Anthony Hedges: Scenes from the Humber (1981)

On the evening of Friday, 17 July, the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra gave the first performance of Anthony Hedges’s Scenes from the Humber at Hull City Hall. It was conducted by Günther Herbig. At this time, Hedges was lecturer at the University of Hull’s music department. The work had been commissioned by the BBC to mark the official opening of the Humber Bridge, connecting the then South and North Humberside, or more traditionally, Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. The bridge had been commissioned for traffic on 24 June 1981 but was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 July. Other music commemorating the opening of the bridge included the now forgotten Humber Bridge Suite by David Newstone and Stephen Burnby, and Hedges’s A Humberside Cantata, setting a poem by Philip Larkin, completed in 1976 in confident anticipation that the bridge would open that year. It was eventually premiered on 11 April 1981 by the Hull Choral Union.

Scenes from the Humber is a short, fifteen-minute suite in four movements. It is written in a “light” style. The overall impact is of a well-written work that is evocative and distinctive.

In his programme note, Anthony Hedges explained that “Each of the four movements draws its inspiration from a particular aspect of the river” He then gave brief notes:-

Petuaria Patrol. Petuaria was the Roman name for Brough, some ten miles to the west of Hull. It was the main crossing point on the north bank of the Humber for the Roman legions, and a Roman settlement. This march-like movement begins quietly, as from a distance, gradually increases in intensity, (as the cohorts pass by), and recedes again into the distance.

Spurn Point Elegy. Spurn Point is the desolate and shifting spit of land at the mouth of the Humber, its mysterious and windswept terrain provides a sanctuary for seabirds.

“Lincoln Castle” Intermezzo. The ‘Lincoln Castle’ was the last of the paddle steamers to serve as a Humber ferry and now lies beached in the shadow of the Bridge, converted into a restaurant. Although built in the 1940’s, its design and atmosphere belonged to an earlier part of the century, and this is reflected in the chuggy and slightly jazzy mood of the music. The ship’s siren before departure was a very distinctive sound. [‘Lincoln Castle’ was scrapped in 2010]

Humber Keel Hornpipe. The Humber Keels were flat-bottomed sailing barges that plied up and down the Humber in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their annual regatta was an important feature of life on the river, and an oil painting of the first of these regattas showing Humber Keels scudding down the river, provided the starting point for this movement.

Other works heard at the celebration concert included Tchaikovsky’s Overture: Romeo and Juliet, Schubert’s Symphony No.5 and the ‘Prelude’ and ‘Liebestod’ from Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. Günther Herbig conducted the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra.

The critic Douglas Bowen reporting on the concert (Hull Daily Mail, 20 July 1981) stated that Hedges’s Scenes “captured the heart and imagination of a vociferously appreciative audience.” He remarks on the “characteristic craftsmanship and resource” deployed by the composer. This “readily engaging suite is not without humour, illustrated by the chuggy jazz Intermezzo and the tongue in cheek fugal writing in the hornpipe.” Bowen considered that the most “effective movement is the Elegy, where economical and sensitive use of solo woodwind and muted strings creates a most chilling and desolate atmosphere.”

Turning to the remainder of the concert, he thought that some of the music was an “odd choice for such a national and prestigious occasion.”  However, despite a “lack-lustre account” of the Schubert Symphony, the other works “had special excitement when everything springs from genuine musical feeling.” Overall, the “splendidly precise but flexible orchestra…eloquently revealed the spirit of the music with a wealth of opulent and often incandescent sound.”

Scenes from the Humber became one of Anthony Hedges most popular works. It has received two recordings. The first was issued on LP in 1981 by the Meridian Records label, E77047. Hedges’s A Humberside Cantata and his Kingston Suite were also included. The Humberside Sinfonia was conducted by the composer with the Hull Choral Union conducted by Alan Spedding. The second recording was released in 1997 on the Marco Polo label, 8.223886. This CD included his Four Breton Sketches, Heigham Sound: Overture, Four Miniature Dances, and the Kingston Sketches. The RTÉ Sinfonietta was conducted by the composer. The CD was reissued in 2022 on 8.574324, with different artwork.

The Meridian edition of Scenes from the Humber has been uploaded to YouTube here