Calm Your Spirit With Music This Christmas! - Christmas in a Nutshell Music CD

Are you fed up with going to the supermarkets at this time of year and hearing rowdy, distracting, distressing Christmas songs?  Why not try 'Christmas in a Nutshell'.  Following on from my other music albums, this album improvises moods and sounds using all my usual instruments and style but centring around themes from popular Christmas carols such as "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Silent Night". 

 

 

The CD is instrumental and great for background, chilling out and calming down this Christmas.  Why not give it a go?  

 

Priced at £10.00 the CD is available from www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk and www.marysdowryproductions.org

 

 

Writing the Music Score for Saint Joan of Arc Film

The last few days has seen me writing the music score for our new production on Saint Joan of Arc.  At a length of nearly 45 minutes this was a challenge.  It was also a French saint, not something we have really done before.  I love writing English Medieval themed music but I set about facing the challenge head-on. 

SAINT JOAN OF ARC

As with each music film score that I start, I hate the initial stages.  My sister Emily gives me a small file containing the whole film, made very small so that I can insert it into Cubase, the program I use to write music in.  What I have before me is 45 minutes of silence with just the narrator telling the story, in this case the story of Saint Joan of Arc.

 

With the film inserted I usually think about what kind of instruments will suit the production but I steer myself away from being predictable so find something interesting.  Soundscapes are marvellous for adding depth so I found some nice atmospheres in a category which features the theme of dragons and merlin and decided that this was a unique opportunity to play with these sounds.  Using the 'Flying with the Dragons' sound and relying heavily on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I hit record and began playing.  The only instruments I really decided upon specifically were Barbarian Frame Drums and Celtiberic War Horn so as to immediately have an ancient War feel.  By hitting record I played in a simple drum rhythm as my first layer. 

 



WAR HORN

 

At this point it is a matter of patiently building up the intro layer by layer.  Here is the intro so far with just the drums and horn played in and now as data that I can manipulate:

 

 

I added strings and 'Flying with the Dragon' to these initial layers and the effect was atmospheric.  The main task in starting out with a Mary's Dowry Productions film score is to set the theme and mood with the opening credits.  This gives me a chance to get a feel for the production.  After this is mostly underscore which is much easier.  I wrote about a minute of music using strings, harps, guitars, recorders, cello as well as 'Flying with the Dragons' and this took me to St. Joan's early life as the narrative began.

 

 

 Some of the visuals in St. Joan are very beautiful.  We spent the Summer acquiring an entire new database of scenery for the 2016 and beyond productions so I was able to really get into writing to this beautiful imagery. 

 

What is great about being a composer for spiritual films is that there is a strong element of the mystical and the spiritual so I never feel under too much pressure because I can step back and write what I feel. 

THE MASS

The best example of this is when I see a painting of the Mass and the saint is speaking about their devotion to the Eucharist for example, I can draw upon various voices such as Gregorian monks or choirs. 

With St. Joan of Arc she spoke about 'her voices' and I was able to make the mood very mystical with lots of pads; a convenient choice was a pad called 'before the battle' and it added a poignant depth of expectation.  Fresh out of writing the music for Mary Tudor, I had used a lot of Gregorian Monks for the narrative about the Church in England, the dismantling of Catholic culture and the Mass. 

As I did not want to repeat this I went for 'Mystica' which is a lovely sound base of female choirs.  This was useful both for beauty as well as mystery.  I used the voices in a slightly discordant way with the visions/voices but then at poignant moments of extreme heroic holiness the choirs added real beauty that was quite moving.

ST. JOAN'S BANNER

 

 At about 18 minutes into the film I was writing a segment with simple strings and I was very moved at how the army focussed on St. Joan's banner.  It is always a good idea when I am writing and I feel a lump in my throat; I did at this point as I felt that St. Joan was giving so much and everybody loved her and followed her but I knew that she would be betrayed.  I decided at this point to repeat the theme of 'love of St. Joan' at her death because I believe that on a subconscious level, the listener will be reminded that the person who is being unjustly executed was once so loved and it adds to the tragedy.  I did this at the end and it worked well, the same theme for when a person is admired and when they are being condemned.  I do that a lot for our English Martyrs.

All in all, the score is a blend of medieval drums, horns and strings with moments of reflective, moving atmosphere with an emotional cello sometimes taking the lead.  There are segments of simple harp and piano with voices and soundscapes like 'Flying with the Dragon' giving the film an unearthly feel. 

The film has exciting moments where I was able to use sound effects of battles.  Overall the mood is mystical, mysterious and spiritual.  I used the sound of real church bells when the narrative speaks of St. Joan praying the Angelus and the visuals depict peasants of that time stopping to pray.  The bells, the choirs, the mystery all make this film very Catholic and very spiritual. 

I did not know much about St. Joan.  My first encounter was editing the audio narration a couple of weeks ago but I really encounter the saints when writing the music score.  As I got to know St. Joan over the last couple of days I truly felt that her life was heroic, she was tried and tested but really trusted.  I really like her!  Watching a Mary's Dowry Productions film and listening to the music score should be an encounter with a saint, almost like a prayer.  I hope that you enjoy this film and meeting St. Joan as much as I have.  I will make the soundtrack available in the future too.





Writing the Instrumental Music Album "JOURNEYS"

The Idea Behind Journeys

 

With WORLDS and DREAMS under my belt and both transcribed for multiple instruments, I embarked upon JOURNEYS.

 

The Piano Solo Tracks:

 

1. Weeping By The Hearth (2:31)
2. Swift Horses (2:59)
3. A Mound of Treasure (2:12)
4. The Ice Vessel (3:06)
5. In the Shade of the Teasel (2:56)
6. Beowulf's Tomb (2:13)
7. Crumbling Wine Halls (2:52)
8. Silver Island (2:53)
9. Squinancywort Pie (2:40)
10. The Marsh Queen (2:53)
11. Summers' Snowflakes (2:32)
12. Azarole (3:03)

  

 

With these first albums, each instrument is listed inside the CD jacket.  The instruments I chose for these pieces were interesting and I started to embark upon 'soundscapes' for the first time, something that has become quite important and exciting to me more recently.

 

1. Weeping by the Hearth  - Spanish guitar, Classical Flute, Gothic Choir

2. Swift Horses - Nylon Guitar, Classical Flute, Dunes Effect

3. A Mound of Treasures - Grand Piano, Slow Strings, Stardust Effect, Gothic Choir

4. The Ice Vessel - Harp, Classical Flute, Gothic Choir, Tremolo Vibes

5. In the Shade of the Teasel - Classical Guitar solo

6. Beowulf's Tomb -Nylon Guitar, Pan flute, Drum & Tambourine, Harp, Gothic Choir

7. Crumbling Wine Halls - Spanish guitar, Slow Strings, Tambourine, Mandolin

8. Silver Island: - Grand Piano, Classical Flute, Drum and Tambourine

9. Squinancywort Pie - Folk Guitar, Modern Harp, Banjo

10.  The Marsh Queen - Smooth Nylon Guitar, Gothic Choir, Clarinet, French Horn

11. Summers Snowflakes - Grand Piano, Classical Flute

12.  Azarole  - Grand Piano, Ocarina, Drum, Cymbal, Harp, Synth Strings

 

The moods and style of each piece in JOURNEYS are quite emotive, really taking the listener to many different places in their imagination.  Also, whereas "Weeping by the Hearth" is reflective, "Swift Horses" is uplifting, you also have on here 'Beowulf's Tomb' and 'Azarole' which are more severe and dominant, so there are certainly a lot of moods on this album.  'Crumbling Wine Halls' gave me the opportunity to think Spanish and I really enjoyed taking the piano solo and using Mandolins and stuff to transform it into a Spanish feel.   I really like this album, it's nice, fresh, interesting, peaceful and really does take you on a journey with every piece.

This is the finished album today:

 

For my first 5 albums: Worlds, Dreams, Journeys, Lands and Realms I used a Clavinova system so the digital instruments are Clavinova sounds which have since been re-mastered and made up to date.  For 'Journeys' I took 12 piano solos that I had written over the years and expanded them as instrumental tracks on the Clavinova.  For sound examples from this album visit my You Tube Channel for a 'Journeys' trailer!

For more information and to purchase this album please visit www.marysdowryproductions.org

 



New Music Soundtrack - The Music from St. Cuthman of Steyning

 

Now recently revamped into the new series of Music Soundtracks 'CALM YOUR SPIRIT WITH MUSIC: Volume 2 - The Music From Saint Cuthman of Steyning' film is now available on Music CD. 

 

 The music is joyful, uplifting, calming and peaceful and will leave you feeling positive.  It features the full music score from the film in individual tracks as well as a BONUS track with extended title theme composed especially for the release of the music CD.  Check out the details now at www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk

Original Music to Meditate By, Catholic, Contemporary and Real...

Finding music to meditate by is quite difficult but in 2010 I started a new series of 'chill out' music called 'Holy Spirit Music Series'

 

If you're looking for something different, the kind of music to use in the classroom, on the train, in the background, whilst you think, whilst you're still, or whilst you're busy then this music is for you.

 

 

This series so far consists of 5 albums of original instrumental music, 10 tracks each:

 

Holy Spirit of Peace

Holy Spirit of Gentleness

Holy Spirit of Joy

Holy Spirit of Calm

Holy Spirit of Tranquility

 

Each album focuses on the calming, gentle, serene aspects of the Holy Spirit and seeks to convey this through music.  Gentle piano, emotive strings, atmospheric pads, dynamic guitars draw the listener in and help calm the soul.

 

 

Check out the entire range now at:

 

www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk

 

Calming, emotive, authentic spiritual music is so important.

Have you visited marysdowryproductions.co.uk yet? New Mary's Dowry Productions Website!

We recently launched a new website in addition to our www.marysdowryproductions.org website.  The site is www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk and has lots of images and information about our Music and Films.  I particularly like the music CD pages as there are a lot of colourful pictures as well as links.  The shop is very user friendly and all of the CDs and DVDs are easy to buy.

Check it out!  www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk

DREAMS music CD Video Trailer

It's easy enough to write about music but nothing beats actually listening to audio.  I have compiled a trailer which will enable you to listen to a selection of samples from the album Dreams.