More Glass Than Wall
Nominated for a BBC Radio 3 British Composer of the Year Award, 2009
This was a fantastic project. In Summer 2008, 180 school children aged 8-15 from 6 Derbyshire school classes stood on an enormous outdoor stage at Hardwick Hall, with VIVA East Midlands Orchestra, and 2 soloists, conducted by David Lawrence, to sing More Glass Than Wall, a performance exploring the life of Bess of Hardwick. They had already sung it at two performances at Derby Assembly Rooms, and went on to perform it again at Buxton Festival.
It was the culmination of 10 months’ intensive work on a very large scale.
My role was to write the words for the hour and a quarter long oratorio, collaborating with composer James Redwood, who went on to write the music.
Derbyshire Writing Workshops
I made 18 separate visits to lead half-day creative writing workshops in all the schools, sharing ideas about Bess and helping the children to write their own pieces about her and to create a class song each to be inserted into the final performance.
Together we explored themes of construction and materials, possessions, everyday life in Tudor times, food, and servants. We wrote about all these things as well as herbs, keys, what makes us happy, being rich … We asked Bess questions, considered her initials, thought about who she really was, who we really are.
By the time of the performances, after weeks of writing, followed by singing and music workshops, the whole piece was put together in a masterpiece of organisation, and the final result was magnificent, professional, and incredibly well-received.
A book was produced including the words I had written, all the children’s writing, and a DVD of the making of the project and the final performance.
Challenging, exhausting, moving, rewarding, unforgettable.
