Rhythm of Light
Rhythm of Light is a new composition by Dr Liz Lane celebrating the life and work of Barbara Hepworth. It is comprised of four movements: Landscape, Shadow cast by the sun, Pavan and Galliard and Rhythm and dance and everything.
Landscape sets the scene and reflects on how memories of Hepworth’s childhood journeys across Yorkshire remained with her throughout her life. The music ebbs and flows with the hills and roads before slowing slightly to reach the crest of the hill (the only tempo change), then returning to the constant patter of the engine.
Shadow cast by the sun is reflective of the sculptor working on her own but not alone, much like the process of writing music. In this movement there is a sense of isolation before sharing the work with others, which also reflects the context of the pandemic in which the work was composed.
Pavan and Galliard represents some of the enduring and iconic shapes of Hepworth’s work, whilst bringing to mind direct musical representations of form.
Rhythm and dance and everything is a celebration of Barbara Hepworth’s life and work, and also musicians coming together to play live music again after the Covid-19 pandemic. This joyful finale incorporates rhythms of Barbara Hepworth working on a sculpture, taken from the film Barbara Hepworth – Figures in a Landscape (Dir. Dudley Shaw Ashton, 1953).
Performances take place in The Hepworth Wakefield Garden. Please note that performance times are subject to change depending on weather conditions.
About the artists
Liz Lane
Liz Lane’s music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC1 and ITV, and played in major venues throughout the UK and abroad; performers have included Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Carducci Quartet, the Symphonic Brass of the RAF and Cory Band.
Lane’s projects include Age Against the Machine – Grand Finale (2019), a co-creative inter-generational choral project in London; and CityScape for fanfare band, premiered in Holland (2019). Her music has been commissioned for online performances by the Wye Valley Festival and Kapitol Cory Band Online Championships (2020/21).
Lane was awarded a PhD from Cardiff University in 2010. She is a part-time Senior Lecturer at UWE Bristol, also an Associate Lecturer with the Open University and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She is published by Composers Edition, Kirklees Music and Wright and Round. Lane was recently appointed Composer in Association with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band.
Hepworth Brass Band
Formed in the village of Hepworth, Holme Valley, in 1882 and currently led by Director of Music Ryan Watkins, Hepworth Brass Band was placed third at the Yorkshire Regional Brass Band Championships, booking a place in the National Championships at the Royal Albert Hall, due to take place in 2021.
This event forms part of a series of performances and audio-visual works made in response to Hepworth’s work presented alongside our 10th anniversary exhibition Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life.
The programme of events takes place throughout the exhibition and features new and re-staged works by artists, musicians and dancers, many of whom we have worked with over the past ten years. Please see our What’s On listings for details of all events.
Our anniversary events are free but tickets to the Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life exhibition are required. Exhibition tickets are priced at £12 / £10 Concessions / FREE for Members, Wakefield District residents and under 16s. Book your ticket online.
