Trying something different

 It's been a while since I posted, I was so focused on writing music for Mary's Dowry Productions, we had a backlog of films which we wanted to finish and release and we finally did it!  I wrote three film scores in a row for Hildegard of Bingen, Saint David Lewis and Saint Dymphna.  They gave me three opportunities for different styles of music and I was taken back 19 years to my first semester of college where we were asked to compose something in the style of Hildegard of Bingen!

In 2005 when I started my degree in music composition for professional media at Northbrook College, I had not heard of Hildegard of Bingen but we started right at the beginning before covering all styles and progressions of music and it was my favourite class.  I was just getting to grips with Cubase for the first time and doing a crash course in VST sounds.  With my student loan and grant I purchased Symphonic Choirs and I was the only one in my class to really study how to make the choirs speak.  I used the choirs to realistically speak words and for my piece I had them sing in plainchant one of Hildegard of Bingen's poems.  It was this that I dug out recently to use in my music score for the film after all these years!

Saint David Lewis gave me an opportunity to fuse some Welsh and Historical styles and Dymphna was something simple and uplifting.  The films are now available on DVD and Instant Video.

MUSIC CD ALBUMS

After all of this and 18 years of Mary's Dowry Productions I realised that I was drawing a lot upon similar styles and sounds and had become entrenched in writing music as an underscore for film.  My last album was VALLEYS which was 10 years ago.  I have produced a lot of Holy Spirit calming tracks which are easy for me to do but what I started out with at aged 14 is folklore, folk, Celtic style which I would compose at the piano and later on the Clavinova.  I miss these days.  I wrote 3 tracks for VALLEYS at the piano, transcribed them and then worked then into multiple instrumental scores on the computer.  They are so much more layered and interesting.

A few months ago I put everything away and decided that I wouldn't compose anymore, I was completely worn out.  However, this week I have turned everything back on and gone for something completely new.  I am into wildlife, conservation, climate right now and so I asked my sister for some nature titles and am going for a more fairy tale, nature style and really utilise my Forest Kingdom sounds.  Furthermore, I have dug out my manuscript paper and I shall be writing them at the clavinova so as to go back to my roots!

GOING DIGITAL

I still send out CD albums regularly but I am hot on making everything available digitally.  Yesterday I counted which albums are on Spotify, iTunes etc and am making the rest available.  I am not making music soundtracks available digitally but the Holy Spirit series, the Ancient Fusion series and the "others" such as Autumn, Christmas and future ones.  I'm very excited about this new direction! Check out my music on #Spotify 

Saint Catherine of Siena - New Film!

 After a much needed break, we decided to catch up on outstanding productions as well as new ones in the pipeline so really knuckled down to it and tried to finish St. Catherine of Siena.  In preparation, I decided to write some tracks that I could draw upon using my new samples from DARK ERA, NADA and ANCIENT ERA PERSIA.  They were perfect and so inspiring!

I decided to work specifically on Holy Spirit of Compassion album, then draw upon these album tracks if needed for the film.  I got writing whilst my sister finished the script and started editing the film.  What a lot of work!  This film was supposed to be 25 minutes but it expanded into an hour long film with the whole history of the papacy.  This gave me a lot to draw upon.  Some of the new samples have not just soundscapes but pulsing and rhythmic ones which were so handy.  One of my favourites was the instrument "Ancient Lyre".  I used this fused with piano, fiddle and cello.

It was not until I started actual work on the music score this week that I realized just how perfect these tracks were!  I started the score with a build up with strings and soundscapes, we also decided to have a lot of scenery breaks and scenery with text from St. Catherine's letters.  This gave me lots of opportunities to really get into the music.  Some breaks I used moving cello and strings, others soundscapes with Cantus monks singing, others with some nice Irish flute.  There is real variety in this film.  I was especially inspired by the sequences of modern people, works of charity, I used a track from Holy Spirit of Solitude where I got the Nykelharpa to work very well and the whole passage builds to an inspiring climax which made me love the Church and be so honoured to be writing music for projects that promote the work of the Church and the saints.

This film is now available on DVD and Instant video and I shall be writing the last 4 tracks for Spirit of Compassion to share on CD.

Saint Catherine of Siena DVD
Available from www.marysdowryproductions.org 

You can watch this trailer and listen to some of the music:

Holy Spirit of Hope Music Album

 For several months I have been writing tracks with a view to using them in music scores for upcoming productions.  I have used them for the past three films and that has given me 8 tracks which I have set aside for Holy Spirit of Hope music album.  Today I took time out especially to write 2 more tracks so that I could finish this album and was very excited about it.  Halfway through I remembered that I will soon be writing the music for Margery Kempe so for track 10 I loaded some very ancient instruments such as Koblikzek, Nykelharpa, Lute, Psalter and used these as inspiration for the final track with a view to being able to use it in the film.  I am pleased to say that I have completed yet another album and also designed some of the artwork!  Once I hand the tracks over to my sister she will make me a nice trailer with music samples so watch this space.  It's nice coming right after the release of AUTUMN.

Holy Spirit of Solitude Digital Distribution Update

This weekend I have started the process for "Holy Spirit of Solitude" album, my latest album in the Holy Spirit music series, to be available for Digital Distribution.  This completes the Holy Spirit series making them available in both digital and audio CD formats.  I have also submitted "Journeys" for digital distribution.  I'm not sure how this will go as these first albums are quite old and were all performed and recorded using a Clavinova system.  I have since re-mastered them so it should be okay, I'm not sure how fussy they are with the submission process.  It will be great to have my Ancient Fusion Music albums available online.  I was just listening to JOURNEYS and it's so different!  I remember taking a theme for each track like "The Ice Vessel" and using the limited instruments to capture the feel and create an entire atmosphere and story.  Switching to my current album "Holy Spirit of Love" I see now why I feel so spoiled for choice with my delicious soundscapes not to mention the lead instruments I have now.  What makes JOURNEYS so great though is the feel of the clavinova, I love playing the clavinova.  Amazing the different compositions 20 years apart.

I have now written 7 tracks for Holy Spirit of Love and this album too has it's own unique atmosphere.  I have been enjoying contemplating characters and stories for each track, usually I focus on landscapes and peoples and imagine all kinds of stories, but for this I have taken just one or two people in my mind and composed pieces representing their love.  This is not something I've done before and it's been quite fun and new.  I hope to finish this album soon, I began round about April 2020 so not too bad so far. 

Holy Spirit of Love - Music Album Update

Being at home during the lockdown I thought that I would be able to write a tonne of music, however I just have not been able to for some reason, granted we have still been popping in to work each day and now that the schools are open we are going in extra to clean so have had even less time.  I also have been suffering from scar tissue pain in my side from surgery I had almost 7 years ago.  If I sit at the computer for too long it takes its toll.  Therefore, my upcoming album "Holy Spirit of Love" is taking a while!

I have to date written 6 tracks which is great, only 4 more to write, but they have been written over time.  This album has no titles as yet but for it I have allowed myself to sit and think, be inspired, by particular characters from series, films and books and then write and improvise and really feel a piece of music based on this.  For example track 5 focuses on the love for a particular mother and her son, track 2 the kinship and love between a group of friends in trouble, it's been a very interesting approach!  I'm really pleased with it so far and a couple of tracks have been used for trailers for Mary's Dowry Productions, sparking interest in the album and its release date.  It should not take me too long to write the remaining 4 tracks and it will be great to have a new album release.  I am still drawing upon my new sound samples, the Nyckelharpa from Soniccouture and the Eduardo Tarilonte's Celtic Era beautiful leading instruments like Irish Flute.

We are currently at the "end credits" stage for upcoming film "St. John Kemble" so I am looking forward to writing a score about an English Martyr again, if I have not written for Holy Spirit of Love before then this will hopefully get me back in the mood.  Until then, check out GOOGLE PLAY as I am making more and more albums available digitally there as well as of course Spotify, Napster, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon etc.

Screenshot from upcoming film "St. John Kemble"

Saint Alban Roe, English Martyr

At long last I have been able to immerse myself in the life of another English Martyr with our upcoming latest film "Saint Alban Roe: High Stakes".  We filmed for this in March 2018, almost two years ago, when we shot imagery for St. Gemma Galgani, Our Lady of Knock, St. Francis de Sales and St. Alban Roe.  The other three films have gradually been put together and released but poor St. Alban Roe was left behind for a while.  Until now!

St. Alban Roe Screenshot, filmed in March 2018

I love the English Martyrs, I am also a big fan of Eduardo Tarilonte, he seems to release sound sample packages right up my alley.  He brought out Era Medieval and then Era II, both of which I have.  Then he released the Vocal Codex which has the most beautiful voices!  

In my early days of college I acquired some soundfonts which my friend kindly converted into Kontakt samples for me to use more easily.  In our first films, St. Edmund Campion, St. Philip Howard and other martyrs I used a lot of Koblikzek, like a very old recorder.  Now I have access to so many more as well with the Era Medieval sounds. 

Saint Philip Howard film, released 2008

 It's been a while since we focused on this era so I have been itching to use them once more to their potential.  I love all the clothes, props, backgrounds, candles from this era that we include in our films and I used the visuals to inspire my music.

Saint Alban Roe Film Screenshot

A couple of weeks ago I finished my album "Holy Spirit of Serenity" and I have 10 tracks there to draw upon if needed.  As it happened I managed to work in my favourite track - track 3, into the St. Alban Roe film and it became part of the theme, particularly for his whole arrest.  There is a moving scene in the film where people touch the hands of the priests as they are led to the gallows, then gather up the bloodied straw.  

People gathering straw at the gallows, Screenshot

We captured these moments and the emotional track from Holy Spirit of Serenity was very moving for this part of the film. It's always a good sign when I am emotionally moved by the music I am writing as I know that the film has struck a chord with me and should hopefully strike a chord with others too.  Our aim has always been to bring the martyrs to life, the take their unknown stories and help people today connect with them.  We all share the same faith and these priests, these martyrs, sacrificed all for the same faith.

Everything else in the music score I wrote directly to picture and I was also using my new Celtic Era which I have fallen in love with.  

Celtic Era - new Sounds by Eduardo Tarilonte

I used "Burial Ground" soundscape to start the film which has a nice old bell sound; this immediately created the atmosphere of the past and tension.  I briefly used soundscapes from Cantus, the voices of monks as St. Alban Roe was a Benedictine.  I have now finished the score having spent the whole day yesterday adding SFX and levelling everything out.  I have passed it over to my sister and we now have a created master for the PAL version of the film for DVD.  This film will be released next week!

Alongside this I am making more of my CD albums available digitally and have been working on converting Holy Spirit of Calm album for digital download.

Holy Spirit of Solitude - New CD!

Last week I wrote several tracks and completed my latest CD album "Holy Spirit of Solitude" I have been working on it since November.  I am very pleased with this album, it has several varying moods and was inspired by several different things such as Japan, Jesus in the Wilderness, Celtic Era sounds, the Irish Flute and so many more!  It might be up there with one of my favourite albums.

Holy Spirit of Solitude CD

This CD is available now through our website www.marysdowryproductions.org. I have been taking samples from the various tracks and sharing them so as to give explanations of the pieces and the inspiration behind them.  So far I have shared track 1 and track 9 in video through my YouTube channel.  Track 1 starts the whole album off and you can listen to part of it here:

For Track 1 I based the mood on similar track styles from my album "Spirit of Gentleness" keep the guitar with a simple rhythmic play, adding strings, bass and the piano with gentle soundscapes.  It's quite catchy and peaceful, I really like it.  It changes slightly but is a good way to open the album up.  I have tried to keep this album quite spacious but it does have a lot of different moods, some of the pieces I have really fallen in love with!

This album is number 7 in my Holy Spirit music series.

Holy Spirit of Solitude

Just before Christmas, we managed to complete our 2019 work on "England: The Dowry of Mary" and release this new film on DVD and Instant Video.  After writing the music score for this I was still inspired so I immediately began work on a new instrumental album entitled "Holy Spirit of Solitude".  In the Black Friday sale "CELTIC ERA" came out and I was able to use this to complete my album "VALLEYS" which I had been working on since about 2014.

I have realized that I draw a lot upon the atmosphere of what I am currently watching or reading when I write my music.  Over Christmas we managed to finish "The Man in the High Castle" and I was so inspired by the sounds, the instruments but it seems even more so the drama and the story that I was able to write several tracks for this new album.  

Unfortunately I then had a lot of time away from the computer and went on to different things.  I find myself now without inspiration once more but wishing to write more tracks for Holy Spirit of Solitude.

This morning I wrote track 5 and I realize now that it is completely Japanese themed.  This is probably because for the past week and especially over the weekend we watched "James May: Our Man in Japan" so my mind was filled with the snow, the scenery, the beauty and the culture of this place and I subconsciously represented this in my music.  

As I write my music over time the tracks are representative it seems of various moods and it makes it very interesting.  I like that I experiment and do not allow my music to be restricted.  I used an Irish Flute today from Celtic Era but with a Japanese style, the result is something very original.

I hope to finish Holy Spirit of Solitude soon.  We are currently working on St. Alban Roe, English Martyr so I know I will be embarking on the music score for this probably this week.  

St. Alban Roe - our first 2020 production

Our 2020 goal is to release one film a month.  Too long we have filmed for a new production only to have it delayed sometimes for up to 2 years!!  St. Alban Roe was actually started and filmed for in March 2018 so we are going to finish it this January come rain or shine.  Music projects this year will also include St. Dominic Barberi and also Edel Quin.  

Screenshot from Edel Quin, representing her time in Africa

I am looking forward to writing the music for Edel Quin and the Legion of Mary film as she spent time in Africa so this will give me an opportunity to write African themed music too.

Writing the Music for "England: The Dowry of Mary" film

Last week, Thursday and Friday, I sat myself down with the huge task of beginning the music score for "England: The Dowry of Mary" - the latest film release, and biggest project so far, from Mary's Dowry Productions.  I had previously written several tracks in advance because this film is over an hour in length and I did not want the pressure of an entirely raw file, I wanted to be able to draw upon some audio tracks to ease the pressure and save time.  Many of these tracks became tracks in my latest album release VALLEYS.  

First of all, I loaded the track I had written to start the film called "Mary's Dowry track 1" but because the film starts after just a minute of titles, straight into presentation, I felt that the piece needed to finalize rather than just fade out, when the presentation starts.  I decided at this point to write something new lasting about 55 seconds.  I loaded in instruments from my new CELTIC ERA and was immediately inspired by my new Irish Flute.  

I was able to quickly write a piece which has become the theme and mood for "England: The Dowry of Mary" and actually captured the atmosphere of what is talked about in the film.  I have had this tune going round in my head ever since!  

 The film score encompasses several parts of music from other film scores such as Alexander Briant, Thomas Cromwell, Bega of Bees and more but I also wrote several new tracks throughout and used a mix of low flute and Irish flute for interludes.  

It took me one day to compose the first 4 and a half minutes of the film and then one more day to tie it all in together, choosing which tracks to draw upon, working them in, writing new parts and finalize it.  I then spent another morning on the narration audio and levels, adding SFX where necessary and I am very pleased with it.  I also used about 3 tracks from my album VALLEYS.  We are now on the final stages of this film and I have to say, I was very inspired and also felt it was a great privilege to write the music for this latest production.

Holy Spirit of Solitude CD Album - Beginning

Following on from my release of "VALLEYS" after so many years, I still felt very inspired to write!  I immediately began to write "Holy Spirit of Solitude".  My last Holy Spirit Album was Holy Spirit of Serenity which I completed in 2017 although it feels as if I only just released it!  

Holy Spirit of Solitude CD

I was going to finish the series there but they are so popular I thought, a I am inspired, I will write another album.  My sister has been using the tracks a lot for film trailers and says that she is always in need of new tracks like this.   I began by writing two tracks similar to the style of the tracks on Spirit of Gentleness album.  Last week I purchased CELTIC ERA, it came on offer for Black Friday and it's something I have been after. 

 Immediately the first soundscape I loaded in to try out 'Burial Ground' inspired me to write a whole new track.  This track is moving, emotional and really inspired me so much!  I now have already 3 whole tracks completed for this new album which I hope to finish over a short amount of time.

VALLEYS - New Album UPDATE

This week, I decided to try to write another track of instrumental music for our latest upcoming film "England: The Dowry of Mary".  It's quite straightforward as I love to think about old England and all things that inspire me.  For the first track I was thinking about Glastonbury Tor.  This week however, I just could not get into it, instead I found myself thinking about other things, "The Man in the High Castle" which we have been watching, melancholy, reflective, significant and emotional. 

Also, the first Jack Reacher novel which really struck me as he spent time in prison and then found out his brother had been murdered.  A lot of my early piano compositions reflect what I was reading at the time, "Larkspur of Charm" is specifically a Nancy Drew book I had just finished.  It still reminds me of it to this day.  Composing music is a great way to become lost in thought.

None of these reflections brought about the desired result of music suitable for the history of England!  In the end, I decided to forget it and go with my inspiration and work on tracks for VALLEYS instead.  Yesterday I wrote a new piece called "Through the Glacial Ice Valley".  It began as a piece for Mary's Dowry, but as it was quite dark I looked at my list of titles and chose a suitable one then wrote the rest of it.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!!  It just goes to show, I should always write what I am inspired to, not force it.

I like to use fantasy art for inspiration.  I found nice Ice glacier photographs but then narrowed my search down to include fantasy art, that way the picture tells a story.  My pieces are based on imagination, telling a story through music.  

This painting tells so much so I could think about the journey of all these ships into the mysterious landscape and what the story behind it all is.  I brought in panpipes and Celtic harps for that sparkle and cold feeling.  It's great, I'm so pleased with it.  At this point I suddenly felt the restraints and the lack of inspiration I have been feeling for many months fall away!!  I felt my old self, how I used to write and I decided that I would really knuckle down and complete this album.

I decided to go back to my other two tracks that I wrote for the upcoming Mary's Dowry film and utilize them in this album too, they can still be used in the film.  Also the two tracks that I wrote for "John Henry Newman" film as I had already extended the first one for use in this album and I love the whole new middle section.  With a few adjustments I have completed 10 tracks for this album and drawn together a lot of titles that have been all over the place waiting for 5 years.  I am currently working on extending and finalizing these pieces ready for the final few brand new compositions which will complete this album at long last.  So inspired.  

Music Tracks for "England: The Dowry of Mary" Film

I have not been feeling very inspired lately to write music.  Whether or not it's because I have burnt myself out with our latest film on John Henry Newman, launching it in time for his Canonization, or because we then had a holiday of just chilling out which is very rare, and I cannot seem to get back into writing, I don't know.  

New saints October 13th 2019

This week I decided that our next production "England: The Dowry of Mary" needs to have some progress made with it!  So I took the bull by the horns and cleared my desk so that I could actually get to my computer.  Now with a clear working area I decided to write some tracks based on "Olde England".  This is my favourite thing to write, I have always loved the sound of Old English instruments like recorder, lute, harpsichord, Baroque guitar, so I use them all the time as pretty much the foundation of my composition style.  

Because "England: The Dowry of Mary" film is going to be even longer than our Newman film I decided to take a similar approach and write some tracks in advance as that worked well with the longer Newman score.  So, I called the first track the original title of "Tracks for Dowry film 1" and set to work.  I am enjoying using all my favourite instruments and improvising what inspires me when I think about the history of our country.  As the film begins with Glastonbury, I have always found this a fascinating place.  I pictured the Glastonbury Tor in my mind and wrote what I felt.  

I write best when I hit record and improvise, then I go over what I have written layer by layer adding in more improvised subtle harmonies with other instruments so that the piece grows.  Today I have embarked upon a second piece, this time leading with the Baroque guitar.  I don't usually lead with the Baroque guitar.  Most of the time I am writing a live underscore to narrative and I find that it's a bit overpowering as it requires quite a high velocity in order to be heard.  Because I am writing audio tracks that can be worked with and lowered in volume if needed, I have felt free to pretty much do what I want.  So today I have written a 4 minute track led by Baroque guitar and moving into other lead instruments such as Alto Recorder and then harpsichord.  

The piece today has four separate sections with each of these instruments intertwining themselves around the rest.  I have filled out the entire score with strings, Symphonic choirs and a variety of soundscapes and it has come together quite nicely.  I now have two pieces written so am feeling better about the upcoming film score for this latest film.  This film will be a great project bringing in twelve years worth of productions on English saints and Martyrs. 

The Martyrs Collection 1. Each individual film has a full music score composed directly

 I have already decided to draw upon old scores for this film as much of the martyrs and reformation history will be covered in the context of England as the Dowry of Mary.  We also have presentations from The Shrines of Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead and Our Lady of England, Storrington.  

The statue at The Shrine of Our Lady of England, Storrington

Presenting from the Priory gardens in Storrington

Spoken presentation requires no music so this is a different type of film score that leaves me more free to draw upon both audio, SFX, new music and new music tracks that I am currently writing in advance.  Some of the presentations even have bells ringing in the background from the Shrines which worked out great!  A very long and complex project but it will be so worth it, I cannot wait to have this film complete!  I just know it's going to be a great film but the process of "allowing yourself to be used" as an instrument to produce the film is always a very exhausting thing.  

John Henry Newman Music Score

This week I have been working on the music score for Mary's Dowry Productions latest film 'John Henry Newman: Fulness of Truth'.  I took a different approach to this film, a lot of work has gone into this production and the editing process also took a long time so whilst I was waiting and quite geared up to write the music I decided to write some tracks in advance.  This film has been a long time coming and since the first filming day I have been inspired by the visuals we acquired of Newman.

Screenshot of John Henry Newman

I was setting up a new template in my new music PC for Cubase, one that was more reliable and systematically I was loading common instruments and switching off their individual reverbs to save CPU power.  I came across a low whistle instrument within Kontakt and it really inspired me.  I wrote a nice piece of music using this and some other instruments I usually use like harp, guitar and a nice soundscape called "Graveyard" which also had some subtle sounds too.  

I mixed this piece down and was really pleased with it, deciding that it would be a good track for my VALLEYS album that I am still working on.  Later on I wrote another piece, harp-based with a nice leading soprano recorder, the whole time thinking of Newman's time in Littlemore, it was reflective and sad.  This also became the theme for the whole story of Bl. Dominic Barberi and I was very pleased with how this worked out, it being the first time I had pre-written part of the music for a film.

When the time came this week to begin the actual score I was able to use these two pieces and they worked really well!  I also drew upon scores from other films that are mentioned throughout this production including John Fisher music score and especially Dominic Savio which both have mentions in the film.  In John Henry Newman: Fullness of Truth film there is a great section of Dominic Savio's vision of England so I hunted out the music I had written about this when it is covered in the film "St. Dominic Savio" and found myself excited at how many relevant things from over the years are brought into the Newman film and I really look forward to working on "England: The Dowry of Mary" which we will be producing this year too.

Having a production that has presentation sections throughout is really handy for me because I don't have to write music for these sections of the film and before I set out on this film score I knew that I would draw upon other film scores as this film is over an hour in length and I did not deem it necessary to write about half an hour of new underscore in parts.  I used the God's Champion opening titles for parts about the English Martyrs as we have a popular you tube film 'John Henry Newman and the English Martyrs" which also uses this music score this gave the film continuity with the English Martyrs and the atmosphere of these great saints and when I wrote new parts of the score it was fun to blend into these older scores; the tricky part was moving into the right keys.  I was also extremely inspired throughout the film to write new pieces and drew upon clarinet and bassoon since they were loaded already in the new template.  

Clarinet and Bassoon are not instruments that I use very often so it was great to use them especially in the scenery fill-in as something very new mixed in with the older scores, it made this film really interesting.  Something I did with this score that was really fun was incorporate an organ because visually there is a part with the hymn "Lead, Kindly Light" written by Newman and I thought it would be great to subtly hear this piece as it is spoken about.  It took me ages to organize because it turned out the picture used is a tune I did not recognize but I could not find the tune that I knew from church, who composed it or if it was in the Public Domain.  In the end I found at least five versions but went for the one that matched the score in the picture, by John Dykes, although I played it in a different key as it would have been a nightmare to try and smoothly change into that key; I love how it ties in briefly and subtly as the film passes over the music score.

One thing I did find that about three-quarters of the way through this film there is a very inspiring part about England, it's history, churches, the reformation and the English Martyrs and I used a nice section from my score I wrote for our film on Polydore Plasden, I got so inspired!!  It really made this new production on Newman very relevant for today.  I did not realise until we worked on this film how important Newman is for England, especially now and also how many of our previous films really tie in with him and this new film.

John Henry Newman: Fullness of Truth is available worldwide now on DVD from 

Mary's Dowry Productions

Saint Frideswide of Oxford - Writing the Music to the Film

This Summer saw Mary's Dowry Productions complete St. Francis de Sales: The Devout Life film after 15 months of delays.  Having completed the music score for this film after much duress because of a failed motherboard and processor, I now have a new setup which I have also taken the additional step to update so all my software is the latest.  I can also try my hand at PLAY - which uses Storm Drums, Gypsy and Voices of Passion, all of which I have avoided using because of using too much memory in the computer.  

PLAY software

As you can see each program is quite big so I have not used them for a few years for fear of my music PC crashing whilst I am writing.  With the new setup and faster computer I believe I can draw upon them now.  

St. Frideswide of Oxford

Rather than moving straight on to "St. Alban Roe" production which we filmed for back in 2018, we decided that we needed a fresh infusion of something completely new.  A poppy field had opened up nearby us and we heard about it so set out to find it.  It was beautiful!  It went right up over the hills into the distance and you could see it from miles away. 

 I had wanted to incorporate a poppy field for years in our films but the only one was near Brighton with no parking access.  

So we set off to Sompting Village and spent a few hours filming the poppies and meadows for scenery shots.  The next day we decided to go back with a costume and get everything we needed for a brand new film on St. Frideswide.  We had delayed this production for about 6 years after being given a little prayer card of this saint and finding she was the patron of Oxford.  

I was excited about this film as it was and English saint.  Musicwise this gives me an opportunity to use old English instruments.  We really pushed ourselves to complete this production from beginning to end so as to have something completely new this summer and it wasn't long before I was handed the video to begin the music score.

I actually began this score with a  bit of trepidation as it was the first score on my new PC setup.  I did not know what I intended to do but I set up a new template and literally hit record to improvise.  I decided that I would try to use instruments I had not used before and loaded in a nice harmonica.  I used the soundscape Goddess of Love and led with Xiao flute which I really like.  After the first sequence led by Xiao flute I led with tenor viola da gamba, one of my favourites, and doubled this with a very high pitched flute.  Once I had written and recorded the lead instruments I looked for something to add a sparkle to the opening titles and found a nice mallet patch which worked very lovely.  Here are the opening titles to give a sense of the mood of this film.

Throughout the film I added in French Horns for segments which cover much of the historical context and I used pizzicato strings gaining in tempo as the prince pursues St. Frideswide to make her his wife, it very much reminded me of our film on St. Etheldreda when she was pursued in a similar way.  All in all the music took me about 3 days to complete and was not as easy as I thought.  There is a lot going on in this film, lots of different moods and history.  

There is a segment at the end exploring the history of St. Frideswide's shrine after her death including the destruction during the reign of King Henry VIII.  It was shocking how her bones were deliberately mixed with those of an ex-nun and remain so to this day.  I had fun writing quite menacing music during this segment.  

The film ties up nicely with devotion to St. Frideswide today so I was able to end on a high note and then return to my opening titles for the end credits.  One thing I did do throughout this production was glissando harp.  St. Frideswide was famous for plying her harp and we filmed her doing this so at points in the score I emphasize this.  This is the first time I had used the glissando harp patch from Celtic Instruments.  

St. Frideswide played her harp so I emphasized glissando harp in the score.

I did not use many SFX in this particular film score but there are some horses galloping when the saint is pursued and battle sounds over some battle pictures which is always so effective.  I found that my new PC setup, although incredibly advanced, still spiked and crashed so I have come to the conclusion the problem is the software itself.  Cubase may need a bit of tweaking so I am going to explore ways to save CPU for when I go to write the next music score.  It feels a lot more solid though and I have been assured that I can't lose anything so long as I keep saving my projects which I do obsessively.  St. Frideswide of Oxford is now available on DVD worldwide through our online shop.  

Saint Frideswide of Oxford DVD

Please head on over a grab a copy and support the work of Mary's Dowry Productions.

www.marysdowryproductions.org 

Saint Francis de Sales NEW film on DVD - Writing the Music

We filmed for a beautiful film on St. Francis de Sales in March 2018.  It came about because a friend of ours is the image of this saint and after a while we asked if he would be willing to portray for us and he said yes!  It was very exciting and after a long time coming we managed to capture various scenes of St. Francis de Sales' life on film.

Above shows our friend portraying St. Francis de Sales and below St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal who also features in this film.

Unfortunately, on the same day we filmed for St. Gemma Galgani, Our Lady and the Visionaries of Knock and St. Alban Roe.  We managed to quickly produce the first two films and also have two film launches at the barn next to our parish church, both of which were well attended.  I fell in love with our film on Our Lady of Knock, having visited Knock when I was about 14 but never fully being able to grasp the full story.  Our film shows the whole story as well as the surrounding context in which it happened.  Both of these films left us feeling exhausted and we were unable to produce more and there were several other delays pushing St. Francis de Sales for 15 months!

Our Lady of Knock DVD

Earlier this year we decided that we would really put our minds to it and complete this film.  What was needed was fresh scenery which plays a vital role in our films so we went out twice to Patching Woods nearby us and got some lovely panoramic shots of woodlands, trees, nature.  We went out again to Clapham Woods and filmed some beautiful bluebells, pathways.  

Having everything we needed we were able to edit the film together after recording the narration.  Finally the film was complete and ready for the music score.  I felt a little rusty as I had had quite a break from writing but I dove right in and spent a week writing the score.  At the time we were watching UNBREAKABLE with Bruce Willis.  I do not listen to music very much at all but we research media and have areas of film that we enjoy.  I am very much influenced by film scores which is why Mary's Dowry Productions films have an "Epic" atmosphere as the score I write for them can be cinematic, emotional and moving.  

In the film there are a lot of strings leading and piano. The overall mood is intense, emotional and really captures the growth and journey of the character.  I was aware that the background mood of this film, moving and emotional influenced my writing of the score for St. Francis de Sales and there are some moving segments, particularly with St. Jane de Chantal's own journey and their last conversation together.  I was very pleased with the score at this part of the film.

In my previous post I said that just when I completed the score my computer died, I had not backed up the score after 18 minutes of music so was traumatized for the whole weekend.  Fortunately the guy in the shop managed to find all my music and back it up, the hard drive had not failed but I had to re-load everything once again in order to mix down the final score and complete the film - MORE DELAYS!.

Eventually after 2 more weeks of delays the film was complete and we released it on DVD.  It is now available worldwide from our online shop and I hope it is shared with many people, it's a very moving and informative film with many important aspects of the spiritual life said by both saints.

Saint Francis de Sales is available at www.marysdowryproductions.org

I'd like to share the opening titles, the instruments I used & also some of the new scenery we captured in the little video of the opening titles: