The 40 Martyrs of England and Wales Films - Music Scores - Catholic Faith & Media

Since October 2007 it has been my privilege to work on several DVD films about the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales as well as creating full original music scores for each production.  It all began 11 years ago this month when Mary's Dowry Productions had its first filming day over in Arundel, West Sussex.

We wanted to incorporate the beautiful scenery of West Sussex as well as the magnificent Arundel Castle and Cathedral into this production.

Filming before Arundel Castle

What made this production great, being our first DVD, was discovering the life of Saint Philip Howard, the Earl of Arundel.  We had lived near Arundel our whole lives and attended the Cathedral for many events but did not know much about Saint Philip Howard.

These first days of filming were interesting, we spent many weeks travelling back and forth to Arundel for different shots and different locations.

Getting to grips with the new equipment

Mary's Dowry Productions had only been established for a few weeks and getting to grips with the new equipment was a learning curve but we went from strength to strength and our production on St. Philip Howard was completed and launched on the 'small screen' (we had not yet gotten our large screen and launch equipment) and we were touched by this English Martyrs' life and witness.

Saint Philip of Arundel DVD

This production was revisited in 2010 with a whole new music score and upgraded footage but both the early version and the new one were met with very positive feedback.

Having always been drawn to ancient sounds like the recorder and frame drum, viola da gamba, fidule and lute, I found that writing a music score for a film set in the Elizabethan era enabled me to use these lovely instrument and create an authentic Elizabethan sound.  I'd not long left college and one valuable lesson I had learned was the creation of my own original unique sound so I applied this concept to the St. Philip Howard film score and made it my own.

After Saint Philip of Arundel was released and making it's way around the world and diocese, 2008 saw us begin a year long project on Saint Edmund Campion, another English Martyr.  

Saint Edmund Campion

Philip Howard was the first English Martyr we had encountered and it led us to discover that there are in fact 40 of them!  For 11 years we have wanted to produce a DVD for each of these great saints.  We are not there yet but many years of work and effort have seen several produced.  We paid particular interest to the martyrs who were completely unknown like Saint Polydore Plasden.  This month I hope to write several blogs on the processes of producing films and writing music scores on several of these martyrs.  My next blog will focus on Saint Edmund Campion and our year long work to produce Saint Edmund Campion: A Hero Returns DVD.

NEW ALBUM in the works 'VALLEYS' Landscapes, Fantasy Art, Stories, Music Composition and Inspiration

I am very pleased to be back working on my upcoming instrumental album VALLEYS.  I've been writing these albums on and off for two decades now!  An awful lot of work goes in to them, they are extremely creative and where I write most freely with great depths of imagination based on titles and pictures.  

When I completed KINGDOMS in 2010 I was excited to have a new addition to this series and I had the idea for VALLEYS in my mind but it was not until 2014 that my schedule enabled me to begin work on it.  

'Kingdoms' Album available on CD

I wrote 3 tracks and managed to arrange and record two of them but then we had such a work load again that VALLEYS got left behind.  The past couple of weeks I have had a bit more time to look at moving this album forward.  I finally took the biggest step of organizing my title tracks and layout, bringing together all the title ideas and choosing a new title for the next track.  

To date I am working on track 6 but track 5 is incomplete, so it's a bit messy, but the tracks so far are gorgeous!  I'm very pleased with them and cannot wait to complete this album.  My favourite track so far is the opening track entitled "Lady of the Valleys" and I love it, it's got a beautiful Xiao Flute leading.  I am currently working on 'Into the Lunar Valleys' so am going for a few more soundscapes like I did in REALMS for this particular track which is going very well so far.

The titles given to me by my sister always provide a foundation for writing and inspiration.  They hold such depth so when I sit to compose, I let my imagination go beyond the words and I picture stories and landscapes behind the title.  Fantasy art also plays a big role in my inspiration because I was first inspired by Lord of the Rings and the cinematic landscapes blended with CGI artwork of ancient statues etc.  So I picture, what once was and my mind is filled with many stories, portrayed through music, that then just flows.

The days go so quickly now but I am in between film scores at the moment so hopefully I can knuckle down and complete 'Into the Lunar Valleys' soon.

For more information visit my CD Page 

Saint Mechtilde of Magdeburg, Beguine, Writing the Music Score for this New Film

Last week saw me writing the music for our latest production "Saint Mechtilde of Magdeburg and the Souls in Purgatory".  It's been nearly 2 years since we filmed for this production and we've wanted to get it done because it presents the early Beguines and the Beguine way of life which is very dear to us.  An egret bird landed in our garden pond and we were told that there were many of them nearby in Ferring by the rife so we travelled there to film them in the frost.  Whilst there we spotted in the distance an old ruined barn made of stone and became extremely excited as we had not intended this to be a scouting mission.  

Any mysterious or crumbling backdrop is great for a Mary's Dowry Productions film so we went and checked it out.  

We went back there with props and garbed in the correct Beguine clothing to acquire the footage needed to produce a film on this ancient saint.  We hoped that this would be the first of many individual films on Beguines and hermits.  The rife, ice, running water, rocks, trees, animals and birds made great scenery for the entire film so in just one day we obtained everything we needed.  It was not fun because it was very windy but it was worth it.

We archived the footage because at the time we were also filming for St. Don Bosco and other Salesians and a few others.  It is only now that we have managed to work on this film and I was delighted last week that editing was complete and I was ready to begin writing the music score.

Writing the Music....

When I began writing I did not know what I would do.  I was thinking at the time of our production on St. Julian of Norwich.  This was filmed in an abandoned old church in Bedham and that created it's own atmosphere so I wanted to do something similar here.

For the opening titles for St. Mechtilde of Magdeburg there are some great shots of the ruined barn and I used this for inspiration.  Instead of using Celtia voices like I did for St. Julian of Norwich, I used Mystica because I was thinking of nuns.  Although Beguines are free, Mechtilde did spend some years attached to the nuns at Helfta including St. Gertrude the Great and St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn.  

So I began this score with a mysterious atmosphere using soundscapes and the chanting of nuns.  These opening titles show the fusing of voices with 'Lord of Wind' soundscapes and how I brought in the cello to gradually build the piece:

The opening titles were fairly easy and I pretty much used my usual instruments and kept a building and expectant atmosphere until the film begins at about 1:00.  

Drums, Nykelharpas, Horns, Harps, Stringed Instruments...

When the narrative began I decided that I would keep a general atmosphere of 'ancient'.  I love all things old, rural landscapes, mysterious crumbling ruins, and of course a Beguine living along amongst this.  So I wrote some simple underscore tunes using a Frame Drum beat with the Nykelharpa and Tenor Viola da Gamba leading.  I used a back and forth with an Alto Recorder to keep this going all through the first section on the history of the Beguines.

I tried to keep a mysterious atmosphere throughout and I did not want just endless little tunes going so regularly in this score I used suspended strings with more Mystica Voices and half way through the film included Altus Voices for contrast.  

Sound Effects

There was not much call in this production for the use of sound effects but I was able to put the sound of birds and running water subtly over come of the scenes which aided in a reflective experience.  This production has a lot of good information about the Souls in Purgatory as much of St. Mechtilde's writings pertain to this.

Unlike several other of our productions that mention Purgatory or Hell, I did not use scary soundscapes in these sections in St. Mechtilde.  I learned so much from this production and found myself having to watch it 3 times to absorb the great depths of this saints' profound writings.  I was pleased also at the link to the Sacred Heart, having worked this year on Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Clade de la Colombiere and the Sacred Heart in England films.

Saint Mechtilde is now complete and available through our website and also through Amazon.  It is well worth a look. www.marysdowryproductions.org

Saint Mechtilde of Magdeburg DVD

Bartolo Longo, Format Satanic High Priest, Movie Trailer

This trailer for Bartolo Longo offers an example of the music that I wrote for this film.  As mentioned in my previous post the use of strings and cello captured the era and an atmosphere of suspense.  His story is very gripping.

Blessed Bartolo Longo

We produced a DVD on Blessed Bartolo Longo back in 2017.  We had wanted to produce a film on this great saint for a while because the fact that he lost his faith and became more and more sinful, all the way to becoming a satanic high priest, yet turned his life around is such an inspiration for conversion and coming back from sinful ways.  I myself suffered in the past from scruples but Bartolo Longo shows us that even siding with the devil and becoming ordained a Satanic priest, still will not prevent a soul in the end from belonging to God if we just turn to him and repent.  Bartolo Longo also shows us the power of the Rosary.

Screenshot from Bartolo Longo Film

For this music score I used quite an orchestral base with cello solos.  The main thing I remember about this score was using sound effects, something I have started to incorporate into our productions over the past few years.  It really aids the productions and in the case of this film I used whispering voices throughout every séance scenes along with eerie soundscapes.

Screenshot from Bartolo Longo Séance portrayal

It was great.  I really do love this production it's so powerful and effective.

Bartolo Longo is available both on DVD worldwide and through ON DEMAND instantly.  On demand enables you to own and watch this film on any device digitally.

Bartolo Longo:

Bartolo Longo was a 19^th century Italian lawyer and a satanic priest whose soul was converted by the power of the rosary. He lived on the brink of hell, preached fiercely against Christ and especially the Catholic Church, with particular venom towards the Dominican order. Although he had been raised a Catholic by his pious mother, it was when he left home to attend university in Naples that he seriously began to doubt the articles of Faith and finally rejected Christianity. He was caught up in the nationalist movement that swept through 19^th century Italy and became obsessed with the thoughts and ideas of its ideology. He also became interested in Spiritualism.

Not satisfied by simply attending séances and listening to the messages given through mediums, Bartolo decided that he would receive the answers to his questions direct. His involvement in the occult eventually saw him ordained a priest of Spiritualism.

At his ordination, Bartolo was alarmed when the church shook and great claps of thunder surrounded him. His life then became worse with deep depression and anxiety. He communicated with demons who taunted him with contradictory answers and messages. His emotional and psychological problems led him to finally consult a Catholic professor who told him that if he did not abandon his occult ways he would be damned.

Through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the recitation of the most holy Rosary, Blessed Bartolo Longo embarked upon a long period of exorcism and confession, rejection of the occult and deep conversion until he was finally reconciled to the Catholic Church.

After discerning his place in the world, and despite a lifetime of difficulties that followed, Blessed Bartolo Longo dedicated his entire life to promoting the most Holy Rosary and love of Our Lady. He continued to struggle but saw the rosary as his way of beating bondage to Satan forever! He built the magnificent basilica dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii and has been lifted up as a very important Catholic figure especially for our times.

Blessed Bartolo Longo by Mary’s Dowry Productions looks not only at the life and journey of Blessed Bartolo, as well as his writings, prayers and example, but the teachings of the Catholic Church on the dangers of the New Age and Occult with important and helpful quotes to assist us on our life journey’s battle for our souls and for the souls of those around us.

Bartolo Longo DVD available worldwide.

Our Lady and the Visionaries of Knock, Celtic Irish Music Score Soundtrack Project

This week has seen me writing the music for our latest upcoming DVD film release "Our Lady and the Visionaries of Knock".  I delayed writing this over the end of the summer break because I knew it would be a large undertaking.  Not only is the film 50 minutes in length, but it incorporates testimonies by several people recounting their experience at Knock.  I knew that this film is packed with so much historical information and I admit that I was a little nervous about getting started.

Much of my music over the years has incorporated a Celtic feel.  I really thought that being able to write completely freestyle in Irish music would be easy, like, unleashing what I keep contained, wanting to write Irish style music.  Writing this score however has taught me that this is untrue.  I do not write authentic styled music, I deliberately fuse instruments and styles so that my music is never predictable.  Writing Old English music comes naturally because I love all the instruments like Lutes, Fidules, Recorders etc, but I never keep to a strictly authentic or restricted theme or realism, I use the old English sound as a starting point and go from there.

As my music tends towards a Celtic feel, I have been influenced by growing up with James Horner scored films, scores like Braveheart, Far and Away, I've always been fascinated by these lovely instruments from Scotland and Ireland.  I was planning to go completely Irish with this.  Right away however I found it really difficult.  I thought about using the Irish style as a stepping point like I do with Old English and this seemed to work but the whole score was a bit of an uphill struggle I must admit.

Screenshot from "Braveheart"

Today, Saturday, I have completed the long score and although it was hard, it's turned out great!  I'm using my old "Saint Thomas Garnet and the Gunpowder Plot" music score as a template but have added in new instruments like bagpipes and Irish Flute.  Using the Irish Flute also gave me the opportunity to use the pitch bend for a real authentic feel.  I'm also using Heronica from Vocal Codex female voices for the first time too.  

Vocal Codex

This new film tells the entire account of the apparitions at Knock and made it clear to me for the first time who was there and what occurred.  This film begins by putting the events of Knock in context with the history of Ireland, the Reformation and why the Eucharist is linked so importantly with these events.  This film should be released over the next several days.  For more information visit www.marysdowryproductions.org 

Calming Reflective Music, New Soundtrack Album, Water of Life, by Bernadette Bevans

Over the past several years people have asked about the music from Mary's Dowry Productions and I have tried to find time to answer their requests and make some of the music available on instrumental CD album.  I began with St. Etheldreda: Abbess of Ely as this was one of my favourite music scores at the time.

St. Etheldreda Soundtrack CD Album.

The soundtrack album has been through many title changes, track name changes and cover designs until a few months ago I re-labelled all soundtracks from Mary's Dowry Productions under the series banner: "Calm Your Spirit With Music", giving each individual album a subtitle and volume number.  There are only 6 album titles in this series and I've just completed the last one which I reckon will be the final album in this series.  I prefer to write freely with music albums and to take a soundtrack out of context from a film is difficult because a lot of the music is underscore so quite quiet and needs a lot of adjusting.  

6 CD Soundtracks Available.

I love the music from each film, some of my best work takes place within the context of a Mary's Dowry Productions film but I feel that I cannot have over 80 CD albums available.  Also, some of the scores were written in different programs so it's difficult to go back to the raw project to accomplish an instrumental track.

St. Piran of Cornwall DVD

I am pleased to announce that my latest soundtrack album is now available and it's one I've been wanting to release for a long time - the music score for St. Piran of Cornwall.  I wanted to do this because the music in it is absolutely lovely.  

NEW CD Soundtrack Album - The Music from St. Piran of Cornwall Film

I like writing music with a Celtic feel and I felt so free when I wrote this score.  Because we do not see St. Piran of Cornwall DVD very much because it is one of our lesser known saints, I feel that the lovely music in this film is lost but now on CD album it has a greater chance of being heard.

For the cover I chose a scene from Cornwall and also something that shows a lot of the sea because most of the scenery for this film is of the sea, rock pools, water.  The subtitle for this album is "Water of Life".  This album is "Calm Your Spirit With Music: Volume 6: Water of Life" and the 6th and probably the final installation of music soundtracks.  The soundtracks available now to date are from the following films:

St. Etheldreda
St. Margaret Ward
St. Cuthman of Steyning
St. David of Wales
St. Joan of Arc
St. Piran of Cornwall.

It's an interesting selection and one that came about due to circumstances and timing.

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.  Each volume presents a music soundtrack taken from an individual film but enhances it for audio CD.  As each track builds upon the next you are absorbed in a journey of peace, prayer, thought and memory.  This album is taken from the music soundtrack from Saint Piran of Cornwall film.  It was inspired by the stunning visuals of the sea, water, hills, landscapes, harbours and ancient Celtic England and Ireland.  Let the sounds of piano, Celtic harps, mystical winds, wooden flutes, mysterious horns, sounds of the sea and orchestral undertones 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.  

Track Listing:

Track 1 - Water of Life (3:23)
Track 2 - You Will Draw Water From the Spring of Salvation (2:52)
Track 3 - Like Cold Water to a Thirsty Soul, so is Good News From a Far Country (2:42)
Track 4 - Buriana, Purest Lily (7:57)
Track 5 - The Tin Mining Saint (7:20)
Track 6 - Surely God is Good to Those Who Are Pure of Heart (1:43)

This CD is now available through www.marysdowryproductions.org