Thickness

2000

flute, viola + fixed medium (stereo)

8’00”

Commissioned by:

Scottish Chamber Orchestra (funded by Shell UK)

Thickness is the preferred name used by fishing communities on the Buchan coast of NE Scotland for the coastal sea mist or haar which rises from the sea and creeps slowly across the land. There are many superstitions and stories about this sea mist, passed down over generations. One such story, of which examples can also be found on parts of the east coast of North America and Canada, tells of widows leaving the front doors of their homes open as the thickness starts to creep over the land; legend states that the souls of fishermen drowned at sea were contained in the mist.