The Music of the Bridge - A Sonnet

Where a band of such proportions That has more wind to waft and blow? That has more timps to stroke and beat? That has more strings to pluck and bow? A harp so scenic, large and awesome - With measured strings so taut and long; A drum so forceful, so bold and brash - With skin so vibrant, tough and strong. This the music of the Bridge I hear? With pounding trucks and cars that drum; In howling wind or measured breeze, On pendant cables that throb and hum. I hear the music, now so shrill; On I must, the wind so chill. This poem was based on the Hull City of Culture 2017 programme together with Opera North ‘The Height of the Reeds: A Sound Journey’ in which sounds and music by Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, guitarist Eivind Aarset and electronic wizard Jan Bang give way to the vast sound of the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North; threaded through with the deep music of the Humber Bridge itself, captured by Hull based sound artist Jez Riley French. In passing along the footpath across the bridge, using special headphones, it was possible also to hear poetry read by Maureen Lipman, Barrie Rutter, and 7-year-old Katie Smith from Hull, with musical arrangement by Aleksander Waaktar.