Helen Glavin
Helen, your Phoenix Cantata has its first public showcase performance here in Lewes on 19th May. Would you tell us a little bit about the subject of it and how you came to write it?
I was originally inspired to compose the Cantata when I listened to stories of ex workers from the Phoenix Ironworks in Lewes speaking at Lewes Town Hall as part of the Phoenix project. Their stories resonated personally as my father and his brothers had worked at an iron foundry in Dagenham when they first emigrated here from Ireland. As a child I heard stories of this inferno place and the unbearable heat. So I had an epiphany moment to write a choral work in Lewes Town Hall! That was the seed inspiration and from that source the idea developed to compose a people’s Cantata. I presented the idea to Artemis Arts who liked it and so the choral work project began. It is very encouraging that the cantata is being developed in a partnership with Glyndebourne Festival Opera Education, it’s fantastic to have such endorsement.
Most composers writing a cantata or an opera work with a librettist but you wrote the words as well as the music. Why did you decide to do that?
I love words, I like to write and have experience as a lyricist for music
I’ve written for theatre and as a singer songwriter. As well as lyrics I also write poems so writing the text of the Cantata has been a natural extension of that in many ways. Also because the Cantata is my idea, to bring in a librettist even in a collaborative way means as a composer ultimately I would be writing music for someone else’s Cantata narrative. I did think about it at the start but Christine Hall of Artemis Arts said why don’t you write the words yourself? It was a challenging leap to take, but I thank her for the push because it has been an enriching personal experience!
What are you finding most difficult about writing the text?
Creating the text as well as the music for the Cantata brings a sense of artistic freedom as well as being a huge responsibility. I haven’t found the text difficult to write so far, demanding yes, I am quite superstitious talking about creative processes but I follow the words that come to me to initially guide the direction of the story and the themes. It has been a very natural process, but rather like writing a poem, sometimes you have to be patient and trust the words will come, of course the person waiting to set them to music is me! I was fortunate to be set on a golden path by listening to the oral histories of some of the ex foundry workers living in Lewes.
They provided a rich authentic source and directly inspired some of the text eg the chorus “Give us salt to make our blood run cold”, is based on a story of workers being given salt tablets to cool their blood because the foundry was so hot, soldiers in the desert are also given salt tablets…..
As well as the people’s stories I am inspired by exploring myths and legends of Sussex, our connection to the land, themes of war and the power of nature.
It’s been very intriguing because I had no idea at the start where the Cantata would lead…as the story moved beyond the foundry into the landscape – weaving the human and the mythic, no set chronological time frame, sometimes going to a dream like place.
Being a woman composer creating a story about a male world is actually very moving and I feel I am learning a lot. There are themes of iron, war and fire but ultimately it is a human story. I have brought in the feminine, our connection to mother earth, to nature, rebirth and peace. I hope there is a balance.
Can you tell us a little bit about the style of music that you are writing for this piece and why?
The Cantata has elements of classical, folk/world and sacred music, there is also a jazzy bebop choral piece. It is a people’s Cantata involving 80 -100 singers who range from experienced choir members to new singers learning by ear, a children’s choir and professional soloists. Without compromising I am composing pieces that are singable for new singers who don’t read music to more advanced pieces for the experienced choirs and soloists. It’s a wonderful opportunity to create a musical language for the Cantata. It is on a large canvas and includes elemental soundtracks and I’m exploring vocal soundscapes.
The cantata is still a work in progress, I am delighted that there has already been such a great response, this is the beginning……
The Phoenix is a mythical creature. How and why are you using this particular symbol?
The Phoenix Ironworks in Lewes was so called because the original was burnt to the
Men at the original foundry
ground and a new ironworks was built on the site of The Foundry Gallery. That is the source of the name The Phoenix Cantata. However the symbol of the Phoenix Bird rising from the ashes is powerful, and resonates universally. I love the mythical firebird that appears in different cultures all over the world. A mysterious creature that lives for a thousand years – is then consumed by fire, but is reborn. She is our songbird in the Cantata, a soprano soloist sings the role –and the Bird symbolizes hope, resurrection, rebirth, freedom. She is in the spiritual realm – on a human level I want to express the uplifting concept of renewal, of rising again from adversity.
You’ve involved yourself personally in these first showcase performances. What kind of a task has it been, choosing singers, soloists, musicians, a conductor and so on? And who are some of these people?
Yes I have involved myself personally, it has been and continues to be an amazing musical journey. From the seed of an idea, the Cantata has evolved and grown and gathered momentum.
Early on I was fortunate to be put in touch with John Hancorn the distinguished conductor and musical director. John came on board and has been a wonderful support, bringing in choirs and inspiring the singers in workshops and conducting the various excerpt concerts we have performed.
One of the major achievements of the cantata journey has been the forming of
The Everyman Ensemble
The Everyman Ensemble. Mostly men worked in the foundry and I knew we needed a male chorus in the cantata. People said men don’t sing! Of course that is not true! We put out the word to the community. Despite the difficult demographic we have a committed group of men, about 26 singers, ranging from 23 – 70 years, many have never sung before, among the group we have 2 ex foundry workers, students, a dentist, a Greek composer, a German photographer, the mayor of Lewes indeed! I am immensely proud of this group. Their cantata music is rooted in the folk tradition and west gallery singing, and includes contemporary ballads.
Oliver Hicks
I have been fortunate to have found a fantastic Everyman Ensemble soloist, a Lewes singer called Oliver Hicks. Olly has a great expressive voice and presence.
Daisy Brown
Our Phoenix Bird soloist is Daisy Brown a very talented young professional soprano, she has a beautiful voice and an ethereal quality.
We also have wonderful mezzo Thalie Knights featuring and the gifted 17 year old soprano Freya Bailey- Barker.
Four local professional musicians are joining me to form an ensemble for the May performances. They are Catherine Black – cello, Susan Moate – violin, Fabian Edwards – percussion, Mark Murphy – mandolin.
I will be playing the piano for the performances in May!
John Hancorn has brought in 2 of the choirs he directs, The Paddock Singers and the East Sussex Bach Choir. I am privileged to have all these singers and musicians participating in our showcase performances.
Where does The Phoenix Cantata go after this?
It’s wonderful that nearly 100 people are taking part in the showcase performances, I’m still very much creating and developing ideas. We have been invited to perform selections at various sites in Sussex such as Lewes castle, and the BBC have invited us to be filmed performing some Cantata music on June 24th as part of their History of English towns programme featuring Lewes. We are aiming for a full staged production of the Cantata in Spring 2013. So this really is just the beginning of the journey………
Article and interview by Paul Austin Kelly
© 2012, P.A. Kelly
