"William Morris’s great visionary novel has a special magic in depicting the world as it might be. This imaginative musical adaptation thrillingly conveys the continuing relevance of Morris’s vision of a better way of life for our own newer generation."
Fiona MacCarthy, author of "William Morris, A Life For Our Time"
For UK and Europe
For USA & rest of world
Album Description
This unique tribute to the legacy of England's most famous Victorain designer, revisits his Utopian Romance "News from Nowhere" in two stunningly produced adaptations that are beautifully presented to the highest standards:
Two Discs
Disc One
features an epic musical adaptation of the novel with over 70 minutes of songs and music performed by the Cantate Youth Choirs, The Fellowship Orchestra, and narrated by Dan Cruickshank.
Disc Two
presents an abridged audio book version of the novel in 5 parts read by Dan Cruickshank. This disc also contains some rarely recorded settings of Morris' poems by the composer Gustav Holst.
24 page booklet and 6 side DIGIPAK case
A detailed booklet provides clear insight to the historical, sociological and musical background of this exciting project, and everything is presented in an elegantly contemporary Digipak case that is supplied shrink-wapped for protection. The album is beautifully illustrated and photographed with sympathetic use of Morris' own design (scroll or click to view enlarged pages):
Artists
The award winning Cantate Youth Choirs is recognised internationally as one of the UK’s most outstanding choirs for young people. With nearly 150 young singers in three choirs, it has a reputation for innovative, dynamic and musical performances of the highest quality;
Dan Cruickshank is an art historian and author. As a regular presenter on the BBC, his documentaries delve into the rich and fascinating history of the world’s architectural and cultural treasures. Dan is currently patron of The William Morris Craft Fellowship Trust.
The Fellowship Orchestra is a London based professional ensemble with a mission to perform and record new community music. A flexible ensemble, able to perform comfortably across a diverse range of styles, it draws on some of the finest young conservatoire musicians.
Partner endorsement
The album's credibility is underpinned by the support and endorsement of several key partners: Waltham Forest in funding the original live project; The William Morris Society (US) by recognising it with The Joseph Dunlop Memorial Fellowship; The Guildhall School of Music for subsidising the recording, and; The William Morris Gallery for artistic and editorial guidance.
Preview of Disc ONE
Extracts of 12 Fellowship Symphony tracks:
Preview of Disc TWO
The complete first track of the Audio Book:
Performing the Fellowship Symphony
Full resources for performing the News from Nowhere Fellowship Symphony will shortly be made available online for downloading and printing locally. All sheet music (scores and parts) will be available FREE and a licence to perform the work inlcuded in the purchase of a single CD album (via the Amazon links below). Wider educational resources will also become availabe, free of charge, shortly after this. So, with the purchase of just 1 CD, your ensemble/school/organisation will have access to all the essential resources necessary to perform the work in part or in full.
The following additional resources will be available to purchase for a small fee:
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All files supplied on a USB device
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A licence to make a recording (audio or video) for the purpose of selling to make a profit
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All sheet music as a bound, physical copy
All details will soon be available here - in the meantime, if you'd like to start preparing for a performance, contact Mike Roberts (the Composer) direct at:
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07776 482452
For UK and Europe
For USA & rest of world