.
MO and MM, Friends of St Nicholas
