Monthly Archives: April 2009

New Piano Download

Posted on April 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

handJust because it’s a Wednesday, and sunny… here’s a track called Watermark for solo piano[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/watermark.mp3]

Click this..

Then:

Limited edition download here!

Follow me on Twitter!

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Henry VIII CD?

Posted on April 24, 2009 | 31 Comments

hen-sq

I’ve had a lot of emails asking about the possible CD release of the Henry Mind of a Tyrant score on CD (and other media). It features Alamire, Fretwork, Dot Allison and Charles Mutter.

We’re working on it fast… The more messages that come through, the more likely it is to happen so it’s looking good.

Thanks everyone!

PS. check back regularly in the Free Bits section as limited edition tracks will appear there often!

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Raymond Blanc – alchemist and philosopher

Posted on April 24, 2009 | Leave a comment
Raymond Blanc

Raymond Blanc

Was really lucky to go to Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons last night for a meal/lecture hosted by Raymond Blanc. He’s not only obviously a master of food (there are 2 Michelin Stars attached discretely to the place…), but also an extraordinarily principled and philosophical man.

A few things that stuck out;

  • He ploughs a huge amount of turnover back into training, and has an 85% record of staff retention.
  • He believes that attaching a name to the front of a style of food merely creates a fashion, and fashions die. (ie ‘molecular gastronomy’ becomes a concept/fad that will pass, whereas in essence it’s food science which is as essential to a chef as intonation to a string player). He is great friends with Blumenthal (and clearly respects his knowledge) but I got the impression that one of them is Mahler to the other’s Moby…
  • When a recipe lives in a book it dies
  • He’s never had a cookery lesson in his life
  • I did ask him if he’d ever chucked people out of his restaurant – yes only three… Glad to say the first one was a very famous musician who did something very bad indeed. Would love to go into details but get the feeling it wasn’t for broadcast. Marvellous…

He always comes out of the kitchen or dining room to say goodbye, give you a crushing embrace (I love the French), help you into your coat, check you had a wonderful time. I get the feeling he’d drop you back at the station if you asked him to.

Don’t think Ramsay would do that…

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Summer’s here!

Posted on April 22, 2009 | Leave a comment

Summer’s landed – So soon after Easter?

Anyway, sitting in the garden, writing music. Today’s one of those days I’m grateful to be a self-employed person… shouldn’t go on about it as it’ll start raining, and for all I know you may be sitting at a PC somewhere cold..?

I wanted to let you know that there’s a new tag in the top right hand corner called Free Bits. It’s where I’ll post anything that appears on my other posts such as free mp3 downloads and sheet music, plus the odd preview invite and so forth.

Also, I’ve  got a Twitter thing:

http://twitter.com/PhilipSheppard

(is this wrong?)

Join me and you’ll be the first to know about future freebies, Henry VIII soundtrack release and download (Mind of a Tyrant), Jane Austen piano tracks and release dates for some films I’ve worked on in the US.

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Henry Mind of a tyrant part 3

Posted on April 20, 2009 | Leave a comment

ht-sqJust a reminder that Henry Mind of a tyrant part 3 – Lover – is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm.

I got a nice write up in the Radio Times today… very nice of them. I won’t quote it here.

There’s a video over at C4 here:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/henry-viii-the-mind-of-a-tyrant/articles/video-interview-philip-sheppard

Looking forward to the Henry exhibit at the British Library – hope to have a sneak preview this week as my music’s being used for the launch party.

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radiomovies roundup

Posted on April 13, 2009 | 3 Comments

Moon Machines is on the Science Channel this week – the companion series to In the Shadow of the Moon. I wrote the music for the series last year which aired on the Discovery Channel.

Henry Mind of a Tyrant continues its run on Channel 4 this evening at 9pm with the second episode – Warrior. Channel 4 have put a series of short films, images and even (oh no…) an interview with yours truly at this site. Don’t forget the soundtrack is a free listen on this site.

Sergio is going to be shown at HotDocs in Ontario – click here for more details.

Lots of people (hundreds in fact!) have downloaded the sheet music for Crystallised Beauty this week, and I’m asking for suggestions for the next piece to be made available. Let me know at this page!

On this site, I’ve put up a couple more archive album tracks; Aqua Voce now online, together with Penitential Psalm.

Thanks for all the messages and comments – it’s great to hear from you…

fiddlewiddle.com

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Posted in audio, cellist, cello, David Starkey, film, History, movies, music, Soundtracks, Tudors, TV

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Easter free things!

Posted on April 11, 2009 | 2 Comments

Here’s a free Easter gift for the first 100 of you who click this link. It’s a free mp3 of a piece I wrote called Penitential Psalm – hear it here:[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/02-penitential-psalm.mp3]

As I’ve mentioned many times in previous posts I’m a great believer in mp3s being legally free to download where the artist/writer/publisher can give their consent, particularly where the recording is of an event for which concert/theatre/film-goers have already paid an admission charge.

This secondary exploitation is often exploited in the true sense of the word with charges being levied for something which has technically never left the digital domain.

I think a rebroadcasting of material can be free in many cases without exploitation, and can act as a way of spreading the word about a great performer, group or writer. I love it when authors upload some of their books as free pdfs in the fairly certain knowledge that (if the material is great) people will go and buy physical copies of their other work. In the case of performers, it’s a great way of getting people to come to gigs.

Here are a couple of great  sites for interesting classical mp3s – all free:

The European archive of classical recordings has over 8oo pages of LPs in mp3 format on its site as free downloads. These are extraordinary recordings featuring some of the world’s most historic performers.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has a really high quality concert series which it condenses into a regular podcast. The whole concert series is archived, and it shows great foresight on the part of the performers and the museum itself to make this available to anyone.

This week’s events/broadcasts:h82

David Starkey’s Henry Mind of a Tyrant is on this Easter on Channel 4 in the UK.

11th April: 7pm – Channel 4. Episode 1 Prince

13th April: 9pm – Channel 4. Episode 2 Warrior

You can hear my soundtrack for the series here for free, and a free Henry VIII download here!

Hope you have a happy and peaceful Easter.

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Posted in audio, David Starkey, History, music, Soundtracks, Tudors, TV

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Free Henry VIII track

Posted on April 1, 2009 | 2 Comments

Henry: Mind of a Tyrant with Dr David Starkey begins on Channel 4 this coming Monday at 9pm. Here’s a version of Taunder Naken from the soundtrack written for multitracked treble viols (melody by Henry VIII): [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ht91-schism-mix.mp3]

Download it from here if you like. The whole series soundtrack is gradually going online.

There are some fantastic events to celebrate Henry’s 500th anniversary – including the Tower of London exhibit pictured above as featured in today’s Guardian. The British Library is opening its exhibition shortly, but meanwhile it’s worth visiting the astounding Ritblatt Gallery of treasures.

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