EXCITING NEWS! On Weds 1st April at 7pm a surround-sound recording of 'A Gathered Stillness' will be part of a concert at the Band Room in the The New Adelphi Building, at the University of Salford. There is no charge for entry. PLEASE: share this post.
This work came about when composer Alan Williams worked with Wooldale Meeting for much of 2024. As there have been Quakers at Wooldale since the 1600s, we wanted to celebrate the 400th anniversary of George Fox's birth in style, because we are still here, and a thriving meeting. Alan developed a musical theme, which was originally identified by the group. There are extracts from conversations with 16 members of the meeting. The final piece blends the words and music, and unusually, includes a period of silence. We feel it captures the spirit of our meeting now: why we worship, how we feel about our history and our building, and some of the service different Friends at Wooldale are called to.
'A Gathered Stillness' was performed initially at Wooldale Meeting House in September 2024, played by professional musicians playing harp, cello, and flute to an invited audience (necessary on account of the intimate size of the Meeting House). This is a joyful opportunity to hear it again, or, as we hope, for you to come along and hear it for the first time.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the University of Salford. Alan and his colleagues, especially Phil Brissenden who prepared all the recordings of the interviews so they were of consistent broadcastable sound quality, put in far more work than they were ever paid for. CDs of the recording will be available shortly.
