As part of a number of commemorative events to mark the 200th anniversary of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, this quite remarkable musical collaboration will surely stand its own test of time: It really was an occasion to savour.

Almost to the day that the waterway opened in Blackburn, its contribution to the success of 19th century industrial prosperity - one that kick-started the very first ‘Northern Powerhouse’ was celebrated in 80 or so minutes of wonderful community music-making. It was evocative and moving.

Superb score

Its overall structure was provided by a superb score by composer Ian Stephens that brought together an eclectic mix of musical forces conducted by Clark Rundell - the binding glue of which came from Brighouse & Rastrick Band. 

Their contribution enabled the 21 different sections of vivid musicality to flow unhindered, aided by renowned cellist, Jonathan Aasgaard, soprano vocalist, Amanda Roocroft and various community choirs in tow: It allowed the narrative storyline, so loquaciously provided by Ian McMillan, to float on top like a canal barge making its way to Liverpool docks.

Proud but troubling

A proud, but also on occasions, a more troubling history was brought to life - at times simple and reflective, at others colourful and exotic. Like its inspiration, it was deliberately slow and meandering, with the focus always headed in the same direction. 

The 'Rhapsody' joyfully celebrated an artery of commercial as well as personal lifeblood that has never lost its sense of purpose or identity - even when forced to battle for survival against the Millennium age of high speed industrial travel.

Not naive

However, this was not a naive nostalgia trip - the provenance of its history was remarkably prescient, politically immediate and relevant - made clear to the audience by the excellent decision to include the narrative (sung and spoken) in the programmes. 

The performance was also exemplary, although it would have perhaps aided the children’s choirs to have been given additional microphone help. That however was a minor niggle and the immediate congratulations and critical acclaim that came the production’s way were fully deserved.

Where now

Unlike the ultimate destination of the waterway itself, there is no knowing just where this wonderful 'Rhapsody' will head in the future, but you can only hope that other liked minded arts bodies, local authorities and anyone with even the smallest stretch of canal waterway near them will try and emulate its underlying ethos. 

It was an inventive and brilliant idea to open the Leeds & Liverpool Canal two hundred years ago - and this was an equally inventive and brilliant way to celebrate it two centuries later.

Malcolm Wood