Original Olde World Ethereal Instrumental Music for relaxation, background and chilling out. Thought-provoking, inspiring tunes created with a variety of instruments both ancient and new with soundscapes, sounds of nature, haunting voices and choirs. Contemporary, emotional yet bold and uplifting, these original music compositions span decades and are always being expanded upon. Keep up to date with what's new and learn about how it all came about.
As we draw near to the end of 2019 I am pleased to post a blog on the completion and release of Mary's Dowry Productions latest film "England: The Dowry of Mary".
England: The Dowry of Mary DVD
It took the better part of 2019 to come together but we managed to get it done and available here. The music is really interesting, drawing up older tracks from films, new tracks from my album VALLEYS as well as a lot of brand new music I wrote to picture. This film is already going well across the world and we have sent out several copies. We also have it available via ON DEMAND instant video as of this week too. To find out more about this latest film visit www.marysdowryproductions.org
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.
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.
Last week, I was so inspired! After all these years I managed to finish my album "VALLEYS" and release it on CD. It has been such a long process but I brought together some of the tracks I had worked on from John Henry Newman and England the Dowry of Mary films and really worked with them with the titles that I had and it just all came together into a beautiful CD that I am so pleased with! My last album in this particular series is "KINGDOMS". I worked on this album from 2007-2010.
In about 2011 I asked my sister for some music track titles and have worked from a few postit notes since then, gradually forming an outline of an album. Last week I chose the final titles and their places in the album and how many there would be. I still have about five titles left over which I shall carry over onto my next album which I believe will be entitled "Canyons".
VALLEYS A Complete Instrumental Fusion Audio CD.
Take a journey with your imagination in this new long-awaited instrumental album Valleys. Travel the Lunar Valleys with soundscapes and piano blending with emotional cello only to lose yourself in the Ancient Mist of the Hidden Glen where mysterious folk dance to ancient drums whilst recorders and baroque guitars intertwine as they sing their tunes. Allow the music to transport you through the Glacial Ice Valley with sounds of panpipes, mysterious strings and beautiful cello. Feel yourself uplifted when you reach the Vale of Neath as guitars, drums, Celtic harps and horns accompany the delightful low Irish whistle. There are so many secret worlds hidden in the Valleys of countless lands waiting to be explored through music in this original, stirring and absorbing album.
Here are the final tracks:
Track Listing:
1. Lady of the Valleys (5.30)
2. Ancient Mist of the Hidden Glen (3:17)
3. Meltwater Valley (5:19)
4. Passage of the Wild Mountain Cove (4:35)
5. Light of the Valley Floor (4:23)
6. Into the Lunar Valleys (4:01)
7. Through the Glacial Ice Valley (4:58)
8. The Vale of Neath (5:46)
9. Journey of the Hidden Strait (3:26)
10. Into the Wooded Dale (4:12)
11. Waterfalls in the Hanging Valley (5:10)
12. Secret of the Hollow (5:12)
The album is now available worldwide on CD through our website and also through AMAZON UK and AMAZON COM. Below, a trailer to hear some of the music:
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.
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.
I have been taking a break since completing my last music score "John Henry Newman: Fullness of Truth" which is now available both on DVD or via Instant Download at our website here www.marysdowryproductions.org
Please take a moment to view the trailer for this film here:
The film has so far met with great reviews with one review as follows:
"I thought the well- delivered narration was well written,
informative
and insightful, while the Music, though never intrusive, was
appropriate
and prayerful, a great help in meditating on the saint’s life
of service to
the Church in England, which your film portrayed so
effectively.
The beauty of the pictorial and photographic images were just
as I’ve
come to expect from your productions, striking as
always.
I think all concerned should be thankful for the
film,
and pray that it inspires many souls, as it intends to." R.I.
We had a film launch on 'the big screen' at our local parish on 13th October to coincide with the canonization of Newman and there was a good turnout with people from all over. Next on the agenda will be "England: The Dowry of Mary" which I am currently editing narration for before writing some nice English music tracks to be used in the film.
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
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.
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.
I've been out of action for a while. I had not had any music projects and then we put our minds to it and finally completed our film on Saint Francis de Sales. I spent a week writing the music score and when I had finally completed it, I went to add some sound effects and the entire music PC crashed. It turned out the motherboard and processor had died so I had to have a big fix and also took the opportunity for an upgrade. It then took a long time to re-load all my software onto the new PC in order to get all the way back to the point of being able to open up the project in order to finish it! That said, it all came together very well and was able to complete the music score for our new 2019 production on Saint Francis de Sales. I will write in more depth about what this scored entailed in a further blog post.
The DVD is now released and is available at www.marysdowryproductions.org
I am very pleased that I've finally taken the time to produce a short TRAILER for my CD Album "KINGDOMS".
KINGDOMS CD Available from www.marysdowryproductions.org
I began this album whilst at college as part of our final assignment for finding our own original style. I'd written many music pieces for years up until that point and drawn upon instruments and sounds that I liked.
This was the first time however that I thought about and pinpointed exactly what I liked about music and what I liked to write, what made me original as a composer. So I drew upon ancient sounds, medieval instruments like the recorder, drums, baroque guitar, but I fused this with other sounds that I liked like the Duduk from the Middle East, voices of the elves, haunting ethereal voices, the piano, I literally took away all limits and fused all different thing to come up with something new.
The result was 4 tracks from KINGDOMS and I completed this album over the following years to make a new and full CD album which is one of my favourites; it's really free and it's really different. You can now have a listen to the trailer for this album here:
I have not been writing any music projects over Christmas, we've been having a bit of a break, clearing hard drives and getting everything ready for 2019 productions. I have been organizing a few trailers for various albums however which are needed so that people can actually hear the content of the CD when looking at an album on the website. It's also great to share the music. I particularly like the music from St. Edith Stein because of the use of Mystic choirs by Eduardo Tarilonte, and the Duduk samples which are very moving and can be utilized very well.
