Duane Andrews, guitar virtuoso of Newfoundland, has been steadily releasing a series of singles over the past year and while each of them handily showcases Andrews’ robust skills of performance and composition, there seems to be a thread of magic woven through his latest. Performing with the Conception Bay String Quartet, Andrews honours his long-time friend, Lynn Horne, with “The Heart of Eastern Passage.”
Lynn Horne has been widely recognized as one of the great champions of East Coast music. As a promoter and publicist, Horne has been credited with launching the careers of Ron Hynes, The Trews, and Charlie A’Court. For her contributions to the industry, she was awarded the East Coast Music Association’s Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Horne passed away in February of 2019.
In recognition of the effect Horne had on those around her, and certainly the friendship between them, Duane Andrews composed a waltz as a “tribute to her spirit,” taking its title comes from her home in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia.
For the recording, Duane brought together four of St. John’s finest string players to form The Conception Bay String Quartet: Nancy Dahn (violin), Heather Kao (violin), Kate Read (viola) and Nathan Cook (cello). Even among that abundance of talent, Andrews says that he feels that there is a little something magical hiding behind the notes that makes this piece extra special.
“This piece of music was written after we got the news of a friend of mine, my dear friend Lynn Horne, who passed away a couple of years ago,” explains Andrews.
“There’s something about that piece that I think her spirit is in there, you know? The more music that I make I find that that it is an extremely abstract process, really. It’s just so mystical. Where does it come from? So, sometimes it’s nice when you do have a direct sort of line, a connection between the source of the inspiration and the sound. Sometimes you can see that but in other times it’s like you just hear something and it’s like… and even after you’ve recorded it you can sit back and listen to it and it’s like ‘where did that ever come from even?’ It’s certainly still fascinating.”