The Stopping Train by Gavin Bryars and Blake Morrison

Published in

Notum Ignotum

2 min readApr 14, 2018

I was surprised, impressed and inspired by the music of Gavin Bryars right after I casually listened to A Man in a Room Gambling through the beloved Spotify suggestion algo.

It took a while for me to go through some of the albums but it was the latest one, The Stopping Train which is a collaboration with the poet Blake Morrison who reads his poem in person, that got me. Links below do a better justice in explaining the work than I would do. If you enjoy minimalist avantgarde modern music and/or poetry, I’d suggest to check it out on Open Spotify. I’ve also added links to some other works by Bryars.

https://open.spotify.com/album/7x4VixU170tw109vbBEvrv?si=suL3HKPcQse2wS0lyN1Ung

‘The Stopping Train’ was written by two of the Yorkshire’s most renowned artists, composer Gavin Bryars and poet Blake Morrison for the 2016 Yorkshire Festival, designed initially to be experienced on the train journey from Goole (Bryars’ birthplace) to Hull (or vice versa).

Composed as a series of movements to be heard as the stopping train leaves each station between Goole and Hull and on its return journey, it is scored for viola, cello, bass, electric guitar and spoken voice. Morrison’s poetry refers to the personal history of Bryars in the area as well as to topographical and historical material. Blake Morrison reads his own lyrics while Gavin Bryars plays double bass together with members of his Gavin Bryars Ensemble.

https://www.propermusic.com/product-details/Gavin-Bryars-and-Blake-Morrison-The-Stopping-Train-251773