Nenescape Landscape Partnership Scheme is calling for images of the Nene Valley to illustrate an exciting new music book. In partnership with Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Nenescape will be launching a songbook of sheet music about the River Nene.

The 25-minute piece of music, originally performed by over 1,500 local young people at the Royal Albert Hall, Derngate in Northampton and Peterborough Cathedral, has been rearranged by composer Benjamin Till into nine short sections for community choirs and singing groups to perform.

The pieces follow the flow of the river downstream, starting at its source at Badby. Nenescape is particularly keen to see pictures of the river as a small stream, and of local Morris dancing. Harpole is the next village mentioned, before Northampton’s Midsummer Meadows evoke memories of swimming in the river near the Nunn Mills power station. Woodford appears next, followed by Fotheringhay, where Mary Queen of Scots wrote a poem while she was imprisoned in the castle. The Nene Valley Railway features as the next song remembers the Northampton to Peterborough railway, and Peterborough Cathedral is mentioned as the site of a ghostly haunting. Nenescape would be grateful for night-time images of the cathedral and of the misty Fens. The final piece of music celebrates Wisbech Institute’s bells, using poetry by John Clare.

All photographs old and new of the above locations are sought for inclusion in a booklet of these nine pieces of music. Full credit will be given to the photographer or owner of images included. The finished booklet will be available online and some printed copies will be distributed to community choirs and singing groups across the Nene Valley. Please send images with details of credits due across to alison@rnrp.org.

Please visit the Nenescape website at www.nenescape.org or contact Nenescape’s Interpretation and Community Engagement Officer, Alison Brand-Barker at alison@rnrp.org to find out more. See the very latest news with their social media @nenescape.