M U S I C
On Farthing Downs is a symphonic tone poem in four movements, inspired by a beautiful rural space in north Surrey.
The Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Jonathan Butcher, recently gave the world premier of the first movement,
This recording is planned for release on 13 April 2017 and the CD will also feature my Moonlight Piano Concerto as well as a new recording of Box of Dreams from the soundtrack of These Foolish Things.
I am very proud to have been involved in realising this CD for the new musical of Dracula, which is available from Dress Circle. With book and lyrics by Gareth Evans and songs by Christopher J Orton and myself, this powerful story is brought to life by a stunning cast featuring some of the finest vocalists I have ever worked with, led by Michael McCarthy as Dracula.
During the eighties, I made three solo albums of my own instrumental music. I was joined on the first, Forgotten Summer, by drummer Bob Jenkins and percussionist Martin Ditcham.
They were joined by bassist Mo Foster and a guest appearance by the lovely Basia on the second album, Early Snow, For the third album, Celebration, Bob and Martin were joined by guitarist Richie Brunton, and the late Andy Brown on bass and Pete Zorn on flutes and saxes. Both were great friends and both are sadly missed.
In the 1990s Frankie Miller was tragically struck down in his prime and incapacitated as a singer and songwriter. A myriad of A-list artists have contributed to these new recordings of his songs, based on Frankie's amazing vocals from his home demoes.
I was fortunate enough to be asked to arrange, play keyboards and sing backing vocals on various tracks, but I also produced a one hour 'making of' documentary, completed with the generous help of video crews worldwide and top photographers Alan Messer and Per Ole Hagen.
In the mid-1970s, I worked extensively with poet and lyricist Pete Brown. The only remaining tangible evidence of that collaboration is a CD featuring seven of our songs plus White Room, written for The Cream by Pete and Jack Bruce. We had a couple of bands The Flying Tigers and Back To The Front but Party In The Rain was released under our joint names. Apparently the original vinyl is worth quite a bit now!
Fellow train enthusiasts may spot the Class 52 and Mk I coaches in Helen Walters wonderful artwork.
Click any cover to buy (if available)
These Foolish Things is a thoughtful film by first-time writer / producer / director Julia Taylor-Stanley, about an aspiring young actress in London at the outbreak of World War Two, The soundrack features most of my original score, plus the enigmatic Eclogue by Gerald Finzi (played by Peter Donahoe) and many original thirties tracks performed by Carroll Gibbons and The Savoy Hotel Orpheans. For the score, I pre-recorded the piano and conducted the London Session Orchestra, led by Gavyn Wright.
Artwork courtesy of Sony / BMG.
Miriam and I worked on Eternal for a couple of years across the Atlantic and the internet. Comprised of works by the great classical composers, it was released in 2007 and features my orchestral arrangements and Miriams wonderful vocal arrangements, plus many new Italian lyrics by poet Alexander Macinante.
First issued on the MMC label, they were subsequently released by EMI and are occasionally available even now. Although originally a trilogy, In the 1990s I recorded
another album with strong family ties.
In Camera reflects both my growing involvement with film and the more private and introverted process of playing everything myself. It has never been commercially released. Now available on iTunes.
It was with great sadness that I learned of the sudden and untimely passing of my good friend, Lynsey de Paul.
We collaborated on many projects including Marcus the Mole's How do You do - I'm Marcus for the opening of Eurotunnel. We were both incredibly proud of what we produced but sadly, at the very last minute, it was decided to go with something more hi-tech to launch their advertising and this charming CD barely saw the light of day
