An exciting new production from Jilly Jarman and Kate Stilitz describing the journey of a river from its source to the sea in song poetry chant and percussion. Covers performance composition and listening/appraising strands ofNational Curriculum music at upper keystage two and three. Script available in student book.You will require a license to perform this work at your school/youth theatre; please click here for more information and our application form.

Par SPEARS GREGORY. The Tower and the Garden is a setting of three poems for choir and string quartet. The texts juxtapose the dangers of technological hubris (the tower) and the need for a place of refuge (the garden) in a world threatened by war and ecological disaster. Each text suggest ways in which Catholic thought and imagery might challenge the status quo. The first text, poem 80 from the collection “Cables to the Ace,” was written by Trappist monk and social activist Thomas Merton. It is an eschatological meditation on the garden of Gethsemane, where Christ’s disciples slept on the eve of his crucifixion. Merton compares their slumber to society’s indifference to the destruction of our natural world by potentially dangerous new technologies and war. The second text was written by poet and Catholic activist Denise Levertov. It is a meditation on the Tower of Babel and the tendency for technology in the information and nuclear age to serve only its own growth and to potentially destroy our lives in the bargain. The third poem, written by Keith Garebian, is an homage to queer filmmaker Derek Jarman and his cottage garden at Dungeness on the English coast. Situated precariously between a towering nuclear power plant and the sea, the garden was Jarman’s austere refuge during the final months of his struggle with AIDS. While an atheist and highly critical of the church, Derek Jarman was intrigued by the role religious and hagiographic narratives could play in his filmic indictments of Thatcher-era Britain. This is most notable in his film The Garden, which was shot on location in Dungeness. – Gregory Spears / Niveau : Avancé / Répertoire / Chœur Mixte SATB et Quatuor à Cordes

Developed by Robin Jarman to enable anyone to accompany songs on the Piano without music change key when a song is pitched too low or too high and provide accompaniment when only the melody and chord symbols aregiven.It is ideal for teachers students parents and members of the community who would like to accompany sing-alongs. The book does assume that the student can sing in tune can read simple rhythm and notation isfamiliar with the treble and bass clefs and the piano keyboard and has a sense of humour and a desire to learn.The audio and video downloads available online walk you through the exercises providing additional instructionand help.