home
news
biography
compositions
interviews
reviews
listen
purchase
links
contact
|
news |
|
The Bee Symphony to be performed in Bergen December 2011 One of Marcus Davidson's recent compositions, The Bee Symphony, will be performed at the Bergen International Festival in Norway, on 2nd June 2012. For further information see the programme.
|
|
|
Performing new work at Spire 12 November 2011 Marcus Davidson will be performing some new pieces with a space theme as part of the Spire 12 Concert, on 5th February 2012, in the Passionkirche, Berlin, Germany. Charles Matthews will also play a new piece by Marcus called Sacred Space, using organ and planetary recordings from NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. For further information see the programme and the Spire website.
|
|
|
Excerpts of The Ziggurat Builders now on YouTube November 2011 An abridged video of the first performance of The Ziggurat Builders at St Ethelberga's Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, London, 3rd June 2011 has been put online. Performed by Voice (Victoria Couper, Clemmie Franks & Emily Burn), with Khyam Allami playing ud and Tara Franks on cello. It can be viewed on this page of the YouTube website.
|
|
|
Festival Voluntary to be played at Lincoln on 21st October October 2011 Played by long-time collaborator Charles Matthews as part of the Spire Concert at Lincoln Cathedral, on 21st October 2011. For further information see the LDCF 2011 website.
|
|
|
Festival Voluntary played on Radio 4's 'Sunday Worship' October 2011 Played by long-time collaborator Charles Matthews on the broadcast of 2nd October.
|
|
|
Workshop at Green Man Festival in Wales August 2011 Marcus will be conducting a workshop at the Green Man Festival in Wales on 21st August, where he will be playing recordings from space and then asking members of the audience to come and sing live in a piece of music using these sounds, including the Chord of the Big Band from the work of Prof Mark Whittle, Virginia University. See this link.
|
|
|
The Bee Symphony played on French and Italian national radio June 2011 Excerpts from The Bee Symphony have recently been broadcast on Radio France's 'France Musique - Electromania' programme, on 21st June, and on RAI Radio 3's 'Battiti' programme, on 20th June (playlist; podcast).
|
|
|
The Ziggurat Builders premiere June 2011 Some of Hydar Dewachi's photos of the premiere of The Ziggurat Builders at St Ethelberga's Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, London on 3rd June can be found at his website.
|
|
|
The Bee Symphony to feature on Radio 3, 24th May at 11 pm May 2011 Fiona Talkington's eclectic late-night mix programme will include the songs of bees in Marcus Davidson and Chris Watson's The Bee Symphony.
|
|
|
The Bee Symphony now released on Cross-Pollination CD May 2011 A project conceived by Chris Watson originally for 'Pestival' in 2009, to explore the vocal harmonies between humans and honey bees in a unique choral collaboration around and within the hives of an English country garden. Recorded live at The Rymer Auditorium, Music Research Centre, University of York, England on 17th December 2010 by Tony Myatt. Composed and arranged by Marcus Davidson using recordings made by Chris Watson & Mike Harding, and diffused through a 4.1 Genelec system by Chris Watson. The Bee Choir: Dylan de Buitlear, Lisa Coates, Steph Connor, Lewis Marlowe and Shendie McMath. With thanks to Peter Boardman (the event producer), Tom Emmett, Celia Frisby & Bridget Nicholls, who originally commissioned the The Bee Symphony. The CD is described at Touch Music, and is available from the Touch Shop.
|
|
|
The Ziggurat Builders in Oxford April 2011 The North Wall, Oxford, OX2 7NN on Saturday, 25th June 2011 Voice (Victoria Couper, Clemmie Franks & Emily Burn), Khyam Allami on Ud [see image at right] and Tara Franks on Cello, will be performing The Ziggurat Builders again. This is an Oxford Contemorary Music event - more information can be found at their website.
|
|
|
Charles Matthews playing Festival Voluntary on the Listen page March 2011 A recording of Charles Matthews playing Marcus Davidson's composition Festival Voluntary at St Mary's Church, Warwick in December 2010, has been added to this site's Listen page. It was a freezing night - how Charles can play so well in the chill is one of the great mysteries!
|
|
|
The Ziggurat Builders premiering in London February 2011 The premiere of Marcus's new piece The Ziggurat Builders will be on 3rd June 2011 at St Ethelberga's Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, London. It will be performed by: Voice, Khyam Allami on Ud [see image at right], and Tara Franks on Cello. The composition’s title is taken from a poem by the late Iraqi Assyrian poet Sargon Boulus (1944-2007), which will be used for the lyrics of the new piece. The words were translated from Arabic into English by the author, and published by Banipal in The Knife Sharpener, a posthumous collection of Sargon Boulus’ poems, written between 1991 and 2007. This new composition has received funding from PRS for Music Foundation.
|
|
|
Death of Donald Pass (1930-2010) December 2010 It is with great sadness that I post that my friend Donald Pass passed away on 3rd December 2010. Donald was a great inspiration to me as well as a dear friend and will be greatly missed. A full obituary can be found here at the Congleton Echo website. His website can still be visited, and he now has a Wikipedia page.
|
|
|
The Bee Symphony being performed again October 2010 The Bee Symphony will be performed for the second time at The Rymer Auditorium, University of York on Friday 17th December 2010 at 7.30pm It will be performed live by Chris Watson and five singers from the University of York, conducted by Marcus Davidson. The Symphony was originally commissioned as part of Pestival and performed in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. "The theme of the evening is really for people to become immersed in the sounds and rhythms of the insects." - Chris Watson. In addition to The Bee Symphony, the programme will feature other sound performances, and talks by scientists on current research on bees and the perils that they face. Tickets are now available from the University of York Box Office. An updated full programme can be found at Touch Music.
|
|
|
Harvest of Souls showing again September 2010 On 28th September at 3:00pm, the planetarium film of Donald Pass's vision The Resurrection, will be shown again, at The Neighbour's Hall, Great Milton, Oxford.
|
!['Blessing' [2002] by Donald Pass](images/blessing_150.jpg)
|
|
Recording of Angelica listenable online September 2010 Voice have recorded Angelica The Doorkeeper, and made it available for listening here on their website voicetrio.co.uk, and also on this site's Listen page. The recording was mastered by Curtis Schwartz.
|
|
Cheltenham Festival performance August 2010 On 17th July, Voice performed Angelica The Doorkeeper at the Cheltenhan Festival. Voice performed alongside Robert Fripp and Theo Travis in the impressive All Saints Church in Cheltenham.
|
|
June 2010 A 7" vinyl disc has been released of Philip Jeck and Marcus Davidson's duet at Atmospheres 2, at The Museum of Garden History, London, 8th May 2008. Keyboards: Marcus Davidson. Record players, editing & overdubbed bass: Philip Jeck. The record is described at Touch Music, and is available from the Touch Shop.
|
|
|
Theme tune for London Family TV May 2010 Battersea Park, next to Adventure Playground, on 15th May. Marcus Davidson has written the theme tune of a new internet TV channel, London Family TV. Official Launch of London Family Television is celebrated with a family fun afternoon in Battersea Park on United Nations International Family Day.
|
|
|
Soundtrack to Harvest of Souls planetarium film May 2010 Intech Planetarium, Winchester on 7th May. Harvest of Souls, a planetarium film of Donald Pass's vision The Resurrection, was shown at the Intech Planetarium in Winchester at the BAP conference. The film was produced by Harfiyah Halleem, with a soundtrack by Marcus. More can be found about Donald Pass and his work at www.donaldpass.com. More information about Harvest of Souls can be found at www.angeldome.com.
|
!['Arrival of Archangel Gabriel' [2002] by Donald Pass](images/gabriel_150.jpg)
|
|
Premiere of Angelica the Door Keeper January 2010 Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, 78 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG, on 8th Apr. Voice, a vocal trio, will be premiering a new work written for them by Marcus Davidson called Angelica the Door Keeper. More on Voice can be found at their website. Preview: Storm Lounge at Lyric, Hammersmith W6 0QL, on Fri 26th Feb. Voice will perform a preview of this new piece as part of The Storm Lounge. The Storm Lounge night is produced by Shane Solanki and Naomi O'Kelly, and promises to be an eclectic one.
|
|
January 2010 Dundonald Congregational Church, 15 Dundonald Rd, Wimbledon, London SW19 3QH, on 16th Jan. Marcus will be showcasing some new songs written with Dan Pollendine. Tickets are on the door. Refreshments provided. More on Dan Pollendine can be found at his website
|
|
The Bee Symphony excerpts on YouTube October 2009 Four one-minute excerpts from the performance of The Bee Symphony in the Cross Pollination concert on 6th September can be seen at the beginning of a video of the highlights on YouTube. (NB: the audio quality is poor.) Another sound excerpt can be heard on this site's listen page. |
|
|
September 2009 Riff's Bar, Swindon, on 18th Sept. Marcus joins The Ron E Carter Band once more on Keys. There's lots about Ron, his band and his music at his website www.ron-e-carter.com.
|
|
The Bee Symphony on Irish radio September 2009 RTE Radio 1, on 10th Sept. The Bee Symphony was featured on the Arena program on the Irish station RTE Radio 1. Chris Watson was interviewed about Pestival and the genesis of his collaboration with Marcus.
|
|
Night of experimental insect music July 2009 Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank, London, on 6th September. Marcus has been commissioned to write a piece for Chris Watson, as part of a concert called Cross Pollination. Chris is an internationally acclaimed sound recordist for BBC's Life in the Undergrowth. Marcus will compose choral music to go with bee recordings made by Chris and Mike Harding. To hear a recording of Mike being stung while making this recording, listen here. There's an article about this event and its music in The Guardian of 3rd September, in which Marcus and others involved in the concert talk about they came to create the pieces of music.
|
|
|
July 2009 The Fly, 38 New Oxford St, London, on 7th July. Marcus plays keyboards at the launch party of Pope's second album, Tall Tales and Cheap Thrills [left].
|
|
|
July 2009 Southwark Cathedral, London, on 29th April. The Gemstones Choir performed at the memorial service for Richard Carr-Gomm, accompanied by Marcus on piano [right]. They sang arrangements by Marcus of Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre and Fields Of Gold by Sting. A report of the service is here on the CGtell website. For more about The Gemstones, see their webpage, which has links to five YouTube videos of their various performances.
|
|
|
Huldrasang performance in Norway March 2009 Osterøy Museum, Osterøy, Norway, on 19th April. A performance of Marcus's Huldrasang by Osterøy Spel- og Dansarlag (Osterøy Fiddle and Dance), conducted by Liv Skoglund. For more information on the ensemble, see their English-language web-page. An excerpt can be heard on this site's listen page.
|
|
|
March 2009 Portland Rock Bar, Hove, on 3rd April. Marcus joins The Ron E Carter Band again on Keys, playing Ron's new set. To find out more about Ron and his band, see his website www.ron-e-carter.com.
|
|
March 2009 The Ballroom at The Cavendish Arms, Stockwell, London, on 19th March. The Gemstones Choir showcase their new set, including songs by Earth Wind and Fire, Sting, Queen, Abba, Labi Siffre and others, arranged by Marcus, who accompanies them on piano. For more about The Gemstones, see their webpage, which has links to five YouTube videos of their various performances.
|
|
February 2009 Marcus recently finished mixing Emma Scarr's debut album Angel Way, a collection of Emma's self-penned songs, based around well-known districts of London, with a distinct Nashville lilt. Some of the songs can be heard at Emma's MySpace page, and the CD can be ordered from CD Baby.
|
|
January 2009 Excerpts from Marcus's forthcoming ballet The Green Man are workshopped by choreographer Darren Royston and students at RADA in central London, as part of the Spring Term MA course. Various themes from the ballet are explored, with an emphasis on Laban technique. Plans are afoot to workshop the ballet again later in the year.
|
|
|
December 2008 The Gemstones Choir are broadcast on the BBC World Service on Christmas Day. Recorded at the Swahili service at St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, the Gemstones sing two arrangements by Marcus: Bwana Jesu, a Swahili hymn tune, and Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre. For more about The Gemstones, see their webpage, which has links to five YouTube videos of their various performances.
|
|
October 2008 St Catharine's Church, Chipping Campden, Glos, on 14th November. Concert of music for organ and electronic keyboard, performed with Charles Matthews. Marcus will play his piece Elergy amongst others. The concert is preceded by a short talk.
|
|
September 2008 The Gemstones choir, of which Marcus is the MD, reached the boot camp stage of the ITV show The X Factor. Marcus arranged several well known songs for the group. The performances were well received by the judges. The Gemstones also reached the performance stage of the BBC's Last Choir Standing competition, where they sang two arrangements by Marcus on 11th May at the Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square, London. For more about The Gemstones, see their webpage, which has links to five YouTube videos of their various performances.
|
|
The Ron E Carter Band at Onionfest 2008 August 2008 Marcus played keyboards for The Ron E Carter Band's headline gig at the Onionfest 2008, near Petersfield, Hants. Ron is one of the most outstanding rock guitarists around. The band played a blistering set of Ron's compositions and Hendrix, despite a power outage! To find out more about Ron, see his website www.ron-e-carter.com.
|
|
July 2008 Marcus's recent piece for strings, Huldrasang (Song of the Troll's Daughter!), will be performed at a concert at Sala Cristóbal de Morales, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain on 23rd July. The string ensemble will be conducted by Charles Matthews. In Norway, the Huldra is the mountain troll's beautiful tail-sporting daughter [right], who can lure away young men by her singing. If she marries a human, and he treats her badly, terrible punishments ensue. I think we've all been there!
|
|
|
May 2008 Jana Winderen has recently made a recording of Marcus's arrangement of the national anthem of Elgaland - Vargaland by a Norwegian marching band. It will be released later in 2008 on 7" vinyl through Ash International.
|
|
May 2008 Marcus has written a piece for Hardanger fiddle ensemble to be premiered at the latest Spire concert at the Hardingtonar Festival in Norway on 21st June. The ensemble will be led by Benedicte Maurseth. The Hardanger fiddle [right] is the traditional Norwegian folk violin, which also has 4 or 5 extra internal resonating strings.
|
|
|
March 2008 Harfiyah Haleem is producing a film version of the dance theatre production of Awakenings, a show about the mystical vision of British artist Donald Pass. It was first performed at Norwich Cathedral in 2000. The aim is to project the work in planetariums using a soundtrack of Marcus's music. A preview can be seen at Harvest of Souls, and is intended to be completed next year.
|
|
March 2008 Marcus performs live at Atmospheres 2, at The Museum of Garden History in London, from 8th to 12th May 2008, with an introductory talk on 13th March. He plays with Robert Hampson, and, for the first time, duets with Philip Jeck.
|
|
Standing Wave gets vinyl release December 2007 Standing Wave will be released this month on Spire Live - Fundamentalis (Autofact FACT 12 / Touch Tone 28). It's on double LP vinyl only, with art direction and design by Jon Wozencroft. Find out more - or head straight to the TouchShop to buy a copy!
|
|
|
December 2007 Spire Live at The Hardingtonar Festival, on 21st June 2008 To mark the centenary of the birth of Norwegian composer Geir Tveit, The Hardingtonar Festival invite Spire to contribute various works based on his compositions. Fennesz, Philip Jeck, Charles Matthews, Jana Winderen, Marcus Davidson et al take part in a live event at various times on 21st June 2008 in Norheimsund, Norway.
|
|
September 2007 Marcus played for Lisa Stokke's July summer show, The Lady is a Tramp, at the Rica Hall, Tromsø, Norway [right]. Lisa is a brilliant singer, and the show got good reviews, mentioning the band.
|
|
|
Ribbon of Time at the Ealing Global Festival September 2007 Marcus and Rob Millner performed material from their CD Ribbon of Time for the first time with their band (Hans Ferrao on drums, John Currie on bass), at the Ealing Global Festival on 22nd July 2007. They played for an hour and it's safe to say it was a great success. Marcus and Rob were also asked to play later in the event on the strength of the performance!
|
|
September 2007 Charles Matthews played Cyclofantasia (piano) by Marcus at the Festival de Musica Cristobal De Morales in Madrid, Spain on 12th July. The piece was well received by the audience.
|
|
June 2007 Marcus provided the backing for Lisa Stokke's performance [right] at the Langhan Hotel, London on 6th June, for the Norwegian Tourist Board's Annual Trade Fair. The performance was enthusiastically received. A whole range of tunes were performed, from traditional Norwegian to a surprise encore of Aha's Take On Me!
|
|
|
Andy Ross album nears completion June 2007 Marcus finishes recording and mixing eight tracks for Andy Ross's debut album at his studio. The album is arranged by Andy and Marcus, and also features Marcus on keyboards and bass.
|
|
Ribbon Of Time released March 2007 Marcus and Rob Millner's Celtic-inspired CD Ribbon of Time is finally released this month. It is a fusion of haunting folk melodies with classical, jazz, minimalist and funk. If you're not into folk music, start here! If you are, expect some surprises!
|
|
Standing Wave to get vinyl release January 2007 Marcus's organ piece Standing Wave, recorded at Masthuggs Church, Gothenburg on 4th October 2005 as part of the Gas Festival, is to be released later in the year on vinyl by Autofact / Touch.
|
|
Marcus to perform at York Minster November 2006 Marcus premieres two new pieces with Spire at York Minster on 20th January 2007: The Grey Book (three voices and organ) and The Passing (organ tape). An excerpt of The Passing can be heard on this site's listen page.
|
|
Celtic album nears completion August 2006 Final recording takes place of a Celtic-inspired album. The album mixes several different styles of music with Celtc, including jazz and funk, and is performed live by Rob Millner on violin and vocals, and Marcus on piano and guitar. Expect a few surprises! Release planned for early 2007.
|
|
Marcus to perform at Touch 25 August 2006 Touch celebrates its 25th anniversary with a festival of audio-visual Touch-related events at the SightSonic festival from 19th to 22nd October 2006. Marcus joins acts including Fennesz and Biosphere on the bill.
|
|
Spire live in Amsterdam June 2006 Spire add another date to their European performances this summer: 24th June 2006 - Live in Amsterdam Oude Kerk [Holland Festival]
|
|
Marcus returns to BBC Radio 3 June 2006 BBC Radio 3 play Marcus's recording of Arvo Pärt: Pari Intervalo on Late Junction on 12th June 2006. And on 13th June they air Duet, performed by Marcus and BJ Nilsen, recorded at the Fuse Leeds festival. Find out more...
|
|
Marcus to appear on Radio 3's Mixing It May 2006 Marcus is interviewed and performs on BBC Radionbsp;3's late night experimental music show Mixing It on 19th May.
|
|
Heavytones single gets Germany release April 2006 Marcus's song Hour of Yellow is released by the Heavytones in Germany in May 2006. Listen to it online.
|
|
Spire live dates announced March 2006 12th May 2006 - Spire Live in Leeds, at Leeds Town Hall, as part of the Fuse Leeds Festival 13th May 2006 - Spire Live in Jesmond, at St George's Church, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
|