A unique musical composition inspired by the Tweed and the journey of a Water Organ art installation along sections of the river will be premiered in the Scottish Borders next month as part of Connecting Threads, the cultural strand of the £25 million Destination Tweed initiative.
Flux Alluvia, by Borders-based composer, Greg Harradine, has been partly shaped using sensory data from artist Mark Zygadlo’s Water Organ, a sound installation and kinetic sculpture that travelled sections of the river last summer. Part church organ and part catamaran, the Water Organ’s sensors measure the temperature, speed and turbidity of the water, as well as recording the direction of the river flow, in order to create musical sound. Greg Harradine has used this data to influence the ebb and flow of the melody, the tempo and the keys of his composition and has combined this with his own impressions of the Tweed to create a unique collaboration between composer and the river itself.
Flux Alluvia has been written for string sextet and comprises three movements – The River Was, The River Is and The River Will Be– linked to particular stretches of the River Tweed at Peebles, Kelso, and Norham in Northumberland, each of which Greg visited to take in the atmosphere before writing the piece. As well as the river itself and the sounds of the Water Organ, Greg ‘s inspiration also included the age-old metaphor of a flowing river representing the passage of time.
The composition is one element of a five-year programme of creative activities organised by Connecting Threads, whose creative events, workshops, residencies and other activities are weaving cultural activity throughout the multi-faceted Destination Tweed initiative. A new 113-mile source to sea trail forms the core of the Destination Tweed project, and provides the focal point for a range of river and landscape enhancements, a community archaeology project, a community grants scheme and a number of educational initiatives. All will combine to deliver significant economic, environmental, educational and social benefits to the south of Scotland and North Northumberland.
Joanna Helfer, River Culture Animateur, Destination Tweed Connecting Threads Project said;
“While the Tweed has provided artistic inspiration for generations, we believe it is rare for the river to have so closely influenced the composition of a creative work. The combination of the data from the Water Organ and Greg’s talents as a composer have created a truly unique piece and we hope that communities from across the Tweed catchment and beyond will come along to experience the premiere of an exciting new work inspired by this very special river.”
Luke Fisher, Tweed Forum’s Destination Tweed Project Director said; “Destination Tweed’s Connecting Threads project aims to encourage communities to make deeper connections to the river environment and to themselves and also seeks to foster a feeling of shared ownership that will help to protect the Tweed in future generations. We hope that this new composition and the story behind its development will engage and entertain all who attend and illustrate the continued importance of the river as a source of joy and inspiration.”
Flux Alluvia will be performed at 3pm on Sunday 17 March 2024 in Kelso Old Parish Church by the Amici String Sextet, a group of professional musicians from the Scottish Borders, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Glasgow. Entry is free of charge.
The performance will be preceded by a screening of Tweed Sounds, a short film by Jane Somers shot during the Water Organ’s visit to the Tweed in 2023. Greg Harradine will introduce the performance and will take part in a short Q&A alongside artist Mark Zygadlo and members of Amici afterwards.
Connecting Threads is a Southern Uplands Partnership project and is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Creative Scotland.