In May 2012, I was delighted to be invited to collaborate with Maryanne & Michael Tedstone of Manike Music who are signed composers with Felt Music. I provided the lyre parts in the production of their epic Roman-themed album "SPQR" - which as well as being released on iTunes, this unique album will be licensed by Felt Music for use in television & film...
Maryanne & Michael got together a group of other musicians with a speciality in all things ancient, in the formation of "The Orpheus Project", as described here by Maryanne:
"The Orpheus Project was created in 2012 to bring together expert musicians to try to recreate music of ancient Greece and Rome. We wanted compose beautiful and yet believable soundscapes that the ancient civilizations could have listened to.
In May 2012 we recorded the album S.P.Q.R at top London Studio Air-Edel where we were also filmed by Orion Television for an upcoming pilot."
Below is a photo taken of myself & some of the the musicians which formed "The Orpheus Project" as we arrived at the Air Edel Studio:
I had the pleasure of co-writing track 8 of the album, "Tristitas" with Lutenist, Glenn Sharp. Below is a list of the tracks on the album:
Below are some photos take at the awesome George Martin Air Edel Studio in London during the recording session on 3rd May, 2012...
THE CHESTER ROMAN FESTIVAL
Following the recording of the album, myself & the some of the musicians and singers which formed "The Orpheus Project" performed live tracks from the album, at the Chester Roman Festival, in June 2012.
A link to the video footage of the event as filmed by Pukaar News can be viewed here
Despite a promising start, our live gigs during the festival were unfortunately cut short by the most typical of all things truly British - the weather! Sadly, the scheduled gig at the beautifully preserved Roman Amphitheater had to be cancelled due to the said Amphitheater becoming totally flooded by the dismal deluge of rain, during the course of the weekend - I now know another possible reason why the Romans eventually decided to leave Britain!
Some of these live performances at Chester & the recording of the album were televised by Orion Television, for a new BBC4 documentary, which will showcase some of the compositions of Manike Music, featuring their composition of music through the ages. Below is a photo of Maryanne & Michael being interviewed for the documentary during the recording day at Air Edel...
Further details on the documentary to follow - keep a eye on my news bulletins!