Hispaniola (English), 2008

A radio play for flute composed by Christopher Williams in collaboration with Barbara Held, ‘Hispaniola’ is a work in four acts somewhere between an experimental Hörspiel and an electroacoustic composition. Its title is borrowed from the protagonist ship of the mythical adventure novel Treasure Island, which functions as a source of material, a metaphorical axis, and an inspiration for the project as a whole.

Recorded by Lukas Simonis and Ferran Fages. Mixed by Lukas Simonis and Christopher Williams. Voices: Justin Bennett (Dr. Livesey), Amy Lucas and Terry Savage (the Protestant Boys), Barbara Held and Christopher Williams (Lillibullero and Overtures from Richmond). Including fragments from Mercury Theatre’s 1938 radio adaptation Treasure Island, directed by Orson Welles; fragments from the 1934 film adaptation of Treasure Island (featuring Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery), directed by Victor Fleming. Texts based in part on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (first publication 1886).