Open Bridges project to sing again with tour of Holderness churches
HISTORY MAKERS: Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard, whose Open Bridges project saw all 13 bridges across the River Hull raised, swung or closed simultaneously. Picture by Rich Duffy-Howard
The BAFTA award-winning composer John Stead will be performing his specially commissioned piece for Hull’s Open Bridges project in churches across Holderness next spring.
Stead, who wrote the soundtrack to the Open Bridges film, will be performing the musique concrète piece Moments in Time to accompany screenings of the film as part of a programme of works by the Electro Acoustic Ensemble, which will be touring Holderness churches in spring 2022.
The piece features sounds recorded from Hull bridges and diffused in octophonic sound.
It is now over three years since Open Bridges made history, when for the first and only time all the bridges over the River Hull were raised, swung or closed simultaneously, splitting the city in two at 20:17 hours on the autumn equinox, September 22, 2017.
But Open Bridges - the idea of Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard - is far from over with new films, exhibitions and a book continuing to tell the story of life on an around the River Hull.
Speaking of the music and film events planned for the churches, Lou said: “We are delighted that there will be another chance to hear John Stead’s wonderful soundscape composition as a full octophonic live diffusion.
“John recorded and manipulated sounds found in nature and every day life to create the music.
“You can hear sounds of the bridges’ movements and the journey along the River Hull, from its source as it bubbles up in the Yorkshire Wolds down to the urban industry of the city and out into the Humber Estuary.
“The 20-minute art documentary film which will accompany the music was made by 16 film makers from Humber Film Creative Community on Open Bridges night.
“It was filmed at every bridge over the river including breath-taking drone footage, and from the bow of the historic barge MV Syntan during the Open Bridges journey.
“Selected for four international film festivals, the film was edited by Phillip Codd and takes you on a beautiful atmospheric journey along the river and into the Hull night sky. It’s a perfect visual accompaniment to John’s spectacular soundscape.”
The Open Bridges short film with musique concrète soundtrack won four international awards. Produced for Open Bridges by Humber Film Creative Community it is a multi-camera aural and musical documentary filmed by 16 filmmakers and edited by Philip Codd.
SOUNDINGS: John Stead recording North Bridge. Picture by Rich Duffy-Howard
There are 13 bridges over the River Hull, which flows north to south through the centre of the city out into the Humber. No other city has so many opening bridges over such a short stretch of navigable river.
Open Bridges was a logistical first, the culmination of 18 months of meticulous planning and preparation. A celebration of the lifeblood of the city, it was delivered by an all Hull-based team to manage the different elements.
On the night of the closures, historic vessels representing three centuries mustered on the River Hull to be met out on the Humber estuary by powerful 21st-century tugs.
The night Hull’s river bridges closed. Picture by Octovision Media
Open Bridges adventures were many and varied; from operations and logistics through to exploring the concept of freedom in workshops in schools, hospice and prison, to creating music and art collaborations.
The Open Bridges exhibition inside Scale Lane Bridge drew 2,000 visitors, and as it was coming to a close a new street piece by Banksy titled Draw The Raised Bridge! appeared overnight on Scott Street Bridge.
International urban art website GraffitiStreet.com published a feature referencing the link between the Open Bridges project with the Banksy art work on Scott Street bridge.
Following Open Bridges, Rich and Lou embarked on the sister project A River Full of Stories, gathering stories and memories of life on and around the River Hull, which culminated in a book, films and exhibitions at Hull Maritime Museum and as part of Hull International Photography Festival.
Further exhibitions and film screenings are being prepared as part of Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City Maritime Tales activity.
Rich said: “The idea for A River Full of Stories came about when many of the visitors to the Open Bridges exhibition told us fascinating stories and memories of their lives working on and around the river.
“We realised that although Hull is well known for its history of fishing, trawlers and whaling, the history of life on the River Hull itself is relatively unknown, yet it is a rich history of lives spent working on barges transporting cargo along hundreds of miles of inland waterways”.
An initial print run of 200 copies of the hardback book, A River Full of Stories, was published with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and local sponsors.
This provided free copies for every public library in Hull and the East Riding, the British Lending Library, and a complimentary book for all the contributors so that everyone who took part could have a copy.
It is now available at every UK library via inter-library loan and by request. Copies have also been provided for university libraries in Dublin, Edinburgh, Oxford, and Cambridge, and a number of independent libraries.
“It has been a labour of love to produce and we are planning to raise the money to produce soft cover copies for sale when the pandemic is over,” Rich said.
Brimming with stories of the River Hull as it was in its heyday, from river men and women whose lives were intertwined with the river, the book is illustrated with over 200 photographs from the 19th century to the present day, many previously unpublished or rarely seen.
IDYLLIC: The River Hull at Snakeholme Pastures
Open Bridges is an independent not for profit project conceived and organised by Rich & Lou and delivered by an all local team.
The public memory sharing sessions were facilitated by Hull author Russ Litten and heritage researcher Andy Richardson of Freetownway Productions.
They were filmed by Philip Codd, Alex Davies and Humber Film Creative Community, with the stories transcribed for the book by Russ and the team. The book was designed by Hull-based graphic designer Martin Lewsley of Atomluft, and printed in Hull at Wyke Printers in Sutton Fields on paper supplied from G.F. Smith on Lockwood Street.
Another journey inspired by the project took place last year.
Lou said: “Just over a year ago Rich and I were lucky enough to be invited by John Dean, who has the only working dry dock on the River Hull, to go on a two-day working trip from Hull’s Albert Dock to York city centre, stopping overnight in Goole along the way.
“The vessel was the George Dyson, and we were picking up rubble from the Guildhall which backs onto the Ouse in York and had to be moved by barge. The trip was a truly amazing experience.
“I filmed parts of the journey and set it to music; Loudhailer Electric Company’s Night Heron. It’s another splendid journey brought about by Open Bridges.”
You can see the 9 minute video here:
During lockdown musicians Rich and Lou created a new recording; a marriage of music, video, pictures and words, inspired by their research of the sources of the River Hull.
It is called First Day of the Heatwave and tells the story of a meander along the headwaters of the River Hull, exploring its origins in the Yorkshire Wolds.