The Myth of Thamesis – The River by Nwando Ebizie is a limited edition hybrid project that exists as an orchestral album, aural poem and an accompanying book of poetry. At once cinematic and lyrical, the work fuses myth, ecological urgency, and sonic storytelling.

Over 50 minutes of music and spoken word, the listener is invited into multiple realities – ancient myth bleeding into industrial present, oral histories echoing through orchestral swells.

The River is the first part of a two-part cycle, released on 3 October, with The Sea to follow at a later date.

Recorded at Milton Court, The Barbican, by the Docklands Sinfonia Orchestra and students from Guildhall School of Music, the piece is a sweeping classical musical and narrative journey, part folk horror, part eco-myth, designed to reawaken our connection to water, land, and collective action.

Commissioned by Estuary Festival 2025, the project began as immersive sound walks along the Thames Estuary (see more here), where inspired by the landscape and history, Ebizie crafted new myths of a river goddess inspired by figures such as La Llorona, drawn from Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With the Wolves, into the physical and political reality of a landscape shaped by industry, pollution, and resilience.

The Myth of Thamesis follows Ebizie’s interest in mythopoesis and oral storytelling as guide and is present as a listening experience and written text. The narrative poem reimagines the River Thames as Thamesis, a water spirit trapped by human greed and environmental destruction.

Blending mythology with contemporary environmental themes, the poem weaves together folklore, ecological activism, and storytelling to explore our symbiotic relationship with the ‘more than human’ world. Through lyrical verse and powerful imagery, it calls for the restoration of our connection to the living waterways that sustain us.

The Myth of Thamesis is accompanied by a book of poetry (designed by Fraser Muggeridge Studio), that acts as both visual artefact and ritual guide for the listener. Featuring black and white film photography by Nwando Ebizie and Tom Richards, its design creates a striking continuity between sound, story, and image. 

Credits

Composer (Music) and Poetry: Nwando Ebizie

Voice: Nwando Ebizie

Orchestra: Docklands Sinfonia and Junior Guildhall

Conductor: Spencer Down

Mix and Mastering: Chris Tanton

The music and story for The River was originally commissioned by Estuary Festival for Estuary 2025.

Special thanks to:

Docklands Sinfonia & Junior Guildhall, Milton Court Concert Hall, PRS Foundation and Power Up, Docklands Sinfonia, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, East 15 Drama School, Brick PR, Elisa Miglionico, Tom Richards, Valerie Richards, Laura Selby, Graham Hall, Lucie Doležalová, Leah Bartram, David Marshall, Season Butler, Chris Tanton..who all contributed to making this project possible

Photography by: Nwando Ebizie and Tom Richards