What the Lark Saw

Lane, Liz

Abstract

‘What the Lark Saw’ is a 20 minute composition for voices and ensemble (or voices, piano and optional violin) with integral contributions from workshop participants living and working within the Gloucestershire area.

‘What the Lark Saw’ is informed by George Meredith’s poem and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ music ‘The Lark Ascending’ and reflects on the lark’s imaginary journey around the landscape of Gloucestershire and the city of Gloucester itself, through the lens of participants taking part in workshops as wide ranging as batik, Bhangra, community choir, dance, friendship hub, inclusion hubs, memory café and schools, facilitated by regional arts practitioners.

This diverse output is distilled into a collection of five songs, the titles of which are taken from quotations from George Meredith’s The Lark Ascending in the order in which they appear – ‘Silver Chain of Sound’, ‘Starry Voice Ascending’, ‘Song of Sun and Rains’, ‘Voice of Ours’ and ‘That Song Aloft’.

Within the collection of songs there is also scope for interludes; space for creative responses from performers to the story of the lark’s journey and the songs themselves. This includes two notated interludes – ‘Circling Song’ (ensemble) and ‘Voice of One for Millions’ (violin).

The composition marks a significant upturn in my research into collaborating with other creators, with the total number of participants being around 200. During the six month working period, workshop outputs informed the process, structure and content of the complete work, evolving both specifically and generically through collaborative processes which included attendance at workshops, face-to-face and online meetings and discussions, collaborative Padlet, and email, telephone and WhatsApp exchanges.

‘What the Lark Saw’ was commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival with the generous support of the Vaughan Williams Foundation to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was first performed by Cheltenham Youth Choir, Cheltenham Children’s Choirs, Severnside Singers, Children of Elmbridge Primary School, Hannah Roper (violin), Nikkila Thomas (mezzo-soprano), The Aulus Duo, Sarah Waycott (flute), Cerys Rees (harp), conducted by Rachel Bowen, Gloucester Cathedral, 26 July 2023.

• Other Type: Composition
• Deposit Date: Sep 13, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11104586