Skyppan: A Collaboration between Bethan Morgan-Williams & Carl Rosman

‚Skyppan‘ is a new solo work for basset clarinet, composed for Carl Rosman between 2022 and 2024. The title derives from the Old English word skyppan (or sceppan), meaning to shape. As anthropologist Tim Ingold notes, this word lies at the root of the modern term landscape – not as something merely to be viewed, but as something continually shaped through action, movement, and attention over time. This understanding resonates with the ethos of the piece: ‚Skyppan‘ is not a fixed object but a terrain in flux, carved in real time through sound, breath, and bodily presence.

The piece draws inspiration from the contours of the mid-Wales hills, specifically the Kerry Ridgeway – a route that traces the spine of the borderlands, offering sweeping views north towards Snowdonia and south towards the Brecon Beacons. The experience of being in these hills – walking, observing, listening, singing – informs the work’s shifting perspectives and its sense of breath-shaped topography.

This work has grown out of a longstanding collaboration with Carl Rosman, whose artistry has profoundly shaped its development. An early version was workshopped at the Darmstadt Summer Course in 2023, while the piece was still in formation. What is presented now is the completed version – the culmination of shared exploration, experimentation, and two years of collaborative shaping and refinement.