In recent months, the name of UK composer and cellist, Philip Sheppard, has been very much in the media: a result of him having being commissioned to arrange and orchestrate all the national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. He’s now recorded them all (205 in total!) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. However, Sheppard has also found time to complete a 30-minute commissioned dance score for Barcelona-based choreographer, Thomas Noone.

It’s premiered in Mulhouse by Le Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin on 22 January 2012, later transferring to Colmar and Strasbourg (9 performances in total). Sheppard has an impressive track record in writing for dance and theatre, having worked with Akram Khan, Sylvie Guillem and Juliette Binoche in recent years. In January 2012 he joins Khan and Guillem for performances of his 2006 score to ‘Sacred Monsters’, in the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris.

Image by Angus Clyne

Here’s another track from The new album I wrote with Evelyn Glennie – it’s called ice drive and features some insanely good toy piano playing!!

Tonight sees the premiere on More 4 of David Sington’s excellent documentary about the credit crisis in the US called ‘The Flaw’. This is the trailer. I was commissioned to write a cartoon-like score for the film – quite a different mode from my normal style of music…

I’ve just found something on youtube that I’ve been searching for for years – literally…

I’ve been so lucky to have been able to play the cello with some of the most amazing musicians, but by far the greatest was Jeff Buckley. Of course he’s shot up the charts recently through his beautiful cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah – surely the antithesis of X-Factor..?

This is Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament from Dido and Æneas. But listen to this – Just. listen. to. it…

I mean, no-one can sing like that. No-one should be physically able to sing like that.

Jeff Buckley singing, withpianist Catherine Edwards, violinist Ian Belton and me on cello, in Elvis Costello’s Meltdown Festival, July 1st 1995.

I remember, this singer arrived really late, just before the show, dishevelled, all cheekbones, cool hair, black jeans and the biggest boots you’ve ever seen supporting a rake thin body.

He apologised – got out his music – a kid’s exercise book with the lyrics of the songs written out in a crazy biro scrawl. – If a word was written high up the page, well then it meant it was a high note.

At one point he asked me what country he was in… he was confused between Germany and the UK that day as I think he’d flown in with little sleep.

And then he sang.

As Elvis Costello remembers;

When he started singing Dido’s Lament at the rehearsal, there were all these classical musicians who could not believe it. Here’s a guy shuffling up on-stage and singing a piece of music normally thought to be the property of certain types of specifically developed voice, and he’s just singing, not doing it like a party piece, but doing something with it.

That’s an understatement… I remember the lights being pretty bright and the silhouette of his frame as he bent almost double to wrench every ounce of meaning from a song written 300 hundred years ago. Better than any classical musician I’ve ever heard.

As he was singing, a photographer shuffled along past the feet of the audience in the front row at the Queen Elizabeth Hall to get a shot, unaware that they were for that second the most hated person in London, and got a good clout round the head for their troubles from someone who should remain nameless.

I can’t remember anything straight after that, but Elvis Costello wrote in Mojo:

My last memory of him was at the little party in the green room afterwards. There were all these people sitting round Jeff who’d never met before – Fretwork, the viol group, a classical pianist and some jazz player – all talking and laughing about music. He’d charmed everybody. I’d much rather remember that than anything.

I just wish i could find a photo…

More where this came from here…

free tracks here

My new albums are here

Evelyn Glennie (Photo by Julian Macedo @PowderPhotography)

Winter Wonderland is a new album I’ve recorded with my friend the brilliant percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

It’s released today on iTunes and it’s rather Christmassy…! Here’s a track called Dalbergia…This one features an amazing Halo DrumHere’s just one more for now called Frost Flowers…

Hope you like the tracks. They’re all on iTunes here.

By the way, the photo above was taken at the weekend when we performed together at my Not So Silent Movies… series at Kings Place.

Here’s a stunning video made by my friends at North Face about their Denali Expedition. The camerawork is simply stunning…

The track is called ‘Night Vision’ and is from my Cloud Songs album.

Whilst everyone’s looking skywards for stray fireworks… (it’s Guy Fawkes night tonight!) here’s a little piece I wrote for Inside the Milky Way. It’s called skysong. If you like it – you can download it by clicking the arrow on the right!

The amazing violin solo is my friend David Le Page. Total genius musician…

Lots of you have been writing in about my soundtracks to Moon Machines and the score to Inside the Milky Way. I really enjoyed writing the music for those shows and if enough of you want it… I’ll get a digital release underway. Let me know though…

Please share this if you like it or look at my other albums on Bandcamp & iTunes!

Thanks… Philip

Philip Sheppard 4/11/2011

We had a sell-out crowd at the first Not So Silent Movies… at Kings Place. Thanks so much for coming!

There’s another one coming up on November 6th at 3pm. Most of the tickets have already gone, so snap the remaining ones up!! Click here for booking.I’m really happy to tell you that Dame Evelyn Glennie OBE is our special guest. Evelyn is a powerhouse virtuoso percussionist, brilliant communicator and a great friend.

Come and see her under some real pressure with our live band and a batch of amazing silent comedies.

What films do you want us to show..?! Please suggest ideas below. I’m wondering about One Week by Buster Keaton as it’s truly awesome. Let me know your thoughts…

Philip Sheppard

This monthly event takes place at the wonderful Kings Place in London. First gig is Sunday October 2nd at 3pm. Tickets from here.

Be sure to book online to avoid disappointment!

The photo of Harold Lloyd is appropriate, as what we’re going to be doing is risky, thrilling and often hilarious.

Here’s the pitch:

• Great silent film comedies,
• Great musicians together on stage,
• No sheet music,
• No rehearsing,
• No plan,
• & No watching the films in advance…

Yes… it’s totally improvised (spontaneously composed if you want to be pretentious..!), utterly great when it all clicks, and unintentionally hilarious when it goes awry.

This monthly event takes place at the wonderful Kings Place in London. First gig is Sunday October 2nd at 3pm. Tickets from here.

The photo of Harold Lloyd is appropriate, as what we’re going to be doing is risky, thrilling and often hilarious.

Here’s the pitch:

• Great silent film comedies,
• Great musicians together on stage,
• No sheet music,
• No rehearsing,
• No plan,
• & No watching the films in advance…

Yes… it’s totally improvised (spontaneously composed if you want to be pretentious..!), utterly great when it all clicks, and unintentionally hilarious when it goes awry.

Our band is amazing… we have Guy Pratt on Bass (he’s been in Pink Floyd & Roxy Music for starters), Geoff Dugmore’s playing drums (He’s an incredible drummer – one of the greatest session players in the world), Pip Eastop on Horn (he’s a stalwart of the London Sinfonietta, a Professor, stunning soloist and one of the wittiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing), Elspeth Hanson (violinist currently wowing audiences in Bond, was also glimpsed by about two billion people on a bus with David Beckham & Jimmy Page), Mark Neary (Pedal steel player and alchemist of weird and wondrous noises – last time I saw him he was laying down some lines for Flood!), Me (I play the cello a bit), and some amazing surprise guests too (not Jimmy Page… yet… but we’re working on it! see photo).

Geoff Dugmore, Jimmy Page, Me & Guy Pratt at a recording session

Future Not so Silent Movies are featuring Dame Evelyn Glennie (world famous percussion soloist), Robin Millar (Sade’s producer), Steve Mackey (Pulp’s bassist), Julia Thornton (wizard harpist & percussionist), Pete Furniss (Reeds – a mainstay of the extraordinary Impropera), Roger Eno (maverick keyboardist), Stephen Warbeck (composer, Oscar winner), Cherisse Osei (Mika’s drummer), David Le Page (former Menuhin pupil, Subway Pirhanas, Orchestra of the Swan) and many, many more…

You can probably tell I’m a bit excited about this…

Come and join us for the greatest comedies ever made – (featuring Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Joe Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle & co), and to see a group of musos having a busman’s holiday. We may even get you up on stage to take part!

Let me know who else we should invite, and which films you’d like to see us tackle!

Philip

Philip Sheppard

NSSM article