Confluence

Otter - lutra lutra on the Stour

Inspired both by the slow but steady return of the Otter to the Stour, and Angela King's pioneering conservation work in the 1970s, this new choral work was a product of its place in every sense. The libretto was partly written by the Wimborne Community Theatre, after spending time in Streets Meadow residential home in Wimborne, talking with older members of the community who remember the otter. The music was created with and by local people and the choir was formed from singers from across the catchment. It was performed in the Minster, where a medieval carving of an otter can clearly be seen above an arch.

"Shocking, funny, scientific, moving, nostalgic and passionate" was how the Blackmore Vale Magazine described the first performances in Wimborne's Minster Church on 7 & 8th March 2001.

lt is with cautious optimism that we celebrate the gradual return of the otter, and especially apt that we do so on the Stour in Dorset. Otters never completely disappeared from the Stour, Frome and Piddle as they did from rivers elsewhere, but after years of decline, their numbers are now increasing.

Otters have had much to contend with. In the 1970s the otter hunts realised too late that their quarry was getting increasingly difficult to find. The introduction of persistent hydrocarbon pesticides such as DDT, Dieldrin and Aldrin in the 1950s, which found their way into our rivers and streams, was discovered to be the cause of the otters' initial demise.

At about the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food inadvertantly set about the destruction of their habitat - the removal of bankside trees, drainage of wetlands and the straightening and canalisation of rivers - which left the sensibly shy, nocturnal otter fewer secure places in which to lie up.

Twenty five years ago Angela King helped initiate Friends of the Earth's Otter Campaign to fight for the legal protection of the otter. Their efforts, and those of other environmental groups, paid off in 1978 when the otter was placed on Schedule 1 of the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act, 1975, which made it an offence to attempt to kill, injure or take an otter without a licence in England and Wales.

By 1977 Angela, with Angela Potter, had set up the Otter Haven Project, funded by the Vincent Wildlife Trust, to protect and improve the habitat for otters throughout the country. The very first Otter Haven was on land owned by Mrs Hughes at Hammoon on the River Stour, so it seems fitting that nearly a quarter of a century on, the Stour should be the location for this celebration.

A number of people helped to stimulate and draw the work together. Award winning Poet and writer Paul Hyland, well known in the region for his residencies such as Write Up Your Street, worked with the Wimborne Community Theatre to create a lively libretto packed full of memory and anecdote, history and facts, both entertaining and thought provoking.

Parallel to this, local singer and song writer Mark Pritchard - who runs the Confluence Performing Club - was busy researching the subject in order to write his own lyrics and music. A further sequence of songs were scored by versatile local musician Raymond Sargent.

Confluence's music animateur Helen Porter helped and encouraged the writing of new music inspired by the texts, by local people, some of whom were new to composition. Helen then had the unenviable task of combining the diverse array of musical styles and forms into a coherent whole.

The words and music were complete, but the story had only just begun: it was now necessary to create a new choir to sing the work, and to gather together an instrumental ensemble to play on some of the numbers. It is tribute to Helen's skills (and persistence!) that the resulting choir was sixty strong and contained nine excellent soloists.

Proceedings were further enlivened by the involvement of the Allenbourn School Choir, directed by Jan Keen. The instrumental group featured young musicians from local schools, and Confluence's composer-in-residence Karen Wimhurst.

The choir provided an excellent opportunity for experienced and professional musicians to work together with amateurs and people new to choir work and performance. Several young people took part, including tenor Matthew Roche and soprano Belinda Evans, who was studying music at Bath University.

The new work was performed to a large and enthusiastic crowd on both nights. Fanny Charles, editor of the Blackmore Vale Magazine wrote effusively:

"Lutra lutra on the Stour was a triumph... The styles ranged from cool jazz to folk ballad, from avant garde to traditional choral... We had three scientists in white coats - Adrian Williams, Chris Moore and Alan Chalcroft - going through the litany of chemicals they use to control "pests" on Hyland's Cold Comfort Farm. Belinda Evans, Paula Finn, Karen Linaker and Philippa Forrest, complete with boaters, remembering the excitement of an otter hunt in Tony Horitz's Dotty & Betty & Hilda & Me.

Chris Moore's archetypal Gilbertian squire, explaining why "the sport will never fade away" in The Earl's Ditty by Bryan Foulston, the savagery of Tuppy Hill's Mink Gangsters enacted by youngsters of Allenbourn Middle School, and the hope of clean waters and the revival of fortunes for this magical mysterious creature in Hyland's Otter Returns."

Introducing the programme, Helen Porter says:

'No religious subject, no story line, but rather an elusive creature that almost no-one ever sees and hardly anyone knows anything about - not an obvious choice for a new large scale choral work. Confluence, though, always tries to challenge the obvious and encourages people to look at things in a new way, making connections where at first none seem apparent.

At the heart of this work is the idea that one creature, its shocking decline and subsequent, albeit slow, recovery is a striking symbol of the way in which we have treated our rivers and waterways over the last half-century. Our respect for the river diminished as habits and lifestyles became ever more demanding. The recovery of the otter, however, indicates that the river is becoming more healthy because some people's attitudes and activities are changing - this is surely something to sing about'.

Mark Pritchard reinforces this:

'I found the writing of all of these pieces and the research a revelation. The hunting of otters, which continued until recent times, I found shocking and barbaric. I was fascinated by the habits of the otter and the juxtaposition between their cuddly image and their harsh life as a supreme predator. I was dismayed to think that these creatures are so close to extinction in this area.

Although the numbers have been rising over the last few years we should not adopt a complacent attitude. If the otter is a barometer of the health of. our river perhaps we should consider the danger of the glass falling and of clouds gathering. We can celebrate a rise in numbers but must keep a weather eye on the glass'.

Sound engineer Darren Jones of Tangent Media made recordings on both evening which were edited for issue on a CD. This was released in mid-April, with the libretto book (which doubled as programme for the event) and is available from Common Ground.

Artist Peter Ursem designed a dramatic image of an otter for use in our publicity. This was featured on posters, flyers, the libretto book and the CD cover. He also painted a banner.

Many participants and attendees have commented on what a positive experience the project had been:

"a wonderful experience."
"The experience of singing in the Minster was quite awe-inspiring."
"all terrific confidence-building stuff"
"The music will echo around the Minster for many years to come."
"The majority of us would never have expected or anticipated the confidence which Confluence has given us in using our voices."
"It was great to be involved in such a project."
"it was a wonderful event - and it was nice to see the performers enjoying themselves every bit as much as the audience."
"I was particularly' impressed by the young musicians."

Parents of a young member of the instrumental ensemble said, "she has gained so much from the experience, and enjoyed the production so much".

More performances

Members of the choir and ensemble gave selections from the work in Stourhead gardens and St Peter's Church, Stourton as part of the Music at the Source day on 12th May.

We were also invited by Shaftesbury restaurant Terra Firma to re-stage the work. This was felt to be a good opportunity to bring the work to a wider audience, at the other end of the catchment. A number of members of the Otter choir were also part of Mere's community choir Shreen Harmony, so a venue in Shaftesbury was very convenient for drawing the choir together again.

The concert was publicised widely and we were able to use again the distinctive otter posters designed by Peter Ursem, who also painted a 5'x3' one off 'poster' to hang outside the venue.

Due to fire regulations in Terra Firma, we had to limit numbers for the audience, but there was still a full house of 90 to experience the work, which had lost none of its spark since its premiere and was received with great warmth.

At the end of this performance we were approached by Rob Dazely from the RSPCA who had been in the audience, and who was interested in hosting a performance of the work. This resulted in a well received production in Guildford Cathedral in early 2002.