Rhythm of Light mvts. 1 & 2 | BBC Radio 3 broadcast | Hepworth Band and Ryan Watkins | 29/06/15

Movement 1 'Landscape' and movement 2 'Shadow cast by the sun'. Broadcast on BBC Radio 3 Brass Banding with Hannah Peel, 29/06/25. Recorded by Hepworth Band, conductor Ryan Watkins.
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'Rhythm of Light' is a suite of four movements celebrating the life and work of sculptor Barbara Hepworth which can be performed together, separately or with different pairings, unified by thematic material. The movement titles are based on some of the sculptor’s quotations which discuss her influences and artistic approaches; these helped shape my creative concepts and musical perspectives. The title itself is inspired by her many mentions
of both rhythm and light. Within the music there are references to her wide scope of interests such as form, texture and dance; I was also influenced by her sculpture Three Obliques (Walk In) (1968), situated outside Cardiff University School of Music and which formed a background to my studies as an undergraduate and PhD student, and later as an associate lecturer.

The first movement, 'Landscape', sets the scene and reflects on how memories of her Yorkshire journeys as a child remained with her throughout her life. The music ebbs and flows with the hills and roads before slowing slightly to reach the crest of the hill (the only tempo change), then returning to the constant patter of the engine.

The second movement, 'Shadow cast by the sun', is reflective – the sculptor working and creating on her own but not alone (like writing music); there is a sense of isolation before sharing the work with others.

Liz Lane, April 2021
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Movement titles and quotation origins:

1. Landscape
“Moving through and over the West Riding landscape with my father in his car, the hills were sculptures; the roads defined the forms.”
Barbara Hepworth, speaking in the BBC film Barbara Hepworth (1961)
www.hepworthwakefield.org/artist/barbara-hepworth

2. Shadow cast by the sun
“Every shadow cast by the sun from an ever-varying angle reveals the harmony of the inside to outside.”
Extracts from Barbara Hepworth: Carvings and Drawings,
with an introduction by Herbert Read, London, 1952,
from Chapter 1: The excitement of discovering the nature of carving, 1903-1930

www.barbarahepworth.org.uk/by-barbara-hepworth/quotations-from-barbara-hepwor.html