Chester Lantern Parades

Three’s Eternal (Dec 1998)

This was the only one of the four commissions that was not a promenade piece for the entire parade. Instead, this dance theatre performance provided a finale, building on the parade’s theme of trinity, and in particular the philosophical elements, Mercury, Sulphur and Salt. Early alchemists thought that these elements were to be found in varying proportions in all substances.

As can be seen from the photographs, three large lanterns were constructed, echoing the shape of the handheld lanterns carried by people in the parade. These were large enough for a dancer to move inside, and lit from within by theatre lights. There were six performers, three within the lanterns and three outside. The movement was developed from the symbols for the three elements, which can be seen on the outside of the lanterns.

The dancers all came from Newscene Youth Dance Group, and the movement was choreographed by Jenny Miller, who also performed in the piece. The music was created on a computer, and transferred to MiniDisc for the performances. It developed from various bell sounds - used for their symbolic association with rituals and calling people.

In Search of the Unconquered Sun (Dec 1999)

This theatrical promenade composition was themed around various Roman and Celtic rituals associated with bringing back the sun at midwinter, and particularly drew from the imagery of the Roman cult of Mithras. As the year 2000 approached it felt appropriate that the parade looked back to the beginnings of midwinter and lantern celebrations. Performers included the choir Vox Dicentis, the choir from Castaway Youth Theatre, local instrumentalists (oboe, violin, trumpet and two percussionists), and members of Dragon Theatre Company.

The performance began outside Chester Town Hall with members of Dragon Theatre performing a silent ritual around a giant wooden sun, followed by the sound of an oboe and a single male voice calling people forward. As the parade began to move, Vox Dicentis took the lead singing material inspired by early plainchant; Dragon Theatre carried the sun and four large banners, followed by the public with their lanterns.

Halfway around the route, the youth choir and violin joined the parade, and the music changed to a song of celebration inspired by early folk music. As the parade returned to the Town Hall, a trumpet and choir fanfare heralded the rise of the sun (up the adjacent flagpole), lit by a flaming torch at its centre.

Lycidas (Dec 2000)

This theatrical promenade composition was inspired by Milton’s poem of the same name. Performers included local folk musicians (violin, woodwind, accordian and percussion), as well as percussionists from Chester School of Samba, and a narrator.

The theme was chosen through a desire to relate the parades to the Dee, the river running through Chester and once the lifeblood and source of prosperity for the city. Milton’s poem was written in tribute to Edward King, a Cambridge friend of Milton, who drowned on his passage from Chester to Ireland. In the poem, Lycidas (King) rises again from the water to become its protective deity. Thus the celebration of Lycidas was seen as linked to the continued prosperity of the river and the city.

The parade began with the narrator, dressed as an itinerant storyteller, introducing the theme with text from the poem. Three large white boats arrived, carried on people’s shoulders; each contained chimes that rang as the boats moved. The storyteller joined the front of the boats to lead the parade, and the musicians spread amongst the boats began to play - a fluctuating chord with folk influenced melodic fragments floating within it, accompanied by the steady beat of the drums. Members of the public carrying lanterns joined the rear of the parade.

As the parade returned to the Town Hall from where it began, the narrator concluded his story with more text taken from the poem. A joyful folk-inspired melody erupted as the spirit of Lycidas, represented by three vibrant blue ribbons, ascended from the boats and exploded in a shower of gold and silver sparks.

The Raven (Dec 2001)

This theatrical promenade composition was inspired by Native American myths linking the raven to the origin of the light. Rather than using live musicians, this composition used four tape machines attached to large visual banners scattered through the parade. There was a live storyteller who started and ended the parade, and a large sculpture of a raven at the centre of the parade, carrying a glowing white orb in its beak.