As part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations, Henley Choral Society has commissioned a new choral work from Ivor Novello award-winning British composer Cecilia McDowall and Oxford-based poet Kate Wakeling. The world premiere of The Ice is Listening will take place in a Gala Concert at 7.30 on Saturday 1st April at St Mary’s Church, Henley-on-Thames.
With text created by Oxford-based poet Kate Wakeling, The Ice is Listening is described by the composer as ‘a cantata about the delicate relationship between water, ice and humanity and the intricate, longstanding connections between all three.
The work accordingly passes through time and space, both close and distant, exploring the uneasy pageantry of the 1683-4 frost fairs on the Thames, and reflecting on what we stand to lose as the Greenland ice sheet melts.’ Cecilia McDowall explains: ‘creating a cantata about the river was a wonderful ‘way in’ to explore a rich reservoir of ideas. We live in times when ice is increasingly under threat, causing sea levels to rise and rivers to surge.’
Kate Wakeling is a widely published poet whose work has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Collaborating with composers is an increasingly important part of her work, with her commission for Oxford Botanic Gardens and Oxford Lieder Festival receiving a 5-star review in The Times. Kate Wakeling explains: “The text for ‘Solid Waters’ the first movement, is drawn from a wonderful seventeenth-century manuscript that I found in Magdalene College library in Oxford. ‘An Historical Account of the Late Great Frost’ (1684) describes in marvellous detail the Frost Fairs of 1683-4 when the Thames froze solid and all manner of ‘Roasting, Boyling, Eating, Drinking [and] Rejoicing’ took place on its surface!”
The text for the second movement, ‘The Ice is Listening’, takes as its starting point a quote from the climate scientist Josh Willis who said ‘When the ocean speaks, the Greenland Ice Sheet listens’. Kate explained: “I spoke to Heather Lane, the Librarian and Keeper of Collections at the Scott Polar Research Institute and was fascinated to be told there are air bubbles trapped in the glaciers that are twenty thousand years old.
As the glaciers melt, this is lost. This felt to me like an assault on nature and history, as well, of course as having implications for humankind.” The third movement ‘Moulin’ takes its name from the waterfalls that form within the ice and are both beautiful and dangerous.
Chairman of Henley Choral Society Dr Tim Wilson said: “When we decided to ask Cecilia to compose a choral work to celebrate our 50th anniversary, drawing inspiration from Henley and the natural environment, I don’t think any of us could have imagined that we would end up supporting the creation of such a fascinating work with such a compelling and contemporary theme. We can’t wait for the performance itself.”
The world premiere takes place in a Gala Concert at 7.30 on Saturday 1st April at St Mary’s Church, Henley-on-Thames. Conducted by Richard Harker and with a cast of young soloists, the Gala Concert also includes the Vivaldi Gloria, and Bach Mass in G Major. Tickets and details www.henleychoralsociety.org.uk
Cecilia McDowall, composer
Born in London, 1951, Cecilia McDowall has won many awards including the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for ‘outstanding music collection’ for a ‘consistently excellent body of work’. She has been short-listed eight times for the British Composer Awards and in 2014 won the Choral category of the British Composer Awards for Night Flight.
Her music has been commissioned and performed by leading choirs, including the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, Oxford and Cambridge choirs, Kansas City Chorale, and at festivals worldwide. The Chandos recording of Spotless Rose won a Grammy award and was nominated for Best Classical Album.
‘She constantly tweaks the ear with her range of spicy rhythms and colours then suddenly produces a highly atmospheric and grippingly expressive interlude which is just as compelling.’ Gramophone
Kate Wakeling, librettist
Kate Wakeling studied music at Cambridge University. Her first collection of poems for children, Moon Juice won the 2017 CLiPPA Prize and was nominated for the 2018 Carnegie Medal. Kate’s second collection of children’s poems, Cloud Soup, was a Book of the Month in the Guardian and the Scotsman, while her poetry for adults has been widely published including in The Guardian, The Best British Poetry 2014 and The Forward Book of Poetry 2016. Work with composers is an increasingly important part of her work, with her commission for Oxford Botanic Gardens and Oxford Lieder Festival receiving a 5* review in The Times.
‘A poet to watch, her work an April rainbow of freshness and surprise.’ The Guardian
Richard Harker, Musical Director, Henley Choral Society and Henley Youth Choir
Richard is musical director of The Hythe Singers, Hampton Choral Society, Henley Choral Society and Parenthesis. He is singing lead at Beechview Academy, High Wycombe. Richard has been musical director for Fire Ring (London Armenian Opera); Unknowing; The Telephone (Teatime Opera); HMS Pinafore (Windsor and Eton Opera).
At Opera Holland Park he has been Chorus Master for La Bohème, 2016, Don Giovanni 2017, La Traviata; Cosi Fan Tutte 2018, Manon Lescaut; Un ballo in maschera 2019; Nozze di Figaro; Pirates of Penzance 2021. Also at Opera Holland Park he has been Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for La Traviata 2021.
Richard graduated with an MA in Choral Conducting from the Royal Academy of Music, receiving the Thomas Armstrong Prize. He read music at, and was organ scholar of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he received the Swinburne Prize. When not making music, he is usually found on his allotment, or walking his dog, Louis.
Henley Choral Society
Henley Choral Society is a friendly, lively, non-auditioned choir of all ages. We aim to sing together to the highest standard, work with young professional talent, deliver an exciting and varied programme of concerts to the local community and encourage the next generation of singers. To find out more, get involved, join us, and support us – visit the website. www.henleychoralsociety.org.uk
