Audio-dramas in the first half of 2021

2021 has brought some interesting projects! These four are now released (or about to be).

There Used to be a Me is a tour de force performance by Alfred Molina as the many, many characters invented by the late Peter Sellers. The script had very specific musical requirements to evoke the various comedy connections. There were some challenges (like Medieval versions of Beatles songs) and delights (like a Ron Goodwin-esque title track). Molina carries it masterfully.

The Barren Author Series II is like the original, only bigger and better. This time Smith is an active character. That presented interest in the score, which in the first series was always from the Brigadier’s point of view. There is nothing like The Barren Author for not knowing where you are going next - musically and in the story. A real rollercoaster adventure.

Screaming Queens is a two-handed drama depicting Kenneth Williams and Fenella Fielding. Often bitter and cutting in tone, the scripted music was to be merely an introduction to each of the three scenes. I asked the producer for permission to add the lightest score in a few places and he not only gave me permission but loved the end result. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be much to make a difference.

Lastly, The Voices of Dracula is a collection of stories each read by a single actor. The perspectives vary, from the female victim, to Van Helsing and, of course, Dracula. The musical requirements for each were very different and I treated the stories as independent tales. This not only gave freedom to serve the story at hand but also kept distinction where there was obviously some overlap in the story lines.

A fifth project called Getting Better: The Birth of the NHS took up several months. I started preparation with the scripts in March and composed until early June, by which time I had composed all diegetic cues and almost finished 5 out of 10 scores. In spite of so much commitment, I walked away from the project, alongside the sound designer, as the creative differences with the controlling producer were too great. I had never left a project before but I remain pleased with my music, which I am repurposing into several music libraries, soon available to licence.

Audible's "20,000 Leagues under the Sea"

Today I finished my score for Audible’s new original audio drama of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, produced by Barnaby Eaton-Jones with full sound design by Joseph Fox. This was commissioned at the start of lockdown and required all of the actors to record their parts in isolation to one another, at home, using different equipment! The drama is divided into 5 exciting episodes. I have scored to the audio (rather than writing a suite of library tracks to be edited during production). The score has 161 different musical cues, totalling 141 minutes! Episodes 2-4 have all been scored during the last month. An intense schedule to say the least.

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Commissions and Competitions

In the last few weeks I have composed 44 tracks for Episode 1 of a forthcoming audio-drama. An excitingly brisk pace of composition that has been very enjoyable!

I have also worked with an US High School, taking the home recordings of individual students and producing a beautiful ensemble performance.

Earlier this year, I composed two original choral works for competitions - one of which has been cancelled due to the lockdown and the deadline of the other has been extended. I'm also preparing the orchestral score for a short film competition that caught my eye.

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Danny and the Wild Bunch, a film by Robert Rugan.

This film is scored for full orchestra. The full score is available to view here. It was composed for a competition entry and can now be published as it was unsuccessful. Contrary to the general etiquette of these things, I was disappointed not to reach the final. It’s no small task to compose for symphony orchestra and have the score performance ready. I will be interested to hear the 5 finalists’ works, even as I was surprised to hear the original score given to the film on release.

Composition Commissions

After several months of working on projects for other people, it has been a lovely change to write some original music of my own.

My brother’s film company were hired to make a trailer for the local am-dram production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Due to its amateur status, a temp track could be used for their short-term promotion. But the performances, locations, costumes and filming were so good that a responsive score was desirable. Earlier this month I submitted my entry to the Zurich Film Festival Scoring Competition. I am still in the habit of writing for symphony orchestra and so I have written a lavish and racing soundtrack for the trailer. Film to follow!

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Eleanor of Aquitaine - Underscoring Improvisation

Last year I was commissioned to provide underscore for B7 Media’s production of Eleanor Aquitaine, a one-woman show with the acclaimed actress Eileen Page.

As part of the show, Eileen performs a song of her own improvised composition. Away from the visual aspect of a stage performance, the song needed some musical accompaniment to work on audio. It was challenging because the song was already recorded and could not be changed. In this video I show how this worked in practice. The full CD is available here:

https://www.b7media.com/product/eleanor-of-aquitaine-cd/

A winter's work

Some seasons I have written words in between compositions. More recently it has been the other way round with my work-in-progress standing at 65,000 words and not yet half way. However, it looks like this winter will include some large scale compositions. I have been engaged to provide the music for a classic dramatisation for Audible, period music for a filmed show with an esteemed theatre actress in her 90s, and soundtrack for a documentary on the original Chester cathedral of St. John’s.