Richard Whalley - 'Lud's Church' (2020)

*Sounds best through headphones, to capture spatialisation of multitracks* Lud's Church for 19-div trumpet and pre-recorded multitracks Stephen Altoft - 19-div trumpet Joshua Gardner - sound engineer Performed in the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, University of Manchester on 23rd March 2023 Lud’s Church is a surprisingly deep chasm, hidden in the woodland of the Peak District in Staffordshire, England. It is dark, foreboding and damp, even in summer: an excellent hiding place – hence being associated with many stories and histories, including Robin Hood; and also Gawain and the Green Knight. Notably it is where a group of Christian reformers, followers of John Wycliffe, hid to escape persecution in the 15th century. It is thought that they sung psalms whilst hiding there, and it is speculated that their nickname, the ‘Lollards’ (or mutterers) refers to their style of delivery of such psalms – and this is how the chasm got its name. Lud’s Church was the last place I visited for a hike before the first Covid-19 lockdown (in early 2020) made travel to such places impossible for a period. It was composed in a spirit of yearning for the freedom of exploration. Such exploration extends to the tuning system used here: 19 equal divisions of the octave, which results in a mix of familiarity and weirdness that seemed ideal for attempting to capture something of the essence of this magical place. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to write for Stephen Altoft’s 19 tone equal temperament trumpet, which prompted this musical exploration. The multitracks were recorded in 2021 by Stephen Altoft, and assembled by Donald Bousted and Vania Kourti-Papamoustou Score and parts available at https://composersedition.com/richard-... Also from this concert:    • Time Dreaming by Donald Bousted (1957-2021)