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"a revelation" Venue Magazine |
"Gig of the Week" The Guardian |
The Songs of the Spirit and the Senses are settings by Keith Harrison-Broninski
("a fine pianist", The Independent) of lyrical poetry by
Ann Harrison-Broninski
("spellbinding", Venue Magazine).
The first of these song settings, "The Hills Will Hollow", was performed in 2001
by the Emerald Ensemble, in a concert of Harrison-Broninski's music at
St George's Bristol.
This
first, purely classical, setting was received so enthusiastically by both
performers and audience that he went on to write a suite, currently comprising
12 vocal pieces plus an instrumental piece, which extend the music into other
forms.
All the songs feature rich natural imagery set to lovely and memorable melodies. But apart from that they
are extremely varied, taking inspiration both from classical composers (Debussy,
Vaughan-Williams, Messaien, Piazzolla, John Adams, ...) and from improvisatory
musical styles such as jazz, funk and rock. The music ranges from the still
beauty of Miracle Play and the eerie swing of Ophelia's Dance to
the rock blow-out of Shadow and the storming funk of Vow (now
playing), taking in
the free jazz of Things Being Gothic on the way - along with much else.
Over the years, Harrison-Broninski has rescored the songs for a variety of ensembles, including chamber orchestra, jazz band and a combination of the two. They have been performed at varied venues (including concert halls, jazz clubs, and churches), the most recent performance being for Frome Festival 2006 with a new working outfit; a 5-piece in which legendary jazz guitarist Ray Russell joins the list of first-rank jazz soloists to have performed this music:
[The images above are hyperlinked to high resolution versions suitable for brochure publication - left-click on one of them to open the high-resolution version in a new window, or right-click and choose "Save Target As..." to download the high-resolution version directly]
The debut performance by this group was in July 2006, from which live
recordings were made, which you can listen to below.
"It was a fine vocal performance, matched by Ray Russell's
dazzlingly imaginative guitar and his interplay with the understated and
unpredictable percussion of Tony Orrell. There were many sparkling moments,
particularly Russell's rocking in 'Shadow' and Dave Griffiths' mandolin on
'Downland', and Harris was excellent throughout."
Venue Magazine
To discuss a performance of Songs of the Spirit and the Senses, please contact
Keith Harrison-Broninski either by email
(keith@songs-of-the-spirit-and-the-senses.com) or
telephone (+44 1373 836520). The complete suite comprises 2 hours of
music, split into two sets of an hour each.
To stream the audio, left-click on a song title - to download the song in MP3 format, right-click and choose "Save Target As...".
Autumn's Henchman
(8:11)
... Few have felt the fell
and hew of you as I
O forester of my dreams.
Catkin
(6:04)
Swing me on a hazel tree,
My Spring King, my Destiny
...
Downland
(6:35)
Downland rings my world
edging of strength and hollow
...
Georgina's Jig
(4:40)
Instrumental
Lorca Moon
(8:49)
...
Lying naked on the bed
head filled with Navarra red
Lorca sings of blood and nighttime
Miracle Play
(7:20)
Your wood is a green cathedral
vaulted to the skies
...
Ophelia's Dance
(9:30)
Shroud my love in May,
mystery of the grove
...
Pantomime
(9:34)
I will fly over the snowbound earth
swift as I glide on a sharpened breeze
unwinding about me winter's sheet;
of whitest tapestry ...
Shadow
(6:39)
There is a shadow of mine,
I need to possess
for it will not keep still.
The Hills Will Hollow
(4:11)
The hills will hollow the red earthed fern
though stubble from a season’s fallen corn
still smoulders ...
Things Being Gothic
(12:01)
There hovers on the air a haggard breeze,
which bites back bark and branch beneath,
calls forth hoarse whispers from the dark,
where fear stalks suddenly ...
Thumbelina
(9:29)
I will make a pea hat
for my Thumbelina,
my green bean ...
Vow
(6:56)
I will walk you through the lanes
teach you all the names I know
of flowers, birds and trees;
splash with you on rainy days
kick up clouds of coloured leaves
...
All words ©1986-2006 Ann Harrison-Broninski. All Rights
Reserved.
All music ©1986-2006 Keith Harrison-Broninski. All Rights Reserved.