Tender Symmetry by Michael Price
Emmy award-winning composer Michael Price will release Tender Symmetry, his second album with Erased Tapes, on August 31st 2018. The ambitious musical project takes in a series of iconic National Trust locations across the UK as its inspiration, turning them into unlikely recording spaces. Michael and a host of musicians and collaborators — including soprano Grace Davidson (featured on Max Richter’s Sleep) and Shards (the choir on Nils Frahm’s All Melody) — travelled across the country in pursuit of places far removed from the traditional recording studio to create seven unique and moving pieces, straddling the past and the future.
The diversity of Michael Price’s choices ranges from the ruins of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire to the Fan Bay WWII shelter, cut deep into the chalk cliffs of Dover. All owned by the National Trust save one, each venue became both the inspiration and the recording studio for Michael Price and his accompaniment of renowned musical ensembles, choirs and soloists.
"For Tender Symmetry, I stopped admiring and started participating in these buildings. This began as an exploration of writing and recording out in the world beyond the studio. I am interested in where we build our homes in an increasingly virtual world and the spirit of place we feel as we walk our local streets, our schools, temples and public spaces. Taking inspiration from a place, and the stories it told, then going back to that place to record, sometimes in less than ideal conditions, made the two-year adventure much more like shooting a film than making a record.”— Michael Price
Acoustics varied wildly as the artists moved from places designed with sound in mind to locations which demanded the use of miners’ helmets for light and battery-powered sound gear. Produced by Michael Price and Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths, the final recordings carry the genuinely unique sonic blueprints and spirit of each place – from the birdsong in the courtyard at Speke Hall to the steam-driven cotton mill accompaniment at Quarry Bank. “When we recorded the piece at Fan Bay in the World War II shelter deep inside the chalk cliffs of Dover, Peter Gregson’s cello wasn’t at all happy with the clammy, dank conditions; but to be in the tunnels where young soldiers spent months on end, constantly on alert for incoming bombers, gave the recording an extraordinarily intimate, moving quality. At each site, the human mixed with the historical, and the natural environment of each space comes through with each piece. I tried to leave an imprint of each location on the record.”
While each piece of music is named after the location in which it was created, William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience courses through them as well. Soprano Grace Davidson sings Blake’s poignant words about nature, religion and the industrial revolution on several of the pieces including the astoundingly beautiful album closer Shade Of Dreams, written after the birth of Michael’s daughter. “The final piece, Shade of Dreams, is part of a group of pieces I wrote for the birth of our daughter, Emilie. It, like all the works on the album, takes its text from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, in this case, A Cradle Song. As much as Tender Symmetry is about the past, it is firmly about the future, and all our of shared futures.”
Alongside soprano Grace Davidson and Shards choir, other performers include virtuoso cellist Peter Gregson, new music experimentalists Immix Ensembleand Manchester Collective.
Grace Davies, National Trust contemporary arts programme manager said: “We were delighted when Michael approached us with this project as it directly draws on the extraordinary stories and history of these special places. The sheer variety of sites that Michael has chosen has resulted in a collection of new music that is sometimes surprising, sometimes poignant, and – above all – inspirational. I am sure that audiences will be enchanted both by Michael’s music and our places that have inspired him.”
Tender Symmetry will be available worldwide on LP, CD and digitally, including selected National Trust shops, on August 31st 2018. Michael Price will premiere Tender Symmetry live at London’s Kings Place on September 6th. Notes to editors:
About Michael Price:
Internationally recognised for his extensive work as a composer, producer, arranger and music editor in the world of film and TV music, Michael Price has been nominated for 3 Emmy awards (winning in 2014 for the BBC series Sherlock), a BAFTA and has worked on hugely varied projects ranging from the Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Inbetweeners movies. Michael Price’s previous full-length release on Erased Tapes Entanglement, was described as ‘gorgeous’ by Rolling Stone, ‘a neo-classical treat’ by Uncut, and Clash remarked that ‘the emotional clout of this music is quite staggering’.
About the National Trust:
The National Trustis a conservation charity founded in 1895 by three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces, and wanted to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. More than 120 years later, these values are still at the heart of everything the charity does. Entirely independent of Government, the National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 778 miles of coastline and hundreds of special places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. More than 24 million people visit every year, and together with 5 million members and over 65,000 volunteers, they help to support the charity in its work to care for special places for ever, for everyone. For more information and ideas for great seasonal days out go to: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
About the Locations:
Speke Hall, Liverpool, Merseyside. A Tudor manor house on the banks of the Mersey, restored in the 19th century, so combining both Tudor and Arts and Crafts features.
Quarry Bank, Wilmslow, Cheshire. A great industrial heritage site, containing an 18thcentury working mill and the homes of a complete working community.
Fountains Abbey, Ripon, North Yorkshire. The largest monastic ruins in the country, founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York.
2 Willow Road, Hampstead, London. An innovative and influential Modernist home, designed in 1939 by architect Ernö Goldfinger for himself and his family.
Sandham Memorial Chapel, near Newbury, Hampshire. World famous chapel which houses an epic series of large-scale paintings, by acclaimed war artist Sir Stanley Spencer.
Fan Bay Deep Shelter, Dover, Kent. A tunnel complex constructed inside the White Cliffs of Dover in 1940/41 as accommodation for the gun battery above.ll Hallows, Gospel Oak.
The only location not owned by the National Trust, where Shade Of Dreams was recorded.
Tracklist
| 1. | Sandham | 5:10 |
| 2. | Speke | 10:51 |
| 3. | Willow Road | 7:08 |
| 4. | Quarry Bank | 7:20 |
| 5. | Fan Bay | 5:29 |
| 6. | Fountains | 7:32 |
| 7. | Shade of Dreams | 3:00 |
Credits
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Michael Price's debut album on Erased Tapes Records, Entanglement, was described as ‘gorgeous’ by Rolling Stone and as ‘a neo-classical treat’ by Uncut. ‘The emotional clout of this music is quite staggering’ - Clash.
His work for film & TV has also been widely recognised, winning an EMMY award in 2014, plus BAFTA & 2 further EMMY nominations for the BBC series Sherlock, scored with David Arnold.