Everlasting Light - a reflection on Sizewell

Devised by Netia Jones
EXAUDI vocal ensemble
Music director: James Weeks


EXAUDI's open air performance on Sizewell Beach (Everlasting Light, Aldeburgh Festival, 22-24 June) was nothing short of extraordinary.  So much more than a music concert, the event was a complete performance encompassing drama, science, and philosophy as well as music.  Its focus on the wonders of the universe, on light and dark, on the stars and the nature of time, on the value of science and on the very atoms that make up the fabric of everything, was felt all the more acutely on Sizewell Beach, under the massive hulk of Sizewell A, the nuclear reactor decommissioned in 2006, and the mysterious dome of Sizewell B, which is still in operation.


The performance took the audience, armed with umbrellas, cushions and blankets, from Sizewell Beach cafe through a series of rickety fishermen's huts, then down the beach as twilight set in to the final performance site.  The choir, who up till that moment had sung in small, sparse groups, were already massed in the shadow of Sizewell A as we sat on the hummocky sands.  In the gloaming, the clip-on lights they used to illuminate their scores resembled the very stars that the event celebrated so effectively.  There was some intermittent rain, in contrast to the drought suffered in East Anglia for most of this year, but just enough to enhance rather than detract from the performance.   The rain couldn't have been better if it had been choreographed, and the way that an army of helpers appeared to open red umbrellas over the heads of each and every singer was a performance in itself, adding a surreal dimension to the incredible atmosphere.

The music, spanning four centuries of madrigals and ending with Ligeti's Lux Aeterna, was electrifying, holding us spellbound as darkness descended.  Coupled with large-scale film projection straight on to the side of Sizewell A, the performance was infused with the qualities of extraordinary human endeavour, somehow humbling and affirming at the same time.   The hum of the functioning Sizewell B nuclear reactor in the background added edge and a dose of reality, while the wheeling of a pair of gulls against the hulk of Sizewell A, and the last call of a bird, perhaps an owl, over the sound of the sea, added beauty.

The music was perfect for the setting, and performed to the usual high standard by EXAUDI, under the direction of James Weeks.  James and Netia Jones,who devised the whole event, are to be congratulated on the quality and meaning of the performance.  I for one will remember it for many years to come.


Siham Bortcosh/Peter Simister