Here’s a track from my recent album ‘Somewhere along the edge’
My friend the photographer Trey Ratcliff is a master of making poetry from light. His images are a constant source of inspiration for me. See his work here.
This track is dedicated to him.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/281390332″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
I’ve been working on the soundtrack to an incredible documentary called ‘Keep Quiet’ which has just been selected to premiere at New York’s prestigious TriBeCa Film Festival.
The film concerns a passionate anti-Semite, Csanád Szegedi who was a rising star in Hungary’s far-right party – Jobbik – until he discovered his family’s extraordinary secret…
His maternal grandparents were Jewish.
“I couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t believe it,” says Szegedi, still perhaps shaken by the ultimate branding of Jewish hatred and persecution. “I thought, this is the worst thing that could ever happen – there couldn’t ever be anything worse than this.” –Daily Telegraph profile
This extraordinary revelation prompts an unlikely, but seemingly genuine and heartfelt conversion from anti-Semite to Orthodox Jew.
My soundtrack was largely recorded live at Abbey Road Studio 2 – with Gordon Davidson engineering fantastically. It’s written for solo cello and based around a scordatura technique – that’s when an instruments’ strings are tuned in an unlikely fashion rendering weird overtones and resonances.
The film’s director Sam Blair and producer Alex Holder were clear from day one that the score needed to be unsettled, fragile, airy and peculiar – in the best sense of the word. Editor Ben Stark did an incredible job at hearing beyond my sketches, and the results are a real departure for me. Some of the music from the film is below.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/127153238″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
I’m immensely grateful to John Battsek and Nicole Stott for yet another Passion project that breaks the mould.
CAST & CREDITS
Director: Joseph Martin, Sam Blair
Producer: Alex Holder, Danielle Clark, Nicole Stott
Editor: Kim Gaster, Ben Stark
Cinematographer: Márton Vízkelety
Executive Producer: John Battsek
Composer: Philip Sheppard
Cast: Csanad Szegedi, Chief Chabad Rabbi Boruch Oberlander, Anne Applebaum, Eva ‘Bobby’ Neumann, Katalin Molnár Szegediné
CONTACTS
Press Contact
Susan Norget
Susan Norget Film Promotion
New York City, 10013
Phone: 212 431 0090
susan@norget.com
This morning I’ve been playing some Paganini from an early edition, viewing through an Avegant Glyph driven by an Amazon Kindle Fire.
So far, it’s pretty thrilling experience and somewhat exciting to consider the possibilities of accessing archive material without expensive printing, using music stands, and having a truly focussed environment whilst working.
My normal day job is composing and recording film soundtracks. This is where such technology will fly, especially once reduced into a lens. The software I use to sequence, record and mix will all be effectively projected at a low level into the eye and will occupy no real estate in my studio.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to mastering those octaves – technology won’t do that for me…
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/53995543″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]Here’s a preview of my score for Human Universe featuring Professor Brian Cox, which debuts tonight on BBC2.
We’re going to release the soundtrack on iTunes, Spotify and many other digital music platforms shortly.
If you’d like to receive a one-off email when this is released, just leave us a short message below naming your favourite track.
You’ll get a free download of one of my other film scores by way of thanks.
And, you’ll really be helping us, as the most popular track will become the first track on the album.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks chez Sheppard with some new releases…
I wrote & recorded the string parts for Queens of the Stone Age album title track, Like Clockwork. This track also featured my mate James Lavelle. The album went straight in at number 1 in the charts (which was gratifying).
I’d also written for a very left field band called These New Puritans who I rate really highly. They divide critics as they’ve an uncompromising approach to music & performance. Their new album Field of Reeds came out last week. One of my heroes, Michael Van der Aa also worked on the album – great company to keep…
In the world of moving pictures I’ve been finishing composing the score to a film I can’t talk about as it’s horribly secret, but it’s involved creating a sound world involving glitchy electronica and paranoid soundscapes (no change there then..!).
I’m also featured as a soloist on the forthcoming Jason Statham film, Hummingbird, scored by my friend – the genius Dario Marianelli. It’s a violent yet sensitive film – and I’m providing some disturbed noises on electric cello for some of the more psychotic sequences. I drank a lot of Earl Grey in the studio that day…
This Sunday sees the broadcast of Chris Riley’s wonderful account of the life of one of the great thinkers & polymaths of our time, Richard Feynman. I’ve written the music for the film. Here’s are a couple of tracks from the score;[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/91542152″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /][soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/91544836″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Feynman brilliantly embraced the concept of playing – playing with ideas until they resolved into simple models of extraordinary concepts.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyqleIxXTpw&feature=youtu.be]“But when it came time to do some research. I couldn’t get to work. I was a little tired; I was not interested; I couldn’t do research!… And then I thought to myself, “You know, what they think of you is so fantastic, it’s impossible to live up to it. You have no responsibility to live up to it!”… Then I had another thought; Physics disgusts me a little bit now, but I used to enjoy doing physics. Why did I enjoy it? I used to play with it. I used to do whatever I felt like doing – it didn’t have to do with whether it was important for the development of nuclear physics…. So I get this new attitude… I’m going to play with physics, whenever I want to, without worrying about any importance whatsoever. Withing a week I was in the cafeteria and some guy, fooling around, throws a plate in the air…. I had nothing to do, so I start to figure out the motion of the rotating plate… And before I knew it (it was a very short time) I was ‘playing’ – working, really – with the same old problem that I loved so much, that I had stopped working on when I went to Los Alamos; my thesis-type problems; all those old-fashioned wonderful things. It was effortless. It was easy to play with these things. It was like uncorking a bottle: Everything flowed out effortlessly…. There was no importance to what I was doing, but ultimately there was. The diagrams and the whole business that I got the Nobel Prize for came from that piddling around with the wobbling plate.” –
Richard Feynman, excerpts from Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman
A piece of music dedicated to Trey Ratcliff whose work I’ve loved for years.[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87240788″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
He is a master of HDR Photography and I met him for the first time last year in Monterey.
This piece is recorded using tuned glass instruments and is an attempt to play with refraction, colour and shade in music.
I’ve no idea if it’s successful but it’s a new direction for me…
The more I rely on computers to mix and master my music, the more I’m drawn back to pens, pencils, thick bonded paper, Moleskine notebooks, graphite pencils and watercolour blocks. As Marilyn Monroe said; ‘To think in ink..’.
There’s nothing like taking a line for a walk and feeling the resistance of the paper and the give of the pen to swerve you off into a more interesting place than you would have gone in the world of Qwerty.
I was cleaning my desk and I pulled out a copy of a piece I’d transcribed for a friend’s 40th. He’s a Geordie, so it’s an arrangement of ‘Oh Come ye from Newcastle’. He always wears strong glasses and a a cap, and as I was writing, my pen started to veer off into a picture of him..
From there it was a slippery slope
The more I rely on computers to mix and master my music, the more I’m drawn back to pens, pencils, thick bonded paper, Moleskine notebooks, graphite pencils and watercolour blocks. As Marilyn Monroe said; ‘To think in ink..’.
There’s nothing like taking a line for a walk and feeling the resistance of the paper and the give of the pen to swerve you off into a more interesting place than you would have gone in the world of Qwerty.
I was cleaning my desk and I pulled out a copy of a piece I’d transcribed for a friend’s 40th. He’s a Geordie, so it’s an arrangement of ‘Oh Come ye from Newcastle’. He always wears strong glasses and a a cap, and as I was writing, my pen started to veer off into a picture of him..
From there it was a slippery slope to writing in terrible puns in the directions, Da Capo for the return to the baseball cap, the tricky bit along the chin is marked rather hairy, the chords on the mouth are marked as a drone…
I think the medieval calligraphers would have made a better fist of this, but it made him laugh…
[Let me know of any other picture scores in the comments & I can add them in]
© Philip Sheppard 2013
This is my notebook for the score of the forthcoming documentary film ‘Manhunt’ directed by Greg Barker. The film premieres at Sundance 2013 this coming week and tells the story of the CIA’s hunt for Bin Laden. It’s a great counterpoint to Zero Dark Thirty as it shows the frustrations, errors and dangers faced by the largely female intelligence officers, aka ‘the Sisterhood’.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/74934172″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/74933090″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Here’s a track or two from the soundtrack I’ve written.
c 2013 Philip Sheppard
There’s an oft quoted phrase that claims that architecture is frozen music. I like inverting that – music is liquid architecture. However, the blueprint above seems to have melted a little too much.
I just scanned an arrangement to email to a band and one of the sequences got a little fried as you can see. However, I’d like them to record it like this and see what happens…
A dead cert for the Classic FM playlist I reckon.
I’ve written a new ballet score for the wonderful Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin. It’s choreographed by Thomas Noone and is titled Many. 
I’m simply thrilled to have worked on this. Here are some excerpts from the piece: [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/33203616″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=3d0ac7″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ][soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/33201531″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=3d0ac7″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ] If you like it do download – you can do that by clicking on the files… but drop me a note to say hi! If you like my music I have some albums on bandcamp and iTunes. Here’s a press release from Faber Music;
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.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/C7IQe7CBPCc]
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…
Bobby Fischer Against the World, a film by Liz Garbus, has just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Here are a few tracks from my soundtrack composed for the film, plus… the title track as a free download. (Click to download & please leave a comment below).
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/9489734″ params=”auto_play=false&player_type=artwork&color=5c3bc1″ width=”300″ height=”300″ ]
Bobby Fischer against the World, title cue – piano soloist Belinda Mikhail
I first heard about Bobby Fischer when I was a kid, heavily into performing classical music. Many of the great Russian virtuoso musicians and composers had a reputation for being chess fanatics, and I remember my mother’s violin professor Beatrix Marr, describing the friendly rivalry between Boris Spassky and David Oistrakh (one of the world’s greatest violinists). Beatrix regularly thrashed me in chess matches in her cottage, making no allowance for my age…
Music begins with an opening gesture, a phrase or a hook and runs along a temporal plane before reaching a cadence, resolution and ending. Great music lives on as an impression of an experience intertwined with emotion and context. You don’t need to be able to interpret what the blobs and squiggles on a musical staff mean in order to be enveloped in a mindblowing musical experience. You don’t need to learn the ‘rules’ of harmony to be profoundly moved by a performance. The great chess grandmasters inhabit a world we can literally never comprehend. A great chess match is a performance, a spontaneous composition of pure elegant counterpoint.
The supreme master of counterpoint in the entire history of music is J.S.Bach. Even as an experienced musician, I cannot begin to grasp how he processed vast amounts of mathematical musical data, rendering it into perfectly structured miniature cathedrals of sound. The inside of his brain must have had parallels with that of Bobby Fischer, but despite this vast intellect he (unlike Fischer) was able to live a life as a complete human being. (I mean, he had fourteen children for a start…).
Bach’s famous first prelude in C was my starting point for scoring Bobby Fischer against the World. I took the theme and turned it inside out – it begins as fragmented and hesitant gestures as if unsure before playing out to an inevitable endgame. (That’s the piano and string orchestra track above by the way).
The whole of the rest of the score is composed from Bach’s themes – from the Goldberg Variations to the keyboard concertos. This piece below is based on the D minor keyboard concerto, though it’s totally unrecognizable as it’s more like a romantic American/Russian prelude that descends into a shameless waltz. This piece runs underneath the famous match between Spassky and Fischer known as the Game of Placid Beauty. This track was written in New York, against the clock when we were rushing to finish the film, and was a piece that went through so many versions and changes before settling on what became ironically known as The Brooklyn Symphony (there’s always one cue in a film which is a major problem and this was it..!)
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/9489775″]
On a final note, one deeply sad aspect of the making of this film was the loss of the brilliant editor Karen Schmeer. I had already worked with Karen for two years on Greg Barker’s extraordinary film Sergio, and Karen was a joy to work with. We knew each other purely through emails, Skype chats and the odd phone call. We never met, and it’s a strange kind of mourning when the person you knew and liked existed purely at the end of another laptop. Karen had plotted to get me involved in this film by surreptitiously working my older pieces into the rough cut of the movie, without Liz Garbus (the director) fully catching on to what was happening. The day before Karen left us, she had confided to me that her cunning plan was working very nicely.
The film is naturally dedicated to Karen, and the music is wholeheartedly for her (well, the good bits at least…).
Here below is the score for the Brooklyn Symphony with her dedication at the top. Thanks for reading this – Philip Sheppard
Quick update – Here’s an ad from the NY times!
It’s been a bit crazy round here… but I’ve been working with some amazing friends & musicians who’ve kept things sane and very happy.
I’ve been writing and recording with Evelyn Glennie, or Dame Evelyn Glennie O.B.E. as she should really be addressed. She’s one of the most phenomenal musicians I’ve ever worked with – stunning improviser, percussionista par excellence with a wicked sense of humour. By day two of recording together along with the great engineer Jake Jackson, we had completely forgotten the fact that she can’t hear a thing.
I really can’t wait to play you what we’ve come up with…
Meanwhile… The Tillman Story soundtrack is out on iTunes this week thanks to the sterling efforts of The Weinstein Co and Lakeshore records (who previously released my Shadow of the Moon Score). The film is featured in this week’s London Film Festival.
I’ve been back into the studio, (Abbey Road 2 this time), with the brilliant producer Ivor Guest to develop some nasty noises using a big string section for the latest release from France’s most idiosyncratic chanteuse Brigitte Fontaine. This woman is like Bjork’s cooler granny. Here’s a track I did with her with my electric cello doing some very disturbed things over the top… [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlLJqORNu2Q]
She’s wonderful, outrageous and a darn good musician. The last album we worked on was called Prohibition and is worth a listen as I think it’s truly unique.
Meanwhile… I’ve been hard at work on recording and mixing my latest project, an incredible film about the chess genius Bobby Fischer. We assembled a fantastic string section in Air Studio 1 along with master engineer Geoff Foster who’s fresh off working on Narnia & Tron Legacy.
It was lovely being able to record the score with friends I’ve been in chamber groups with since the very early days, Pro Corda & Royal Academy and so forth, and yet pick up where we left off – the only downer being that we were playing my octets rather than Mendelssohn’s…!
You’ve read this far… that mean’s you’re awfully nice or haven’t anything better to do – so by way of an apology & thanks, here’s a track that isn’t particularly melancholic at all… which, if you like it, can be downloaded by clicking the down arrow. Leave me a note if you want!
Yours in rosin and coffee,
Philip
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/5942212″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=3585be” width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
My soundtrack for PBS’s forthcoming series God in America is out now on iTunes.
We had the launch party for the series in New York the other day together with the lovely stars of the series Michael Emerson (of Lost fame) and Chris Sarandon (Whom I know from The Princess Bride).
The series also stars Toby Jones – better known to some as Truman Capote and Dobby the house elf!
Here’s a track from the show… I hope you like it
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/5544791″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=3585be” width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
The traditional spiritual ‘Steal Away’ played by an orchestra of cellos, followed by a postlude – solo viola James Boyd. Hope you like it..! This is to be broadcast on the soundtrack to ‘God in America’ – October 10th, 11th, 12th 2010.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/steal-away-postlude” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=be8735″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
Here’s a sketch I’m working inspired by the incident at the Gare de l’Ouest. A touch of Victorian melodrama with a steampunk symphony orchestra…
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/murder-on-the-great-western” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=a38036″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
To mark the 70th anniversary of the ‘miracle of Dunkirk’, 50 of the surviving ‘little ships’ which made the original perilous cross-channel voyage returned to France. Dan Snow presents the programme on BBC2 and BBC1.
Original music score by Philip Sheppard.
[tweetmeme source= ‘@PhilipSheppard’ only_single=false]
If you would like to download some of this soundtrack, join my mailing list here and I’ll send you the link.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/little-ships” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&show_playcount=true&show_artwork=true&color=4d3d7a” width=”100%” height=”185″ ]
Here’s the wonderful JB Priestly talking about the Little Ships
Online music promotion & why musicians should make their own record deals…
[This is a section of a talk I gave at the Royal Academy of Music]
[If you like this… then read the supporting article CLICK HERE]
During my lecture a student asked if they should send a huge dossier of references, biographies, programmes and recordings to prospective venues/employers.
Err.. nope!
A CD with a handwritten note – all nicely designed & personally directed is much better, especially if solicited via an initial email.
(The former package would in all likelihood end up in a recycling bin)
Harsh maybe.. but true!
Here are some simple steps to:
You want people to hear you, join you, and get excited about what you produce next (and hopefully turn up in droves to your next recital).
Getting it out there…
Let’s assume you’ve already recorded a really well thought-through programme of pieces/ songs… (This is a whole other massive subject, and something that classical musicians can often get very wrong…)
The obvious place to start a web presence is myspace, but it seems (at best) an inelegant way to present yourself as an artist, especially when there are so many other free hosted sites with beautiful templates out there.
I have a myspace page, (it’s so very ugly.. I won’t even link to it here) but its primary purpose is to redirect traffic to my own sites!
WordPress
I love WordPress (where you’re reading this).
It’s free – it has excellent templates, so even a klutz like me can make something look half – decent…
I can place a track like this
by entering a piece of simple code, and it looks professional.
It’s designed as a piece of blogging software, but rather than using it purely as an online diary, I find it is a great place to host your biography and showreel.
More importantly, it’s a great place to engage in regular chats with people who might like what you do.
The more people that comment and link to you, the higher you page goes in Google’s rankings, so make sure it’s appealing!!
Also, when people leave comments, good or bad, try to respond as soon as you can! This can be difficult if you’re busy, but shows that what you’re doing is artist led, not just a facade by a record company to ‘get down with the kids’…
You can get a WordPress blog here – highly recommended.
Mailing list
If you want to link with people who like what you do, then maybe use a company to administer a mailing list for you. I use Constant Contact and find them very effective. They have a good policy against spam and there are lots of safeguards in place to ensure you communicate properly in your (hopefully) mass emails.
I link my site to my signup page which is here.
Obviously Twitter links into this whole pattern very neatly too!
Getting a great look for your album
Sometimes technology creates more niggling work for us and leaves a big creative void in the heart of your soul… and then sometimes, it proves itself to be a thing of simple beauty.
I love Flikr.
I am a massive fan of specific photographers like Lucy Martin, Trey Radcliffe, TonTon Copte and many others. Something in their imagery and artistic sensitivities links with my music.
I found all of them through the site, and in fact recently licenced an image from Lucy Martin which was a perfect fit for my Henry VIII album. Have a look here and you can see why!
SoundCloud
A different way of grouping/ hosting your music for free is presented by SoundCloud.
What is neat about this is the way people can place comments along the timeline, and even better, anyone (if you like) can stream it to their own blog/site.
Here’s a recent piece of mine which is being streamed from the SoundCloud website.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/close-your-eyes-6″]
Listeners can add comments at specific points in the track – you can see them by hovering over the pictures.
I use SoundCloud to determine whether a track has ‘legs’ or not.
It’s very meritocratic – if something’s good – it’ll get lots of plays!
Now, if you’re feeling generous, you can make the tracks downloadable (although you should tag them in iTunes first so the mp3 has your web address in its code – google ‘iTunes metadata’ if you want to know more).
This track is a download track – again, it’s being streamed via a simple bit of code from SoundCloud:
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/in-i-the-apotheosis-akram-khan-juliette-binoche”]
The downwards arrow on the right is a download link.
Here’s a site where someone’s placed a block of my tracks leading to free downloads.
Here’s my site hosted by SoundCloud.
Lastfm
A well-established streaming music service is lastfm.com. This is a curious amalgam of fansite and radio station. Personally I find it a bit disjointed, and also it concerns me that unreleased tracks often appear there from dubious sources. There are tracks of mine on there that I’ve never released!
The Sixty one
A completely different approach to new music streaming and downloads can be found at thesixtyone.com.
This is a really hard site to describe as it is as much about gameplay as it is about streaming music. There are two types of (free) account. Artists or Listeners. The Listeners get a higher ranking depending upon how they scout for new songs that the Artists place on there. They give ‘hearts’ to tracks they like, a little like buying shares in a stock that looks like it’s going to perform well.
Frankly, no-one really knows how it works.
Also, as with SoundCloud, you can tell pretty quickly if a track has merit as it will get voted onto the front page!
Players also give ‘tips’ which I hadn’t realized translate into Paypal dollars.
From my page here, I have enough for two cappuccinos already… hurrah!
However – it was a superb place to place your music, but following a recent makeover, users have expressed dismay at the frankly confusing navigation…
Setting up a label and generating paid downloads
Setting up a label appears at first to be an onerous and difficult task. This certainly used to be the case, when there was a baffling array of requirements; barcodes, encoding, registration and so forth.
This is no longer the case thanks to intermediary companies that have sprung up to help us confused and frustrated independent players and composers.
CDbaby
CDBaby was established by the very brilliant Derek Sivers (whose blog is essential reading). They distribute to a huge number of digital outlets, and have excellent accounting procedures for small labels. They started as a physical distributor of CDs but seem to have made a smooth transition to digital marketing. You can read about joining here.
Ditto Music
One of the most impressive of these new services is Ditto Music.
They have created a brilliant service where the tasks of creating a label for your releases is streamlined and organized for a one-off fee.
They also take 0% of your royalties when tracks are sold online, and they can distribute to 700 digital outlets.
The real icing on the cake is that they have created a means by which independent musicians can get their tracks loaded onto Spotify, and iTunes.
Whenever I have a soundtrack album for a film or concert project, they are my first port of call.
Here’s an album of mine they managed to get onto iTunes within a day and a half…
Spotify
There’s a widely held belief that as an independent artist, getting your tracks onto Spotify and iTunes is nigh on impossible unless you’re with a major label. This is happily untrue as discussed above. Spotify is an exciting way of streaming (and now temporarily downloading) tracks which has begun a seamless integration with phones and mp3 players.
Spotify are themselves trying to approach smaller, independent labels, and you can register interest as a future partner here.
What’s next..?
I’m going to write about physical CD production, as well as other merchandise… But I need a big mug of coffee first! Let me know if this is useful…
In the meantime, here’s an article I wrote about being a composer whilst keeping your head!
This Thursday, Sergio premieres on HBO.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/always-just-sergio” params=”auto_play=false&player_type=artwork&color=ab741e” width=”425″ height=”425″ ]
(Soundtrack by Philip Sheppard)
From his birth in Rio de Janeiro in 1948 to his untimely and tragic death in Baghdad in 2003, Sergio Vieira de Mello led an extraordinary life.
Vieira de Mello joined the United Nations in 1969 and would devote his life to the organization and its ideals. Known to most as simply ‘Sergio’, Vieira de Mello worked in some of the world’s most volatile and distressed regions. His career spanned assignments in Lebanon, Peru, Bosnia, Sudan, Cambodia, Cyprus, Mozambique, East Timor and Iraq. Working mostly for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sergio achieved some astonishing successes. These achievements were not easily won. Sergio grew up with the UN, developing several guiding principles along the way.
When Sergio died he was serving as the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq. He had managed to find a balance between pragmatism and idealism, principles and compromise. He was the UN’s ‘go to guy’, having spent decades refining his approach. In the words of his friend and colleague Dennis McNamara, Sergio was, “one of the bright stars, maybe the brightest. He was the master magician, mediator, manager, massager of egos.” This was the tragedy of August 19.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/at-the-edge-of-life” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=5a4811″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
This is one of a series of tracks I’ve written for a new album I’m writing called ‘Music on the edge of Life’.
The picture is by Christophe Dessaigne.
From his site: Christophe Dessaigne is a French artist who lives in the south of France, in a small town called Perpignan, near Spain on the Mediterranean coast. His creations are open doors to fantastic and dreamy horizons where digital photography serves the fanciful imagery of surrealist photomontages. His universes are desolate, vast and insubstantial. [tweetmeme source= ‘@PhilipSheppard’ only_single=false]
The track is (naturally) heavy on the electric cello…
Here as promised are three of the cues from the score of The Tillman Story, which has just been playing at Sundance 2010.
‘Amir Bar-Lev’s “The Tillman Story” is a riveting account of how a soldier’s death in Afghanistan was spun into a web of public lies…. Theatrical, broadcast and further fest exposure are assured…’
VARIETY
‘…driven by a terrific score by Philip Sheppard who did the music for “Sergio” and “In The Shadow of The Moon”…’
INDIEWIRE
The AfghanCongressPat’s Chorale
The Tillman Story is in competition at Sundance, so we’re all getting excited about the premiere at the Egyptian Theatre. Meanwhile, Sergio has made the Oscar shortlist.
Also now halfway through writing a big USA film project that I’m loving working on. Also finished a film where I’m sharing a credit with Moby (which is nice, but I doubt he shares my excitement…)
Here are some recent pieces from films (some can be downloaded..);
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/r-a-d-i-o-m-o-v-i-e-s” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&show_playcount=true&show_artwork=true&color=6bb7ef” width=”100%” height=”305″ ]
I crave that sense that hovers somewhere between fear and bliss.
It’s this time of year that I long to be on a mountain’s edge somewhere between heaven and earth, gravity and weightlessness, beauty and terror.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/nearly-zero-g”]
This track is called Nearly Zero G and was featured in the recent Teton Gravity extreme Ski film Re:Session.
I’ve had lots of emails asking to buy this track. Well, you can’t buy it.. but you can download it for free right here!
I’ve been working again with a great animator called EB Hu.
This a film by him called Lucky.
[vimeo = http://vimeo.com/8104231]
My piano piece is called Memory of Water.
It’s featured on the forthcoming Venetian Underground album.
More here – including an interview with EB
Violin track featuring Elspeth Hanson.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/b-o-r-d-e-r-l-a-n-d”]
In-I starring Akram Khan and Juliette Binoche is playing at BAM Harvey Theater (NY) this week.
To download tracks click on the buttons on the right hand side – it’s very easy!
To get news of more tracks like this you could join Philip here on Instagram:
And listen to lots of other tracks by clicking the pages in the right hand sidebar.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/in-i-starring-juliette-binoche-akram-khan”]
If you liked this.. here’s one more chilled-out track for you:
Clear Blue – upbeat electric cello – feel free to give it the thumbs up (if you want..)!
n.b. Leave a comment below and we’ll send you links to other free tracks when they’re released.
Steve Scott used one of my tracks in a recent animation called Legend of Exos
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/4865046]
I love his style – steampunk and surreal.
The film features my track ‘Keep Walking’ which you’re welcome to download from here:
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/keep-walking-3″]
(Click the downwards arrow on the right hand side!)
I’m delighted to tell you that Henry Mind of a Tyrant is shortly to be released on a label I’ve just set up…
I have great designers, animators, editors on board and think it may just work..
There are Three CDs coming out before the Autumn and this is definitely one of them!
NB, Other releases are to be a piano album (including Crystallised Beauty) and a CD of my odd cello/orchestra soundscapes (including Close Your Eyes).
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/henry-mind-of-a-tyrant”]
Click the play button to hear tracks including O Dolce Nocte featuring Alamire and Fretwork.
The reason I’m writing though is that I’m going to need help (hopefully yours!) getting the word out there about the Henry CD as this is a small-label release, but I’d love it to reach a wide audience. There’s no financial drive behind this, as I’m just as happy to distribute tracks free when I can. Your suggestions matter very much, as it’s only because of the comments on this page here – that the companies have agreed to let me make the CD!
So all ideas as to how & if you’d like to own it, which radio stations I should approach, what kind of packaging you’d like used, which tracks you’d want on there (I will put the credits music on!), even how much it should cost… will be very gratefully received. I’d also like to put suggested artwork online, so you can help me choose what it should look like.
So, at the moment I’m considering all of these types of release;
I’ll send you a Henry mp3 right away by way of thanks if you drop me an idea!
Many thanks as ever
Philip
PS. Spread the word through this link if there are others who’d be interested (if you want to..):
You should follow me on Instagram
Well.. after lots and lots of talking and negotiating.. it looks like we can get the piano pieces released!! Initially on itunes, emusic and spotify.. as well as a nice coffee table version.
Please let me know with your comments which ones definitely make the cut!
Here
Sorry for the recent radio silence! I’ve been very busy with a film and a stage show… plus there’s a really big film project in the pipeline that I wish I could tell you more about…
To all who’ve asked for Crystallised Beauty… it’s just been sent – and I’ve had a brainwave about how to release tracks more easily. Watch this space!
Also coming soon – a schedule of all forthcoming performances and film broadcasts/premieres plus dance shows too.
Here’s a new piano track that goes with the above image – a memory for water [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/a-memory-of-water.mp3]
Quoted from Press release
The Houston Symphony announces Carnegie Hall as the second stop for the world-premiere event, The Planets—An HD Odyssey, a newly commissioned project of the Symphony. On January 28, 2010, Carnegie Hall will present the Symphony under the baton of Music Director Hans Graf in a program that culminates with Gustav Holst’s beloved The Planets and a high-definition, state-of-the-art film by celebrated producer/director Duncan Copp.
I’ve written a Prelude – The Launch of Cassini which opens the film.
I’m very excited about this. I’ve played in Carnegie Hall, but have never had anything presented there before. The Holst is such an incredible piece that I’m steering clear of its orchestration and soundworld and going heavily into harmonics and string overtones.
I may put a sneak peek here soon. Needless to say, it’s going to have a lot of cellos in it…
Follow him on Instagram here.Then…
Download the sheet music here!
Breaking news… New piano page with tracks here
Funnily enough, I can’t play the piano as I’m a cellist by trade, so one hand carrying a melody is more than enough for me. In fact my piano reports from junior school were so bad that I still have them.
They are paper reports as, back then, the only computer in school ran floppy disks the size of a pancake (same consistency too) and could achieve the incredible task of generating a row of ten prime numbers whilst making a noise like your granny clearing her throat.
Sorry, not your granny, one’s own granny.
So they were lovingly crafted from postcard sized sheets of paper stapled together with a whole page per subject, including instrumental lessons. Most of the sheets were marked with crabbed, bitter scratchings of frustrated first world war veterans sent to the darkest parts of Essex to teach us, which goes some way to explaining why they were illustrated with fag ash burns and beer stains.
Not so my piano report pages .. oh no. Elegant beautiful writing like (the then) to be Lady Di’s.
They read:
Obviously a treasured possession now…
Anyway – A little while back I wrote a piece for solo piano called Crystallised Beauty (Crystallized if you’re American) which was recorded on an album for Chappell. For some reason, some people like it – for which I’m very grateful, as I’m an imposter in the world of the keyboard…
Here’s the not often heard full-length version of the track:
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/crystallised-beauty”]
Here’s a Jane Austen trailer using it. The sheet music is finally coming soon and will be a free download from this page…
[digg=http://digg.com/music/Crystallised_Beauty_Piano_Piece]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrQGlP4g3QQ&hl=en&fs=1]
Other Keyboard pieces
The are a number of other keyboard pieces in this set.
Here’s one of them, which was recorded in Finchcocks, a stately home and piano museum. The instrument used is a Viennese double strung piano – very rare and extremely fragile instrument. [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/04-moon-over-meadow.mp3]The piece is (as yet) unnamed, but is based on the idea of an empty drawing room at night – except, that is, for the piano. It holds within its wood and strings snatches of music, harmonics and melodies that others have played on it… Any ideas for names gratefully accepted – the more literary the better!
Here’s a second piece recorded on a Steinway – a slow ballade waltz [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/jb3-ballade.mp3]
Here’s a third piece called The Long Letter[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/07-10-long-letter.mp3]
Philip Sheppard is a composer specializing in film and television soundtracks. He is also a solo cellist and a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
Recent films include In the Shadow of the Moon (which won numerous awards including the World Documentary Prize at Sundance), Henry Mind of a Tyrant for David Starkey
If you’re near Hadrian’s Wall this Saturday night, you may hear Romans, Reivers, and Vikings fighting in time to my music – (well it makes a change from ballet!)
The Living Pageant is a rather unique event, involving hundreds of re-enactors, some very new technology, and a rather impressive bit of Roman brickwork.
I’ve pre-recorded the score, but will be mixing it as a live soundtrack, using some familiar technology, and a ridiculous number of laptops. I’m hoping the effect will be that of a live film…
I’m driving the score together with Peter Gregson, and we’re using a combination of Ableton and Logic (and hopefully not itunes…)
Here’s one of the more mellow moments – The Derwent Ballad as played by the excellent violinist Elspeth Hansen, (and yours truly)[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/derwent-ballad.mp3]
Sergio wins audience award at Telluride film festival!
From the Telluride Daily Planet:
The 2009 Mountainfilm Festival plopped its audience in front of gorgeous canyons and tremendous acts of bravery, audacious hoaxes and evil corporate maneuvering, boundless compassion and extraordinary individuals.
In the end, it was one of these individuals — Sergio Vieira de Mello — who stole the hearts of the movie-goers.
Greg Barker’s film, “Sergio” is a meticulously-crafted portrait of de Mello — the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights whose life was cut tragically short when a truck bomb exploded below his office in Baghdad. “Sergio” won the Audience Choice Award at this year’s festival.
Watch out for online stream of some of my music from the film… coming soon!
It seems this is the week for DVD releases of some of my recent scores…
Henry Mind of a Tyrant, Sacred Monsters and Moon Machines are all rolling out now!
Henry Mind of a Tyrant is released on DVD in the UK:
Moon Machines finally gets a release on DVD in the US:
This series was fascinating to work on. The series focuses on the brains behind the mind-blowing technology that got man to the moon more than just the once. If you liked In the Shadow of the Moon (and I hope you did) then you might enjoy this too. My favourite sequences show how the software to run the craft was literally knitted by expert seamstresses using looms.
Sacred Monsters is released worldwide on DVD by Sadlers Wells:
This show starred Akram Khan and Sylvie Guillem. I wrote the score and toured with the production as onstage cellist (with a great band) for the best part of a year and a half. I hope to post the soundtrack online soon as a free listen (as per my other Akram show; In-I).
Just 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:
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!
Just 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:
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.
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…
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.wordpress.com/files/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:
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.
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.
Crystallised Beauty Sheet Music – it’s here…
After rather a lot of emails, I’ve finally got around to writing up the piano score of Crystallised Beauty. As everyone who’s asked for it seems very friendly and sociable, I decided to make it for two pianists…
You can still play it on your own if you prefer, but… to fit all the different parts in, four hands are better than two!
It’s free, but please don’t copy it anywhere else – if anyone wants a copy they can download it from here for nothing. If you want to give anything, a comment is always welcome!
Get the sheet music by clicking here!
listen to it here:[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/crystallised-beauty”]
How to get the mp3…
If you’d like the mp3, it’s not commercially available yet – but – I can send it to you.
How?
Well, leave a comment below, mention the mp3 and (because I can then see your email details) I will forward you a link for the mp3 download. Easy!
Condron.us
I can’t play it well, but I love it all the same… Which other pieces would you like free sheet music for? Please let me know!
I’ve written quite a few pieces for piano recently, for various films and as concert works. (NB free download at the end)
Join me on Instagram for mp3 and sheet music updates
Sheet music for Crystallised Beauty
Here’s a track called Watermark for solo piano[Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/04/watermark.mp3]
Glenn Gould [Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/15-glenn-gould.mp3]
After the Moonlight (Piano Trio)[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/13-fast-gathering-tears.mp3]And… This is new too The Daguerreotype [Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/jb2-old-photos.mp3]Here’s another recorded in Finchcocks, a stately home and piano museum. The instrument used is a Viennese double strung piano – a very rare and extremely fragile instrument. [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/04-moon-over-meadow.mp3]
The piece is (as yet) unnamed, but is based on the idea of an empty drawing room at night – except, that is, for the piano. It holds within its wood and strings snatches of music, harmonics and melodies that others have played on it… Any ideas for names gratefully accepted – the more literary the better!
Here’s a second piece recorded on a Steinway – a slow ballade waltz [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/jb3-ballade.mp3]
Here’s a third piece called The Long Letter[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/07-10-long-letter.mp3]
Here’s the obvious one (of Jane Austen fame)… Crystallised Beauty – the (not often heard) full-length version of the track:[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/01-crystallised-beauty.mp3]Added today – Sheet music for Crystallised Beauty!
And here’s one called for Elena[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/22-9-for-elena.mp3]
This is a piece (with strings) called keep walking[Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/pssst.mp3]
Here’s the mp3 if you’d rather download it and hear it on your personal gramophone (!): keep walking by Philip Sheppard
If you like any of these pieces, check out Aqua Voce too, and remember to Join me on Instagram for mp3 and sheet music updates too!
Transmission dates for Henry VIII Mind of a Tyrant (presented by David Starkey) have been announced by Channel 4.
Henry – Mind of a Tyrant
I’ve just come back from the dubbing sessions (when the audio is finalised with pictures) for the new David Starkey series on Henry VIII.
I’m really excited about the series. Can’t say too much here, but, most of the soundtrack will appear shortly on this site as an audio stream.
It features Alamire, Fretwork, Charles Mutter and Dot Allison amongst others.
Here’s a sneak preview of one of the lead tracks Ultimi[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ht4-ultimi-mix-copy-1.mp3]
New Piano track
Here’s a newly released track playing with the idea of piano touch – it’s a little rhapsody about Glenn Gould [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/15-glenn-gould.mp3]
If you like this, there’s a whole page of piano tracks…
Sheet Music
Hundreds of people have downloaded the Crystallised Beauty sheet music this week. I’ll put some of the other piano pieces online as scores as soon as I get a chance… watch this space!
I’ve just been finishing the soundtrack for the new David Starkey series for Channel 4, entitled Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant . The music features the viol consort Fretwork and vocal consort
Olympic Documentary London Calling – screens this week
I’ve just heard that this Wednesday (4th March 2009) sees the broadcast of the BBC Documentary ‘London Calling’, which, according to the BBC website;
…follows the exploits of the Ceremonies Team as they prepare to mount the eight-minute show to mark the official handover of responsibility for the Olympic Games from Beijing to London…
I was the music director for the handover, which involved writing a score for the London Symphony Orchestra (based on several well-known traditional British songs as well as The Shipping Forecast and the Greenwich Time Signal) as well as re-arranging the UK National Anthem (in order to make it a bit more lyrical).
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/1592686]
The show had to culminate in a well-known song, so, together with co-producer Steve Robson, I recorded Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis performing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin together with (the brilliant bass player) Guy Pratt and Geoff Dugmore (the most civilised, yet powerful drummer you’ll ever find). We laid down the backing at Olympic Studios with as near to an authentic setup as possible – even down to the risers for the drums and correct amps.
Hearing that riff played by that man in that room.
I Love My Job.
I suspect that the programme will make fairly nailbiting viewing as there were major highs and lows throughout the long development process for everyone, culminating in the adrenalin rush of the show at the Bird’s Nest Stadium – but followed by the revelation that the direct feed of music and sound (which we’d spent months preparing) didn’t appear to find its way from the stadium to TV sets.
For me there were several moments that still seem a little unreal –
Firstly, being in Air studios conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, who were blissfully unaware throughout the recording session that the ‘James‘ I was on intercom with in the control room was a certain guitar player…
Secondly, realising just how technically and musically accomplished Leona Lewis is as an artist. I’ve not worked with many singers in the pop world who can discuss coloratura technique, and operas by Purcell and Bellini. Actually, there was one… Jeff Buckley ! (Check this out…) But Leona can really sing with heart and soul, balanced with quite astounding technique.
But also… Chris Hoy, Jamie Staff and Victoria Pendleton (plus medals) coming to my place for a drink before the cast party. I think I’ll tell my grandchildren about that…
Here’s my version of the National Anthem performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the singers from The National Youth Theatre.[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/anthem-july-20th-1.mp3]
David Starkey is to produce a four-part “psychological profile” of Henry VIII for Channel 4. The as-yet-untitled series will go beyond the facts of Henry’s six wives and his split with the Catholic church to piece together a sense of his character and motivations. Soundtrack available here.
The series will be broadcast in April, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne and a major British Library exhibition on the monarch.
The soundtrack has been composed by Philip Sheppard and is based on music written by Henry himself, as well as themes drawn from Tudor contemporary composers such as Philippe Verdelot and Robert Fayrfax. The score is being performed by Philip Sheppard, together with the superb vocal consort Alamire (directed by Dr David Skinner) and viol consort Fretwork.
Click the play button below to hear a preview of one of the tracks to be featured in the programme – ‘O Dolce Nocte’ by Philip Sheppard after Philippe Verdelot, featuring Alamire:
The first 60-minute episode will show Henry as a highly intelligent child, while subsequent episodes will paint him as a brilliant “A-list celebrity” character with an over-developed ego and “solipsistic sense of self”.
David Sington, who will direct the series for Red House Dox Productions, said:
“[David Starkey] will ask which events changed Henry, and in changing him, changed the British character. He was convinced of his own destiny and shaped us as an island nation, cut off from the continent…. He’s not a Bluebeard character, however. He emerges as a sympathetic character even though he does terrible things.”
Indeed, the Daily Mail has just run a story, resulting from one of Starkey’s more surprising discoveries; Henry’s possible use of a stairlift towards the end of his life.
Here’s a photo I took of the Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony rehearsal from the sound control desk as the Chinese rehearsed their incredible finale at great speed.
This was after we’d rehearsed our Red London Bus (containing Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis and a certain footballer) getting around the carpeted track.
I used tiltshiftmaker to give it an extra level of unreality – see also picture of very large Taiko Drum from the same rehearsal.
