The Essential Michael Nyman Band
| The Essential Michael Nyman Band | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
film music | ||||
| Length | 67:18 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Argo | |||
| Michael Nyman chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
Allmusic |   [1] |
The Essential Michael Nyman Band is a
As the works on the album were written as concert pieces before being transmuted into film music, some of the selections, particularly "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds" contain more material than their film versions, and some are very different in style, such as "An Eye for Optical Theory", with a tempo more than double from its original in
Nyman created a similar album in 2005 with The Composer's Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited. Fan reaction has generally been that The Essential Michael Nyman Band is the superior album.[citation needed]
Track listing
- Chasing sheep is best left to shepherds
- An eye for optical theory
- The garden is becoming a robe room
- Prawn watching
- Time lapse
- Fish Beach
- Wheelbarrow Walk
- Knowing the Ropes
- Miserere paraphrase
- Memorial
- Stroking
Synchronizing - Miranda
Tracks 1-3 from
An Eye for Optical Theory
Track 2, An Eye for Optical Theory, is based on a four-bar harmonic frame likely originally composed by William Croft. Nyman employs the syncopated potential of the original by adding the two saxophones to layer textures consisting of individual ‘collections’ of melodies over a constantly-changing backing track in the remaining ensemble. This gives rise to a strident melodic line in the upper strings.[2]
Personnel
- Clare Connors, Ann Morphy, violin
- Kate Musker, viola
- Tony Hinnigan, Justin Pearson, cello
- Martin Elliott, bass guitar
- John Harle, David Roach, soprano & alto saxophone
- Andrew Findon, baritone saxophone, flute, piccolo
- Steve Sidwell, trumpet
- Marjorie Dunn, horn
- Nigel Barr, bass trombone, euphonium
- John Lenehan, piano
- Michael Nyman, piano (tracks 1, 2, 3, 11, 12)
- Sarah Leonard, soprano (tracks 9, 10, 12)
- Linda Hirst, mezzo-soprano (track 12)
- Photographs courtesy of the Tokyo Globe Theatre
This recording made at the JVC Victor Studios, Tokyo
- Engineer: Michael J. Dutton
- Mixed at Kitsch Studio, Brussels
- Edited by Michael J. Dutton at Abbey Road Studios, London
- Publishers: Chester Music Ltd/Kelly Music Ltd; EG Music Ltd (track 11)
- Art direction: David Smart
- Cover design by Russell Warren-Fisher from a photo by Steve Pyke
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- Chester Music
