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Alison Jowett 'Breathe With Ease' Meditational Suite Films Music And That
The Journey Parts I - IV Interpretation of the Poetry of Marion Atkinson
Alison Jowett 'Breathe With Ease' Meditational Suite
A suite of meditation and relaxation scripts, set to music.
Alison Jowett of the York Natural Health Clinic has been developing a comprehensive suite of meditation and therapeutic scripts to aid both children and adults with breathing difficulties, stress and anxiety.
Sarah has been commissioned to provide the background music to the full suite using the harp. Recordings so far have produced a magical soundtrack and the release of this suite should be around the end of 2013.
The highly creative duo of Dan Axon and Simon Collins make up the Film and Animation company Films Music & That, based in York. Sarah was asked to provide backing tracks on the harp for a specially commissioned short animation piece which was produced especially for the Jorvik Viking Festival of 2012. It was very interesting to add music to a piece of animation and seeing the process of animation and film making at work.
Click on this link to view the film!
Commissioned by The York Achaeological Trust for the Jorvik Viking Festival Concerts held in York Minster 2010 - 2013
Sarah was asked by the Events Director at the Jorvik Viking Centre to create a piece in celebration of the annual Jorvik Viking Festival. The piece was to be played in the magnificent surroundings and acoustics of York Minster.
The piece Sarah wrote is called The Journey, a ten minute piece where voice and harp weave a story sung in and inspired by the Old Norse Language. A journey across the seas from the tranquility of the fjords across the magnificent raging north seas to lands afar, the Viking ships are at the mercy of the winds and oceans. Little could she know that when she wrote it, ostensibly for a one-off concert that in fact it would continue to grow and develop as a piece. To date she has performed this four times in York Minster during the Jorvik Viking Festival.
In 2011 The Journey II saw Sarah joined by her three fellow members of Soundsphere. Sarah always envisioned doing this piece with multi-layered harmonies and who better to do justice to these than a group famed for weird multi-layer harmonies! Alongside this composition Sarah wrote a song especially for the concert called 'To Fight For His King' taking the story theme of the concert and setting it to song.
In 2012 The Journey III took shape in the form of a different arrangement ~ a change of key and the addition of respected Uilleann Piper Brian Stafford. Brian added a completely different element in the form of the lilting and soulful pipes together with Low Whistle ~ incredibly The Journey set sail again.
2013 saw The Journey IV changing shape again - back to the original key of Eb and joined this year by two talented and renowned multi-instrumentalists Angela Gordon on accordion and Elaine Wallace on violin. Angela and Elaine listened to the piece and instinctively wove a gentle and stunning accompaniment around the melody and song, adding subtle harmonies.
The amazing acoustics of York Minster really make it one of the most wonderful places to play.
Interpretation of the Poetry of Marion Atkinson
Marion Atkinson is a textile artist creating 3d visual pieces inspired by her love of the North York Moors and the surrounding countryside. She is also a very fine poet.
Sarah met Marion whilst playing at the 'Inspired By' art gallery within the North York Moors Parks Authority Visitors Centre at Danby. Sarah is currently putting to music 'A Sense of Place' ~ one of hopefully many of Marions beautiful poems. An interesting artistic challenge to take anothers written word and set it to music and song.
