‘A Sunderland Symphony’ is a choral symphony celebrating the landscape, history and culture of the Mackem homeland.

1: Nil desperandum auspice Deo

“Don’t despair, trust in God.” – a celebration of Sunderland’s city motto accompanied by a stylised boom redolent of the foghorn of the Souter light house, the strident call of the great herring gulls and the sea herself. This is both the first movement of A Sunderland Symphony and an overture for choir and orchestra which can be performed independently of the complete work, as may all the other movements.

II: The brassic Fish Lass for Mezzo-soprano, Soprano and orchestra

A fish lass (or wife) haggles with a hinny (lady) over her produce on a brassic (freezing cold) day. Fish Lass: Will yer baaee? Will yer baaee ma fresh fish? Will yer baaee? Nice crab hinny? Can a sell ya a nice crab now? Hinny: How much is the crab? Fish Lass: That big one’s two shillin Hinny: Two shillin Fish Lass: Yes and the lobster’s five schilin. Now these are just from out the sea this morning. They’re fresh fish yer. Hinny: Yer sure they’re fresh? Fish Lass: Quite shooer. Yes. Hinny: I’ll give you one and nine. Fish Lass: Noer. It’s very sweet yer know. Got to have coppers this week, last week. It’s very sweet yer know. Bag of willicks are three-pence and six-pence. Hinny: I’ll have a six penny bag. Fish Lass: I’ll gi yer a six penny one la giv yer a pin ter poke them yer know. Hinny: All-right. Fish Lass: Yes I’ll giz a pinnin free of charge.

III: Jaberwocky: an uffish Fugue for Bass, Chorus and Orchestra

The first verse of Jabberwocky was printed in ‘Mischmasch’, a publication Lewis Carroll wrote for his family. The rest of the poem was written Whitburn, Sunderland based on two serpentine stories from the North-east: the Lambton and Sockburn worms. The musical structure is a palindromic fugue reversing as the Jabberwocky comes whiffling through the tulgey wood with eyes of flame, some of the text also sung backwards, a conceit practiced by both Lewis Carroll and Leonardo da Vinci.

IV: Marra. for Alto solo, Bass solo and orchestra: the soloists may be joined by female and male members of the chorus as the work progresses at the conductor’s discretion. In the score the parts are labelled men and women.

‘Marra’ is an affectionate term for a pitman from the Old Norse ‘Margr’ meaning ‘friend’. Ryhope Little is a mining shaft 338 metres deep. A plaque gives details of the life of Sarah Seed, the wife and mother of pitmen working in this location, is situated on the banks of the Wear:

Mother only slept in her bed at the weekend. Father Jack and Harry worked as marras father working the stone and the brothers the coal all pick and shovel work . The shifts began at 10pm 4am and 10am only one marra working the coal face at a time. Mother had to prepare food and hot water in rotation for the leaving and returning men evening night and day – as well as for the children going to school morning noon and evening she caught what sleep she could in her chair by the fire. Her working life 1930-60

V: Bede’s Death Song For Bass, chorus, organ, church bells and orchestra

The Venerable Bede died on Thursday, 26 May 735, Ascension Day, on the floor of his cell in Jarrow, singing Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. That night he dictated a final sentence to the scribe, a boy named Wilberht, and died soon afterwards. Bedeʼs disciple, Cuthbert composed a letter to Cuthwin on Bedeʼs death, alluding to a five-line poem in the vernacular that Bede possibly composed on his deathbed, known as “Bedeʼs Death Song”.

Whilst the poem is not definitely attributed to Bede, this orchestral song imagines that Bede is indeed composing this poem on his deathbed, taking three attempts to deliver the work in a continuous coherent stream as he slips away, being beset, as Cuthbert notes, by “frequent attacks of breathlessness” the final version the most confident, this last burst of strength, a phenomenon common to those at the liminal position between life and death. His disciple notes that his last words were the Gloria Patri. I develop this by imagining that he was inspired to deliver this text hearing the Nunc dimittis sung by the monks at the monastery where he issued his last breath. Bede’s Death Song - Northumbrian version Modern English translation

Fore thaem neidfaerae ‖ naenig uuiurthit thoncsnotturra, ‖ than him tharf sie to ymbhycggannae ‖ aer his hiniongae huaet his gastae ‖ godaes aeththa yflaes aefter deothdaege ‖ doemid uueorthae. Before the unavoidable journey ‖ nothing can be More wise-thinking, ‖ than he who Recalls with mindfulness ‖ before his going-away On whether his soul ‖ good or ill After death’s day ‖ will be judged.

© Copyright Geoffrey Álvarez 2022

Hwit Draca’s recitation of Bedeʼs Death Song – Northumbrian version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1kFD2ZK2h4&t=12s All movements may be performed independently.

In this version, there is an ending for bells in F major using the Plain Bob Major peal, suitable for Holy Trinity Church, Old Sunderland. There are alternative ending for bells in G major, suitable for Sunderland Minster and D major for Durham Cathedral.