The work of a poet at Liverpool Hope University has influenced a new piece of music from an award-winning composer.
In Their Wake is the latest composition from international artist Christopher Cook, which was inspired by The Well at Winter Solstice, a collection of poems from Dr Eleanor Rees, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of Humanities.
Published in 2019, The Well at Winter Solstice is Dr Rees’ fourth collection and comes with the following synopsis:
These are the voices of those who are silent: in the graveyards, holy wells, the river, the changing tides. A ghostly choir of lost children, hermits, lovers and rough sleepers, serving maids and sailor boys, saints and hermaphrodites resounding through the rhythms of the water. Places and objects communicate also: a chapel, oak tree, back-lane, woodland, riverside town; bones sing and a bell tolls. The poems speak with them and for them, channelling their messages, their visions and their warnings.
The Well at Winter Solstice was recognised at the 2018 Northern Writers Awards, receiving praise from fellow poets Penelope Shuttle and Helen Mort, with Bridie’s Tomb the particular poem which provided the inspiration for Cook’s composition.
“I was moved to learn that my poems were making connections beyond my influence and finding resonances with other creative artists,” said Dr Rees.
“I love classical and contemporary music and to know that the poems had spoken to a significant composer in this way was both astonishing and exciting. I am looking forward to hearing the premiere of the piece performed by acclaimed musicians.”
A composer of contemporary classical music and soundtracks for film and TV, Cook won Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s 2022 Rushworth Composition Prize, which recognises talented early-year composers.
He is set for a world premiere performance of In Their Wake at the Philharmonic’s Tung Auditorium on Wednesday 11 October, which includes a quote from Bridie’s Tomb.
Reflecting on the inspiration Dr Rees’ poetry provided, Cook added: “I was fascinated by Eleanor’s writing concerning the idea of liminality and transient states and my piece is based on the idea of the ephemeral nature of our lives and the traces we leave behind.”
The last few remaining tickets for Christopher Cook’s performance are on sale now and priced at £20.
Photo credit: Elly Lucas.