The quiet goodbye

"Living in Scotland and spending time in the Scottish Highlands, it is clear to me how integral water and waterways are to the landscape and existence. I sense that humanity has all but forgotten this. There seems to be a belief that we can treat these precious ecosystems in any way we see fit without a care that we may be harming or killing them. When I first heard the recording of the Lech River I was instantly drawn to the serenity of the river and the peaceful lapping of the water. The sounds truly emphasised the beauty and importance of this cherished environment. 

"This recording focusses on the final part of the Lech River before it flows into the Danube. The written description noted this section as the Lech’s ‘quiet goodbye’ and I felt this was a perfect focus for my composition. It made me consider if the river were to actually say goodbye and disappear forever due to human interference. What if the water were to flow from the Lech River into the Danube until every last drop had gone, never to return, leaving an arid, lifeless riverbed. I wanted ‘The Quiet Goodbye’ to focus on this idea with a narrative of loss; a lament for a river that once was, a love song of sorts, a song of yearning for the departed.

"The satellite imagery shows the obvious changes in the water channel over time. It reminded me of the way human vessels bifurcate and degenerate, often becoming stenosed or occluded due to poor lifestyle choices. It struck me that the Lech River and surrounding landscape also suffered from these poor human choices and wanted this element to be part of the lyric.

"The song starts with voices moving over and through one another to convey the flowing sense of the river and lapping riverbank. This is followed by the piano which again, tries to convey the feel of water. The field recording is heard throughout acting as a reminder that the song is a constant longing for the river."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Simon Holmes and the Portobello Drone Choir. 

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.