A Simple Soul - Saint Mary Mazzarello - Founder of the Salesian Sisters - Music Score Project

In January 2017 Mary's Dowry Productions filmed for four new films: Saint John Bosco, Saint Mary Mazzarello, Saint Dominic Savio and Saint Jacinta of Fatima.  Now, a year and a half on, we are still suffering from a backlog of productions but are knuckling down to get them done!  In 2014, Mary's Dowry Productions had fourteen new releases!!  It's slowed down a lot, I'm not sure if it's just that we're getting older or are just so busy.  Anyway, this year has been so slow but we have done a lot of filming.  It's no good having about 8 productions' footage just sitting there though, so we decided to just get them done.  This week has seen us working on St. Mary Mazzarello production - the last from the January 2017 filming day and I am happy to say - it is currently mixing down!!

Saint Dominic Savio DVD, Mary's Dowry Productions

Saint Don Bosco DVD, Mary's Dowry Productions

Jacinta of Fatima DVD, Mary' s Dowry Productions

In all truth, I wrote the entire music score in just one day today.  That's rare, sometimes I can spend hours on just 3 minutes, but I took away all pressure and just enjoyed it.  I used a lot of improvisation methods so much of it was just playing in and adding to what I'd written.  It was really fun.  The main instruments, besides my usual base of strings, soundscapes, Trilian Bass, harp, guitar, was to use Celtia again by Eduardo Tarilonte.  I'd not used these fantastic female voices since I wrote the music score for St. Julian of Norwich.  They're so gorgeous and inspiring.  Whilst I was waiting for the video file, I wrote an introduction with pizz strings and doubled these up with Baroque Guitar from Era II.  This kind of made it's own interesting fusion sound - very nice.  I was looking for soundscapes to add atmosphere and I used Ancient Spirits and Ancient Tree from Forest Kingdoms - all Eduardo Tarilonte.  This added the right depth of mystery when approaching St. Mary Mazzarello's story.

Screenshot from Mary' s Dowry Productions DVD 'Saint Julian of Norwich: England's Mystic'

The rest of the score was straightforward and I found the story of this wonderful saint very inspiring and uplifting.  It was nice to re-visit St. John Bosco but from the perspective of the Salesian sisters, I not only learned about Saint Mary Mazzarello but more about Saint John Bosco too.

One thing I did use was Nykelharpa from Forest Kingdoms, or Era II, I forget which one.  I'd not used it before but it was great and had a realistic click for each key press.  I gave this the lead for a while in the middle of the score then switched to harpsichord.  The result: the sound of a long time ago, the sound of very pleasant interesting underscore - perfect!

Nykelharpa - Instrument used in 'A Simple Soul: Saint Mary Mazzarello'

We are moving straight on to completing our new film on Saint Thomas Garnet, English Martyr, it will be great to switch into Medieval mode - that's my all time favourite.

We are now up to working on the productions we filmed for in March 2017.  Still behind schedule, but making progress.  For our NEW WEBSITE and listing of everything available please visit: www.marysdowryproductions.org 

I will speak about my latest CD Album release - Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 6: Water of Life in another post - this is the last of my Mary's Dowry Productions soundtrack series and focuses on the music score I wrote for our production in Saint Piran of Cornwall. I love it!

Saxon Saints of the Catholic Church, Mary's Dowry Productions, Catholic Films, Family Films, Spiritual Music

To date I have written over 80 music scores for Mary's Dowry Productions.  With each of our films, music plays such an important role and each films music score is composed directly to picture.  I start out with a completed production with narration but no music and it's my job as music composer for Mary's Dowry Productions to lift the film off the screen and into people's hearts as it were.  Music creates a connection, spiritually and emotionally, with the viewer.  The first music score I ever wrote was for our production on Saint Philip Howard and it was the longest composition I had written because until this point I had been writing music albums for many years, each containing shorter tracks.  

Saint Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel DVD

To embark on a full music score was different because I had to connect with the story as it went along, the narration, the places for quiet etc.  It was less free than writing a CD album but the music still grew and evolved itself.  There were some places in the film that were sad, others biopic, other places exciting and this all gave direction to me as to where to take the score.

Because Mary's Dowry Productions initially came about through music and music to Catholic film, we always leave space for music in each of our productions.  Sometimes this will be with longer introductions, scenery breaks, meditation or prayer.  This is what makes our productions unique.  Over the past 11 years I have approached so many different films from Saxon England, Italy, The Reformation Period, Nazi Germany, Ancient Rome, Modern Friaries.  Each saint's story is unique and each of our productions has its' own atmosphere and theme.

In this post I will talk about the Saxon Saints of England I have written for.

The Church of Saint Cuthman of Steyning, Saint, in Steyning, Sussex, Mary's Dowry Productions

Filming Saint Cuthman of Steyning, Mary's Dowry Productions, Catholic Films

The first one was Saint Cuthman of Steyning and it was such fun.  This was using my old music setup, straight out of college in my bedroom with some basic VSTs I had acquired during the course of college.  One of these sounds was Pizz Strings, a gorgeous sample from Vienna Orchestra which immediately sounds as if an auditorium is being filled with many strings on pizz.  This was the foundation for Saint Cuthman of Steyning and because much of the film was filmed with a cart on top of the downs, the atmosphere is light and humorous. 

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Filming Saint Cuthman of Steyning, Mary's Dowry Productions, Catholic Films

When I start a music score I do it layer by layer so I record one layer of music, for example the pizz strings, and improvise in for about 15 or 20 seconds.  Then I tidy it up, play it back and then add another lay, full strings, or banjo or whatever.  I add multiple layers of harmonies and sound until I am happy that it is full enough sounding and I move on, in sections between 10 seconds and a couple of minutes.

I have a particular fondness for writing for Saxon Saints such as saint Cuthman of Steyning.  I can get to use very ancient, often strange or exotic instruments.  I don't like to be predictable, I have my own sound and style, so I will fuse in many things, hints of history but also atmospheres of contemporary.   

Saint Cuthman of Steyning statue, Steyning, Catholic, Church, Catholic Films

 When we filmed for Saint Cuthman of Steyning film, we visited Steyning where his church and statue are.  There were some lovely images and stained glass windows which were beautiful and these are some of the photographs I took from our trip.  

We spent a couple of days up on the Sussex Way, the South Downs, and visited another church which was very old, all in the search for good scenery, old buildings, graveyards as well as the relevant places of Saint Cuthman of Steyning's life.  We also filmed on another day some visual re-creations, soundless, that portray some of the events in his life.  All of this beautiful imagery which came together to tell Saint Cuthman's wonderful story, inspired me when it came to writing the music.

Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting, Sussex.

Other Saxon Saints which we have produced Catholic DVDs on include Saint Piran of Cornwall, Saint Etheldreda of Ely, Saint Bertha, Saint David and more.  I would like to talk about writing the music for these films in later posts.  For now, focusing on Saint Cuthman I remember I used the pizz strings for a lovely uplifting atmosphere and after the credits there was about a minute of scenery, butterflies and bees against some gorgeous flowers which we acquired in the same area.  With panoramic shots of the South Downs interspersed with Saint Cuthman, his mother in his cart and an array of sheep it makes for a lovely opening sequence.

Saint Cuthman persevered on his journey across the South Downs until he stopped at Steyning to build a church.  There is one part of the film where he had a vision in the midst of the building-process and we use light effects to represent the Good Shepherd coming through a door like a glorious apparition.  It was a lovely opportunity for atmospheric, meditative and spiritual soundscapes, I only had a limited number back then.  The music in this section is reflective and empowering, it brings the sense of the rich spiritual aid which we receive every day and every time we ask, from Heaven.  I used ancient strings and wind instruments alongside this so the atmosphere is ancient, English, Saxon History but very rich in the spiritual with an aid to reflection and prayer.  

Saint Cuthman of Steyning DVD, Mary's Dowry Productions www.marysdowryproductions.org 

Writing the music for Saxon Saints is wonderful, whenever we film for one I get excited and pleased at the prospect of the music I can write.  A lot of my music CD albums are this kind of style so it comes easy for me.  I love these types of instruments you can use.

To date I have made available on CD 5 soundtracks from Mary's Dowry Productions films.  I'd like to make as many as possible available because the music is similar to my CDs which are very popular, but each album has the essence of a particular saint and hence the unique atmosphere of that particular production.  Saint Cuthman of Steyning music score is so uplifting it was requested so it's one of the 5 I have available.  All my music soundtracks are under the series heading "Calm Your Spirit With Music" and Saint Cuthman is Volume Two, subtitled, Joy in Service.

Calm Your Spirit With Music: Joy in Service - available from Mary's Dowry Productions

www.marysdowryproductions.org

The complete music soundtrack from Saint Cuthman of Steyning

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Saxon Saints of Catholic England from Mary's Dowry Productions. We hope to produce many more in the future.  For now, take a look at our website to browse our DVDs and music CDs!

To hear exceprts from this album visit my you tube channel.  You can also watch the FULL FILM for free via our Mary's Dowry Productions You Tube Channel.

Composing the Saint Dominic Savio Music Score, Salesians, Child Saints, Catholic

Last week I composed the music score for Mary's Dowry Productions 81st DVD film "Saint Dominic Savio".  We filmed for this lovely production back in January 2017 and it has been a bit of a nightmare to get it done.  All of a sudden I found myself in the position to write the music and knew we were just a few days away from having a new production which is always exciting.  To begin, I decided to keep to my usual instruments, not try anything too fancy and to keep the mood refreshing and uplifting.  I gave myself plenty of time and not too much repetition; I kept creating new themes and moods as the film developed. 

Saint Dominic Savio is an inspiring film about a young boy who made a decision to become a saint when he was very small and stuck to it, choosing his friends wisely and being faithful to prayer and the Sacraments of the Church.  In this film we look at his early life and his meeting of St. John Bosco who tells him he looks like good material to be made into a saint.

The music score I wrote blends harps, guitars, baroque guitars, piano, strings and voices (my usual base of sounds), with a few modern subtle beats detailing the early story of Dominic's life.  Dominic was saintly, for example he called St. John Bosco in the night to the home of a dying man in need of a priest.  This reminded me of the mystery of St. John Bosco's dreams when we produced 'Don Bosco' DVD last year and I used some soundscapes called Enki and Forest Gathering to build a dreamlike mood as St. Dominic leads the way.  I also used a Medieval Tenor Victimae Paschali whenever the film visits the Oratory of St. John Bosco, creating an atmosphere of holiness and prayer.  This really aided in creating the right setting as the sounds of chanting in Latin created the sound of a religious environment. 

Later in the film St. Dominic Savio has a vision of England.  We see the Pope holding a flaming torch and we visit England and the English Martyrs.  I loved writing to this section, I used an old instrument which I used a lot in our English Martyrs films, Koblikzek, which sounds like a recorder but very ancient.  Further on in this section on the Faith in England, I bought in very subtle distant bagpipes.  The sound was both English, Celtic and rich in the Faith and I felt the usual zeal for bringing England back to the One True Faith and I was surprised that this was so relevant and apt to this film.  This music score has given me an opportunity to use a lot of instruments that I have used in the past but have not used for a little while.  It has meditative sections which are very moving and inspiring as St. Dominic's wisdom is presented.  The entire film and score filled me with inspiration for the Faith, zeal for England and a rich desire to try better to strive to be a saint.

Saint Dominic Savio is available worldwide on Region Free DVD Format from our website www.marysdowryproductions.org   To hear some of the music you can view a trailer for the film here: SAVIO TRAILER 

Music Updates and News for Mary's Dowry Productions

I've not written much music for a while since completing the music score for St. Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus DVD. 

We had a filming day at the end of March and filmed for four new productions, two of which will require a Medieval or Elizabethan style which I am looking forward to, and one set in Ireland which will give me a great opportunity for Celtic and Irish music which I love to write.  I have noticed that my favourite sound sampler Eduardo Tarilonte has produced two new sound products, Ancient Era: Sounds of Persia and Celtic Era, both of which will be perfect for the type of music I like to write.  I am holding off on them at present to save funds and utilize as much as possible the sounds that I already have.

We are currently in production of St. Dominic Savio film, we filmed for this back in January 2017 and have not had a proper chance to edit it together since.  In the following weeks I shall begin the music score of this which I am sure will be quite mystical and atmospheric as he had a vision of England.  This also links back to the English Martyrs as a lot of our films do so hopefully I shall have another opportunity to use my ERA Medieval sounds which I love and find easy to write with - I particularly love to use the Tenor Viola da Gamba as a lead instrument, it fits the era so well and stirs up beautiful atmospheres.  I used to have a real lack of lead instruments until I got the Gypsy Violin in Gypsy Samples but it uses so much memory it's quite difficult to use as I fear the PC will crash at any moment.  Since Eduardo Tarilonte's samples I've collected, I've had so much more choice and it's been wonderful.  Until embarking on my new music soundtrack I shall continue to organise my CD albums which I have gradually re-designed and catalogued and which are looking great.

Saint Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Film Music Score

This week has seen me writing the music for Saint Margaret Mary and The Sacred Heart of Jesus, a new DVD film production we are working on.  We filmed for this in January 2017 and it's taken a while to get to this stage.  I had no plans for a musical theme or anything in particular for this, I decided to just hit record and improvise, which is what I usually do, but this time I really just relied on inspiration.  I used my template from our Saint Don Bosco film which gave me all my standard instruments such as harp, strings, quiet strings, cello, flute, piano, nylon guitar.  A friend of ours whom we have known since childhood portrayed Saint Margaret Mary for us and her daughter portrayed some shots of Saint Margaret Mary as a child which was great as they look very much alike.

Screenshot from Saint Margaret Mary Film, as a child.

The whole beginning of the music score was inspiring for me and easy to write because the visuals were beautiful.  My college tutor from years ago had provided for us in advance some of Jesus' words.  He has done lots of narration for us over the years and often reprises his role as Jesus for any words that would make a good addition to a production.  His voice came in pretty early on so I used various mystical soundscapes which made a sound and atmosphere as if Heaven was reaching down to speak to us now.  I had been using Altus a lot in the past several productions, the voice of medieval tenor, so I discarded this and loaded mystica instead to have some female nuns, seeing as there are a lot of nuns in this production.  Having their voices doubling up the string parts up quite high in pitch made for a very heavenly sound then I decided to bring in some piano for when Jesus spoke, piano with 'Desert Loneliness' made a very atmospheric blend on top of sustained strings.

Screenshot of Music Score for Saint Margaret Mary

Within a couple of days the score really began to take shape and to describe it I would say, mystical and reflective with a positive and heart-warming atmosphere.  A very slight sense of urgency, like an urgency to adhere to the Sacred Heart message, a message of love and hope.

THE LONDON DUNGEONS

Gaining Inspiration from the London Dungeons

I think that the reason I find writing to Medieval films so easy is 1) because I have written for so many with all of our English Martyrs, 2) As a child we visited the London Dungeons and it really had an effect on me, they must have played sound effects or music the whole time because I just know what the sound of imprisonment in Medieval England should sound like!  

Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Claude Screenshot

At 34 minutes, our film on Saint Margaret Mary takes Saint Claude de la Colmbiere to bring the Sacred Heart of Jesus message to England.  At this point in the score I used Recorder, Tenor Viola da Gamba, Baroque Guitar and Harp to represent old England.  I also added some soundscapes, Medieval Tapestry and 'Scrape FX' from ERA II samples.  This added just the right eerie atmosphere of this era.  After this, the music seemed to evolve itself.  I felt I needed to do something different towards the end of the production; longer productions are always difficult to keep the pace going for that extra 20 minutes or so, this production is 50 minutes long.  I spoke before about being inspired by Marvel's Doctor Strange in Saint Padre Pio film and switching to 6/8 time to keep the pace up.  I thought I would try something similar again, without the harpsichord.  I used harp and piano instead and the sound was immediately reminiscent of Mendelssohn for me especially with cello.  For years with my piano tutor, we went through various eras and composers like Bach, Mozart, Brahms.  Mendelssohn for me was so rich and different.  After studying the Classical period, the romantic period was so filled with a depth of emotion and this was perfect in this film as Jesus almost pleads with humanity to love him.  I felt the film lift and fill with a great depth and I was obviously thinking of Mendelssohn's style at this point and being inspired by him.  

Mendelssohn

I use a lot of ancient instruments in my music, but I also use contemporary instruments and soundscapes too, in a kind of fusion that is not 100% authentic historical music, this is not what I strive for, I strive for more cinematic, reflective and spiritual with a hint of all that is historic.  For a very contemporary touch with this production I used Electric Train Trip as a pulsing sound in Trilian Bass Guitar.  In a long sequence between Saint Margaret Mary and Claude, I brought in the pulse and it immediately became upbeat and lifted with great expectation.  This was great and I found the entire film benefited from it, it kind of musically underlined the importance of what is being said in this film.  For an almost New Age sound I used 'Dream Medieval Lute' throughout this score as well as Armenian Duduk, calling out a romantic, mystical atmosphere with the distant echo of the lute effect bringing something definitely new.  All in all, I am very pleased with this score.  It's our 80th DVD, so my 80th Soundtrack, taking into account all the mini movies so seven per disc, each with their own theme for each saint.  Saint Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be released on DVD over the following days, the music is currently mixing down......

Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 2: Joy In Service, uplifting, relaxing meditation music CD Album

Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 2: Joy in Service CD

This album has been through many changes.  Saint Cuthman of Steyning is one of my favourite films and every time we have shown it publically on the big screen in seminaries, schools, parishes, it has been met with real excitement as the film is so uplifting, simple and has a touch of humour too.  Unfortunately as St. Cuthman is so little known, this is a much overlooked little film.  The music soundtrack plays a great part in the film itself, I wrote it in 2009 and it is great!  I use a lot of pizz. strings, banjos, guitars and whistles.  If the film is not very well known then the music soundtrack is even more overlooked. I put this soundtrack out there because somebody watched the film broadcast on EWTN and loved the music.  It has been called 'Saint Cuthman's Music', 'Music Across the South Downs', 'The Saxon Shepherd'.  

Since creating my series 'Calm Your Spirit With Music' for all the soundtracks, this album has been the second album in the series of soundtracks I have made available and it has since become quite popular.  In my new 'subtitle' venture, I have kept this album pretty much the same as I believe the yellow flowers and insects really are quite apt for the album artwork as there is a lot of scenery like this in the film.  I am simply adding the subtitle 'Joy In Service' to the album.

The Church of Saint Cuthman in Steyning and his statue outside

Joy In Service
I chose these two words for a subtitle because I wanted to get across that this music is so joyful!  Yes, it is meditative, peaceful, relaxing and prayerful as all my music is as a foundation, but it has something else, it has such a spark of uplifting light in it, probably because it represents Saint Cuthman and his simple story.  I chose 'Service' because St. Cuthman trusted that where the withies broke and his cart was set down would be the place where he would build a church for the Lord.  They snapped in Steyning which is just down the road from us.  He served the Lord not just in simplicity but it the service of building a church, back then in Saxon times it must have been no easy feat, but he took it day by day and built it with joy.  What is even more fantastic is that it still stands today and you can go and visit it and be close to this great saint.  Saint Cuthman of Steyning (near Worthing!) - Pray for us!

Saint Cuthman of Steyning DVD

Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 2: Joy in Service is taken from the full music soundtrack from 'Saint Cuthman of Steyning' DVD available from Mary's Dowry Productions.  There is a nice extended bonus track at the end because I loved the main theme so much I wrote a lot more of it exclusively for the CD album.

Saint Cuthman of Steyning DVD

We love Saint Cuthman of Steyning so much that his mini-biography also appears on our 'Primary Series: Volume 2' DVD for younger children along with footage of Saint Cuthman and his cart taken from the film.

The Primary Series: Volume 2 - For Younger Children also features a mini-biography of Saint Cuthman

If you enjoy the music from Mary's Dowry Productions films then I am sure you will love this new album.  It is available through our websites as well as Amazon.

Let the stirring violin, piano, Celtic harps, mystical winds, ancient flutes, guitars and pads absorb and uplift in this beautiful original instrumental music CD.  Perfect as background music, or for chilling out, for becoming lost in thought, prayer or to simply absorb yourself in the tunes, these original soundtracks will help unwind and calm.  This particular album is based upon the full music score written for a film about ‘Saint Cuthman’ who was a Saxon shepherd. Each track builds upon the next and takes you to Saxon England through music and tells a story of simple faith, uplifting joy, peace and ancient beauty. If you like the music from Mary’s Dowry Productions, all music is composed and performed by Bernadette Bevans and all CDs are created from original tracks written in Bernadette’s original contemporary musical style and compiled, performed and finalized by her. 

Passion and Prayer, Music CD, Soundtrack, Album, Meditation, Contemplation, Instrumental

Following my revamping of my soundtrack CD albums with subtitles, I am pleased to present Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 1: 'Passion & Prayer' a new CD design release.  This instrumental CD takes the full music soundtrack from our film on Saint Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely and enhances it for CD album.  The music in this album is meditative and reflective but it also builds in places expressively as the music reflects the faith and virtue in the life of Saint Etheldreda, a great saint of England.

I first wrote the music score for this in 2009 but I have since enhanced the tracks.  Now available in this new presentation I am pleased that the album is put forth on CD with 11 tracks of music.

Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 1: Passion & Prayer CD

The Calm Your Spirit With Music Series fuses instruments and soundscapes to create a contemporary mystical and reflective mood which is both uplifting and meditative and tells a story.  Presenting a music soundtrack from Mary's Dowry Productions films in each volume.  The music soundtrack in this CD is taken from Saint Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely film and enhances it for audio CD.  As each track builds upon the next you are absorbed in a journey of peace, prayer, thought and memory.  Let the stirring cello, piano, Celtic harps, gypsy violins, guitars, choral voices, mystical winds, ancient flutes and pads absorb and uplift.  Perfect as background music, or for chilling out, for becoming lost in thought, prayer or to simply absorb yourself in the tunes these original soundtracks will help unwind and calm.  The music in this album is subtitled 'Passion & Prayer' to reflect Saint Etheldreda's prayerfulness and strong spirit of perseverance in the face of trials.  Taken directly from the full soundtrack of Saint Etheldreda this album is both meditative in places and filled with moments of passion as several tracks grow and lift the mind to crave closeness with God.  The instrumental style is immediately recognisable as Bernadette Bevans' unique sound of ethereal, meditative music.  This album is both uplifting and meditative and tells a story, the story of love, passion, faith, exodus, pursuit, prayer, struggle, steadfastness and joy.  Allow the extraordinary Spirit of ancient Catholic England, faith and devotion take you on a journey of music and imagination.  

Track Listing:

Track 1: To the King's of Old (3:24)
Track 2: Find Rest, O My Soul, in God Alone (2:57)
Track 3: Etheldreda (1:43)
Track 4: My Presence Will Go With You and I Will Give You Rest (3:51)
Track 5: May the God of Hope Fill You All With Joy (1:01)
Track 6: Sanctuary of the Monastery (4:46)
Track 7: Flight Through the Forest (5:11)
Track 8: Calm Me Lord as You Calmed the Sea (3:49)
Track 9: An Abbey For the Lord (5:21)
Track 10: Enfold Me Lord in Your Peace (6:42)
Track 11: The End and the Beginning of the Journey (2:33)

Here is a trailer where you can listen to some of the music and get an idea of the content of this album.

Passion & Prayer is available worldwide on CD from www.marysdowryproductions.org

Calm Your Spirit With Music Volume 1: Passion & Prayer is taken from Saint Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely film that we produced in 2009 and which is available through our website www.marysdowryproductions.org and also Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Saint Etheldreda DVD