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Tell us a little about yourself - ‘cos we’re nosey like that. I’ve adored musical theatre for as long as I can remember, however I started performing with amateur companies in my local area when I was 10 years old. I’ve since studied singing privately and also performing arts at Stratford-Upon-Avon College, as well as participating in a variety of other amateur performances and workshops.
have to say one of the dairymaids as they’re just hilarious! I have a real soft spot for Marian in particular as she’s such good fun. What was the challenge of recording “The Wrong Side Of The Door” – now available to buy at tessthemusical.com/store (just sayin’) – compared to performing it live on stage? On stage it was very easy to get caught up in the acting and emotions as there was a live audience reacting to me, so once I was confident and comfortable with the vocals I could really do what I felt would work (within reason!) with the acting. Recording in the studio was a great experience as I not only got to focus on making the singing sound good, but I also got to work with the writers on how they wanted it performed, which was incredible. What’s your favourite song in the show? Both to listen to and perform, it has to be Quartet. I’m absolutely obsessed with harmony and always have been, so when I first heard it I was hugely excited to get started. I’m also a major perfectionist, which made it so much more rewarding when we got the piece perfectly as it really felt we were doing justice to the gorgeous music.
As Tess is asked in the show, so I’ll ask you. Have you ever put your head against a cow’s behind? Unfortunately in the time since Tess has finished I haven’t had chance to get to that yet! Could be a potential fun day trip with the dairymaids though. Jessie-Mae Thomas was in conversation with Tess administrator Scott Collins. Jessie's recording of The Wrong Side Of The Door is now available to download Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS.
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How did you first come to hear about Tess? I was contacted by a friend at the start of 2016, asking whether I’d be interested in being part of a concept album for a brand new musical based on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The composer and lyricist were looking for people to sing ensemble and also take on the various supporting roles. Although I’ve been performing and singing for many years, I’ve very little experience of a recording studio and so was keen to get involved. Not long after that first chat, I received an email from the two Michaels, inviting me to record the role of Marian, the dairymaid, with the character description “she’s in her 40s and likes her drink”. It sounded like a great role for me! So I jumped on board and didn’t look back.
It took a while for me to get used to singing into the mic and not having any other performers with me (just a click track coming through the cans). I worked closely with Michael Blore to ensure all the notes were correct and blended with the other dairymaid tracks, and we had lots of fun developing Marian’s character through her lyrics and the odd interjection of dialogue as guided by Michael Davies. Recording the puddle scene was hilarious! Working on the album was a great experience and one I hope to get the chance to do again. How are the workshop rehearsals coming along? They’re great fun! A lot of hard work too, learning the full score and all the staging. As it is a small company, we are all involved in the ensemble pieces as well as our individual parts. I’m playing Tess’s mother, Joan Durbeyfield, in this production and singing alto for all the ensemble work – busy busy!! We’re all enjoying rehearsals. I’ve not worked with Night Project Theatre before and it’s lovely to have made new friends and reacquainted with some old friends too. Everyone is working well together and exchanging ideas to help create a strong production.
In the show Alec sings ‘I always get my way’. Do you? Haha! Do you mean as Joan or me?! In the show, Joan is very much guided by the Fortune Teller’s Almanac. She urges Tess to travel to the D’Urberville’s house at Trantridge Chase where she meets Alec, so you could say she gets her way. But if you’re asking if I always get my own way, I couldn’t possibly comment – lol!
I’m currently co-directing and choreographing pantomime as well as rehearsing for Tess. I’m going to put my feet up for a while and enjoy watching my husband as Peron in Evita and my daughter in her youth theatre’s and school’s productions. I always get itchy feet though, so I’m sure it won’t be too long before I’m back treading the boards or choreographing/directing somewhere. I’d love to work with Night Project Theatre again. They’re a great bunch of people and very talented. Now here’s a thought. Maybe I could go for the Tess hat-trick?! Sally Jolliffe was in conversation with Tess administrator Scott Collins. Workshop production of TESS: 8 – 9 Feb, 2019 | The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon Buy tickets: www.rsc.org.uk/tickets/tess Sign up to hear the TESS concept album #TeamTess Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS.
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What made you take on the Tess concept album project? I must confess it took a great deal of convincing for me to take it on. I believe it was about the fifth time Michael Blore asked me that I finally said “Yes”. It was by no means due to any kind of disinterest. I just didn’t feel confident that I would have the time, or even the know-how, to do the material justice. But then it dawned on me: exactly how often do people get approached to produce a concept album for a new through-composed musical? Not often, I’m guessing? Not to mention being allowed a wealth of creative freedom and an opportunity to work alongside some big names in the industry. From there, I romanticised the idea of producing something that could rival my all-time favourites in the musical theatre concept album form – the original recordings of Jesus Christ Superstar and Chess. And thus, it was safe to say I was hooked.
If I really had to choose, I’d maybe pick the Quartet in Act 2 – a genius moment that is dark and tortured yet, at the same time, consoling and beautiful. Not only does it showcase the brilliance and complexity of the Michaels’ writing, but also the expressive vocal performances of four of our marvellous leads. I also love the dramatic shift and change in mood as it seamless follows on from the contrastingly upbeat and quirky Society Ladies. Another one of my favourites! What was your favourite track to mix? That would easily have to be I Always Get My Way. I think I even managed to get the kitchen sink into that one there’s so much going on! However, at one point early on in the mixing phase this song would temporarily become my biggest bane. Oo, do tell. It is an interview. We had already recorded a version of I Always Get My Way for the demo we’d put together in 2015 and I had done everything to get that sounding as tremendous as possible.
The energy of the demo version just wasn’t there, the instruments were stepping all over each other and I simply hadn’t done any justice to Tam Mutu’s electrifying performance. It was the one time that I truly felt defeated. I felt I had no choice but to begin again and mix the entire album from scratch, which at that point was already about two-thirds complete. Thankfully, the Michaels were gracious enough to give me the time that I needed to rethink my mixing “game plan”. For the next album mix I started with I Always Get My Way first and did not even think about moving on to anything else until I was completely satisfied. The song ended up becoming my benchmark for the entire album thereafter. Can you give us the scoop on any gossip? Ooh, there’s far too much to tell! But I shall save the Michaels any embarrassment and further damage to their already deplorable reputation – Shame. And focus on myself for this one. I’m all ears. As can sometimes happen when recording a multitude of vocal parts for a project as colossal as Tess, I discovered during the early stages of post-production that a few lines in some of the inner parts for the female chorus were completely missing here and there in a couple of numbers.
Outrageous! Most people probably wouldn’t even be able to spot those moments, but they are there. I can certainly hear my voice a mile off. We should listen now and play “Spot the Prod”! [He doesn't respond.] Perhaps another time. What were your technical challenges? Where do I start?! For me, the greatest challenge was probably making an incalculable number of vocal and instrumental performances (well, 1,306 to be precise!) sound like they were all recorded “as one” in the same room and within the duration of a couple of hours even though they were captured over a period of nine months and across five studios. I probably used every trick in the book to achieve this – and even made up some of my own!
So, killer question, would you do it all again? I’d love to… but maybe after a decent couple of years’ break at least! As much as I’ve loved dedicating most of my musical focus on Tess it’s definitely nice to be getting more than three hours sleep every night once again. Three hours sleep? And you still look so young? [He smiles.] Moving on. What’s next for you? In terms of projects, I have my own album of material that I have been constantly putting on the back burner since 2010, so really I should be getting on with that if I want it to be completed any time before 2040!
I see it now. TESS 2 - T2 - Revenge of the Tessth! Can I go now? Sunim Koria was in conversation with Tess administrator Scott Collins.
Thank you for reading and following the progress of Tess. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Read again
Next time on d'Blog... We bring you more news on the Tess journey from score to stage via the radio.
It’s hard to believe but we’re sitting in the studio of producer Sunim Koria discussing the final mix of the Tess concept album. The journey thus far has taken more than four years. To be this close to a finished product is slightly unreal. Reverb levels, percussion cut-through, dialogue fades - this is the kind of fine detail we’re into at this late stage. And even allowing for these tiny tweaks, it’s sounding extraordinary, though we say it ourselves. In fact, there’s no reason not to say it ourselves as all the magic is being woven by Sunim and his producer wizardry.
Because that, after all, is what this whole exciting project has been working towards: we went into it with the approach that there was no point writing something that wouldn’t ultimately be performed. The reason for the album is to use as a promotional tool. While it won’t be commercially available for contractual reasons, we will be offering listeners a chance to hear the material online and, hopefully, fall in love with it so much that they start demanding that someone makes a stage show out of it. And so the next phase begins… Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.
Read again
Next time on d'Blog... We bring you news on the first live performance of one of the songs from TESS as the album heads for completion.
So the end is in sight. For this part of the Tess project anyway. The album. Hard to believe we are saying that, nearly two years on from the first discussions we had about a possible recording of the entire show with our producer Sunim Koria (for the record, he initially turned us down). In case you missed the news, we now have a first mix of the whole show. That’s right. All two hours of it. All singers, band members, additional instrumental sounds, foley (yes, we had to look it up) and sound effects are now in place and have gone through the first process of “A bit more that”/ “Less of that”/ “Oo, bring that bit out!”
Now Bruce is something of an idol to our very own producing wizard Sunim, so let’s see if we make it to 91. Stay tuned! ALBUM DESIGN Meanwhile, the album design and booklet are also nearing completion. Here’s a little sneaky peek of what we’ll be serving up:  A lot of people have been asking us over the past year, “Why have you done an album?” Mainly our long-suffering partners, we hasten to add, but the truth is that the cost of putting on a show far exceeds that of recording one. Plus, crucially, we are not theatre producers. And if we’re not in a position to produce the show ourselves, the question arises of how to promote it in order to attract someone who could?
The thing is, there’s no blueprint for putting on a new musical. One thing that helps is having a strategy. Ours has been about promotion, building contacts and support, and preparing a top-quality album as a calling card. And this is where you can play a vital part. In time, we’ll be sharing excerpts from the album on the Tess website and introducing our baby to the world. If you like what you hear, please tell all your friends and acquaintances – especially any called Cameron. With luck, we may be sharing mix number 2 very soon. Then again, it could be mix number 91. Bear with us – this may take a little more time… Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.
Next time on d'Blog... As work finishes on the first ever album recording of TESS, we bring you news from the studio for the final time.
So how’s it all going? With vocal editing complete and the instrumental editing nearly done things are ticking along very nicely thank you. My job at the moment is mainly one of providing notes and guidance on the whole score to our album producer, Sunim.
everything together to create one beautifully harmonious 2-hour long new musical theatre extravaganza. Oh, and incorporated the recordings of 11 musicians. And begun creating sound effects, additional instrumental sounds and foley. Foley? The reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. You looked that up. Maybe… What has been the most challenging aspect of the post-production process? Well, I must admit to getting the jitters come vocal editing deadline day. Had we chosen the best takes? Had any adjustments we needed to make enhanced the quality of the performances or not? I felt the responsibility weigh heavily on my shoulders.
Exactly. As we speak he’s also working on the promotional package that will accompany the CD when it is complete. And what have you been doing? I’m making notes!
Michael Blore was in conversation with TESS administrator Scott Collins.
Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Next time on d'Blog... The end is in sight for the first ever album recording of TESS as mixing kicks off.
Back in the summer of 2013, my partner and I had some pretty extensive building work carried out on our house that necessitated our moving out of the property. Fortunately for us Michael Blore and his partner John came to our rescue and offered us a place to stay for what should have been four to six weeks. As is always the case with such projects the deadline came and went and we ended up staying for more than three months.
I knew Michael could sing and play the piano; what I didn’t know was that this boy could write – and he could write good stuff. Listening to those melodies I could already picture the rolling Wessex countryside, the Christmas market and the rollicking May Day dance. Little did we know the seismic and tragic turn of events that would end that joyful summer of music and laughter; and, returning back to our own home in Leamington, I assumed that that would be the end of TESS. Thankfully that was not the case and I was thrilled to hear that Michael was continuing with the project – and even more thrilled when he asked if I would be involved with recording some of the ensemble pieces for the album. Of course I would: I didn’t even need to think about it! Seeing the sheet music with Michael’s arrangements and Michael Davies’s lyrics gave me such a buzz. Michael also provided backing tracks for us to learn our parts before recording. To hear these songs coming to life with full arrangements and harmonies was so exciting it really made me appreciate how much work the two Michaels had put in since those early days of Michael composing from his music room.
sound with all the instruments and voices. Both the music and the lyrics have captured the atmosphere of the book and the settings of each scene brilliantly.
I am so grateful to have been a small part of this process and am really looking forward to hearing the finished album. Having been around to witness the early days of the project I can’t wait to see how far TESS can go and really hope to see a fully staged production in the not too distant future. Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Next time on d'Blog... We bring you an exclusive interview with TESS composer Michael Blore.  Hello again and thank you for checking out the latest d'Blog. As work continues on the TESS album, the 2 Michaels look back on the last 5 months and completing the recording of all vocalists in the show. 5 months... Hasn't the time flown! So take it away, Michael. And Michael. With all vocals now recorded, how does it feel? MB: Emotional. I always get emotional when I take time to stop and reflect. Especially on such an amazing few months for the TESS project. MD: Rather unbelievable. When I think back to those early discussions around Michael’s kitchen table, covered in Post-It notes (the table, not us) to work out the narrative we wanted to tell, then compare it to the ever-growing project we’re now involved in, it hardly seems possible. And yet here we are, with all these fantastic vocals in the can, and ready to launch into the next phase. Pinch me, please. Ouch! That was meant to be metaphorical… What has been the most memorable moment? MB: That’s so difficult to answer because there have been standout moments with everyone. My overriding memory though will be of the laughter and fun. MD: Too many to recount. It has all been memorable.
MD: I’ve been consistently impressed at how they’ve all delivered their best unprompted. No input required from us.
reliable and always a joy to work with. Thank you, guys. Sorry, that’s more than one word.
What next? MB: Bring on the instrumentalists. We hope to have them all booked and recorded in November. Can’t wait! MD: Instrumentalists? Really? But aren’t they notoriously difficult to work with? Oh no, sorry, that’s composers, isn’t it? As you were. Can’t wait! Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Next time on d'Blog... A Christmas surprise from the TESS team as the album production moves on to the next phase
You know when you can’t sleep, and you try everything from counting backwards from 100 to picturing yourself in a calming field of rabbits (no, really), but nothing is working so you just think “Stuff it, I’ll get up” and it’s 3 in the morning? Yeah, that. Welcome to my first day of recording principal vocals for the TESS album!
screen legend Glenn Close giving a vocal performance of stunning beauty and control now about to lay down the first tracks as our very own leading lady for the first ever album recording of TESS. Perhaps “excited” doesn’t quite cover it. And then, thanks to the terrific work of casting director Anne Vosser, there were a few more sleepless nights to come in the weeks ahead as we prepared for recording more West End musical theatre stars in the shape of Tam Mutu, Simon Bailey, Jacqui Tate and James Dinsmore.
Admittedly, there were tears, which isn’t saying much for a blubberbrain like me (the ending of The Sound of Music always has me in pieces!), but the sheer beauty of Siobhan’s voice at some of the story's most tender and intimate moments was truly heartbreaking.
And there were laughs - intentional as well as those best reserved for the outtakes – with Jacqui and James giving us great comic turns as Joan and John Durbeyfield.
And finally, to our London cast. Our aim is to get the TESS album heard by producers and theatre companies and, if they like it, to consider staging the show. Having such “names” involved will certainly help that cause. Names though are not enough. Quality counts. And on this album, it is there in abundance. Our London cast was not only magic to work with, but, in a word, magical to hear. And though there are no guarantees, they have given TESS the chance of a very exciting future ahead.
Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Next time on d'Blog... A look back at progress on the TESS album.
After a busy few months working on Singin’ In The Rain and Sweeney Todd, I wrapped up for the summer last night with my final project, Tess - The Musical.
After several months of studying the music independently, it was great to finally get into the recording studio and work with Michael Blore (composer) and Sunim Koria (album producer) to lay down the vocals and help bring the album that bit closer to completion. Having only ever done live theatre, where performances are fleeting and over before you know it, it was great to have the time to go back and fine tune certain sections and try doing things in different ways.
To follow the latest theatre adventures and updates of Nikki Cross, please click over to her pages on tumblr and twitter. Thank you for reading and following the progress of TESS. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.
Next time on d'Blog... The composer's perspective. Michael Blore talks about the London studio days for TESS.
A little over a year ago, the score and libretto of Tess were being finalised into a workable draft, ready to be put in front of the kind of people it needed to be put in front of at that stage in the long journey towards production. Around the same time, a certain leading man was stepping out onto a Broadway stage in the title role of a new musical based on Pasternak’s famous epic of the Russian revolution, Dr Zhivago. Tam Mutu won rave reviews from the likes of the Washington Times, which described him as “really wonderful” and “utterly perfect”, and he was nominated for a prestigious Drama League Award. Now, as the creators of another new musical based on a classic novel, composer Michael B and I are enjoying the extraordinary privilege of listening to that same soaring voice delivering the role of Alec d’Urberville, Thomas Hardy’s scheming villain who’s responsible for our heroine’s initial downfall.
Thank you for reading and following the progress of the show. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.
Next time on d'Blog... More commentary from the studio as things get busy on the production of the TESS album
"Well, we’ve had some pretty extraordinary moments in the TESS journey so far, but this week has surely got to be the most exciting to date. Now, keep up at the back, please. It’s hard enough for us to ride the rollercoaster without you dilly-dallying about over last week’s news. Aren’t you signed up for the regular updates on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram etc? If not, why not? But I digress… With only the slightest hint of irony about the date, April 1 saw the two Michaels ensconced at the ever-so-helpful Dance Attic in Fulham for the second day of auditions. We were casting the five principal roles in the show for the forthcoming album recording (what do you mean, what album?). And while we were excited enough about that prospect, we couldn’t have prepared ourselves for what we actually got. For a start, let us give appropriately grateful nods to our esteemed casting director, Anne Vosser. Next, the tenacious and ever-willing assistants she supplied – Katharine Moraz and Tam Kirk. And finally, our two audition pianists, Dean Austin and Barney Ashworth, both West End ‘stars’ in their own right and unbelievably helpful in the process of auditioning singers. Across two exhausting days, we met probably 50 or 60 immensely talented, totally professional and clearly very dedicated performers. There was not one dud in the entire crop and, it’s fair to say, it has left us with the most wonderful of headaches.
In case any of them are reading this, and the message hasn’t got back to you via your agent yet, we would both like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who took the time and trouble to come and meet us, and deliver such wonderful audition performances in all five of the roles. We’re under no illusions that we are but little fish in this sizeable musical theatre pond, so to have so much talent, commitment and sheer hard work given over to preparing so fruitfully in such a short space of time was, I don’t mind admitting, rather humbling.
And so the TESS rollercoaster rides on. I just hope my heart can stand it." Thank you for your continued support of the show. We are very grateful and appreciate all your comments, likes and shares. They spur us on.
Next time on d'Blog... In the studio with West End and Broadway leading man Tam Mutu.
"As I write this, it has virtually been a year to the day we produced our very first recording for TESS – a demo of the leading character’s song ‘In My Hand’, sung by the magnificent Joanna Strand. Roll on another twelve months and here I am with the producing gig of the century! It was not long after all three demo recordings were successfully completed when Michael Blore got in touch with me again to enquire as to whether I would now be interested in producing a concept album of the entire show. I was flattered to say the least! And it’s always been an ambition of mine to produce something as “epic” as TESS. However, currently having almost no concept of a work-life balance - working 40 hours a week as a gameplay designer for Guitar Hero in Leamington Spa during the day and spending a lot of my evenings playing bass in a theatre pit somewhere around the region – most unfortunately the answer had to be no. Also on top of this was a pending house move to Lutterworth; I simply couldn’t commit to a project of this magnitude, as much as I’d wanted to!
...and today I have to say I’m very glad he does; how could I be so foolish to throw away an opportunity as good as this! In order to give myself enough time to get my head around making this project fit around my already busy lifestyle we agreed that April 2016 would be an appropriate time to commence with pre-production of the album and I’d be in a much better position by then to completely lend my focus towards the project. “But wait!” you may proclaim, “Didn’t the last blog mention that work for the TESS concept album was already well under way?” Yes it is! It just so happens that I have managed to shoehorn in an arbitrary stage that we have dubbed the “pre-pre phase”... So what is this “pre-pre phase” we speak of? Well, primarily, it came about around the beginning of this year when I simply couldn’t wait until April to get stuck in to TESS! Secondly, it seemed like a very good idea to do everything in the time we had leading up to the start of the project to avoid the inevitable “damn, I really should have thought about this before, Michael...” The main difference between the “pre-pre” and pre-production phases is most probably in the mindset; at the moment my role has a more organisational aspect, as I’m setting into motion a variety of methods to effectively split the potential workload into comprehensible “chunks” (management speak), and, furthermore, endeavouring to make scheduling the vast number of cast members we will be recording come July as straightforward and efficient as possible. For pre-production I am anticipating a greater focus on the technical side of things – making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible in the forthcoming recording sessions, maximising the use of the time and resources we have available during the production phase, and making sure everything’s in place for us to get the material we need to finally put the album together. I have also enlisted the talent and expertise of two fellow recording engineers (one in Stratford-on-Avon and the other in London) and very recently acquired a trusty and enthusiastic production assistant to help manage any organisational duties once my role in the project becomes more technical!
inspiration that just happens to strike me about the project at any given moment. But every idea I’ve had so far they have welcomed with open arms.
What can I say? It’s the collaboration of dreams! It really is an honour to be “the chosen one” in helping something as majestic and beautiful as TESS to finally come to life." Thank you for reading and following the progress of the show. Please feel free to leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you. Next time on d'Blog... Audition time! We take you behind the scenes as casting for the album recording of TESS is concluded.
“Where to begin? Ok, casting. We’ve got a chorus for the album! Yay! And we love ‘em. Which may not be their feeling towards us once they get their parts to learn. Still, they say the most euphoric feeling you get when being involved in a show is learning you’ve got the part. So let’s keep the love and euphoria going until the work begins. We’ve also got us some dairymaids. Double yay! And a farm manager and a parson! I think one of us has just fainted.
Now before you think, oh jeez, this all sounds a bit too much of a love-in, trust me (and me) there are tensions. He does call one of us a “Diva”. We’ll leave you to decide which one.
Keeping things newsy (and we hope you like the new news page btw), we’ve also entered some of the songs and music to be considered for an orchestral concert that is taking place in London later in the year. That’s about as much as we can say for now. You know, egg-on-the-face and all that. We would also love to tell you about some other exciting approaches that have been made and conversations that have been had about putting on the show, but again, our lips are sealed. Soz. But believe you me (and me) when we have something more definite to tell you, you will be the first to know. Well, maybe not THE first, but high up there on the list. Honest. Talking of egg-on-the-face, you may have seen that we said we were going to be appearing on the WAWOW radio show at the end of February hosted by the lovely Ruth Curtis. Sadly, one of us had work commitments and the other one got ill. However, we will be giving an interview with said lovely Ruth for her on-line TV show in March. We say “will”, but let’s not tempt fate, shall we? In other news, we’ve been restructuring the show. It now has a Prologue. It was the brainwave of the Michael who is good with words. Fortunately, the other Michael could see it made complete sense – and cursed the fact that he hadn’t thought of it in the first place. Little did Michael Music know that a swift couple of lines from Michael Words would involve quite so much recomposing of the opening material… But still, that’s the composer’s lot. We could keep going on with this, but one of us is getting decidedly diva-esque and saying “Stop now for goodness sake!”. So we will. But not until we’ve said thank you so much to you for all your lovely likes, shares and comments on social media. It is so very much appreciated. Bye for now.” Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment. Next time on d’Blog… It’s pre-production time. Or is that pre-pre...?
“With a move back home to Bristol now complete, slowly and surely I began to concentrate more and more of my time to composing TESS. Having planned Tess’s final song, knowing what the love song would be, having ideas for the d’Urberville theme and also sketching out a possible death theme, it was about time I tackled probably the most difficult number of the whole show. The opening. Musicals live or die by how they start. You either win an audience over quickly or you struggle till the interval where you face the possibility of people voting with their feet. I had made a number of false starts when tackling the opening months before, but then came the light bulb moment. Follow the ‘bible’. Mike had laid out the action for me in our story-planning stage, so all I had to do was follow that musically. With so many themes already fleshed out, it was time to knit everything together with the corollary of introducing ideas for later development. Now I know it sounds bleedin’ obvious to “follow the bible” and be guided by Mike’s plot-line (forgive me, I am prone to ‘blonde’ moments), but that philosophy took hold. No more thinking about standalone musical moments, just follow the path we had laid out when structuring the story. So, as soon as the opening was done, on I went to the recitative that leads into “In My Hand”. Which then leads on to music for Prince (the horse, not the artist-formerly-known-as) getting killed, which leads on to… Well, you’ll just have to see the show to find out what we did next. By July 2014, via a brief hiatus of me quitting work on the show, Act One was complete. Yet I couldn’t rest. So on it went. Follow the action. Realise it musically. By November 2014, via a brief hiatus of me moving into a flat, TESS was musically in its first draft. And that is the end of the TESS herstory. Musically speaking. But whoa whoa whoa… “What’s with these hiatuses?” I hear you cry. Quitting? Moving again? All I can say is even the best writing partnerships have their testy moments. And as for moving again? Well, I do have something of a wandering spirit. I didn’t even mention the third hiatus… No really. We found out that another musical adaptation of “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” was taking to the stage, which made us ask ourselves whether we should continue or not. We quickly came to the conclusion though that having come so far it would be a shame to quit. It would just have to rank as another tussle à la the Phantoms of Ken Hill and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now, before I go, I’m aware that during this 5-part Herstory there hasn’t been much discussion of the process we went through to create the show. This is mainly because I’m never much interested in how people have made things. I can admire the craft of a watchmaker, but I don’t need to know about or see the components of the watch. Unless I want to make a watch. In that case, tell me everything! So, for those of you who would like to write a musical, here’s how we did it:
And then, 5. With the your first draft complete, go on to the second draft. And then the third. And then the… You get the picture. With your bright and shiny final draft in place, be prepared for some really hard work. It’s all about publicity and producers from now on! And so to the future. You may have just clicked over to this page to see a video. And hands up all of you who skipped all the words to get to this bit… I know I would! Well, here’s our latest vid telling you what we are going to be up to in 2016. It’s not long. Promise. And we are VERY excited. Thank you for following TESS and for all the lovely comments we have been receiving from you. It’s making two middle-aged men very happy. Now, here’s the vid…” Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment.
We’d love to hear from you :) Next time on d’Blog… New Year News. We’ll be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest developments in our quest to bring TESS from page-to-stage. Things are about to get busy…  In this special d'blog, audio engineer Sunim Koria lifts the lid on his studio days with Team Tess. "The first I heard about TESS was when I met Michael Blore for the first time at my local theatre bar after a show in 2013, but it wouldn't be another two years until I finally sat down with both Michaels to discuss recording the demo. In all honesty, I was quite apprehensive about my involvement in the project at first, but after the initial discussion I was reassured to discover that the Michaels seemed incredibly easy to work with and, most refreshingly, they were completely open to my creative input from the onset.
Being somewhat of a literary ignorant I wasn't familiar at all with the story of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, but the Michaels were very quick to remedy this by giving me a copy of their “bible" to provide me with all the information that I needed to capture the personalities of the characters and the nature of the complex plot in the soundscape that I would go on to create. The first listen to the rough recordings of the music that were sent to me completely bowled me over. The music, even in its rawest form, was incredibly beautiful. A solid chemistry between the lyricist and composer was apparent, with the words and music seamlessly bound together - the passion of these guys was strong enough to come through even a basic digitised mock-up. My ideas for producing the demo came as soon as I heard the music and the picture was instantly painted - it’s very rare I reach that level of excitement upon the first listen! However despite this excitement I was now filled with a new apprehension - the task of fitting into this equation. Knowing how to bring this material to life and realise it to its full potential to the best of my ability. Before I knew it I was introduced to a number of outstanding vocalists who had made a successful career for themselves on the West End circuit; namely Joanna Strand, Antony Lawrence and John McLarnon. All of them were a pleasure to record - no egos whatsoever and nothing less than extraordinary talent. They were the definition of true professionals, with each of them possessing the determination to get it right no matter how many takes it took. They nailed everything, and it’s a privilege for any engineer to have the opportunity to work with performers of such a calibre. Musically speaking, the two key words for me in putting this demo together were "MASSIVE" and "LUSH" (the capitalisation of those words is everything!). I strived to create a sound that is both beautiful but still have the ability to really "push out" of the speakers. An engineering highlight for me was recording the choral parts for ‘I Always Get My Way’ - overdubbing every vocal line several times individually to give the simulation of an enormous choir in a single room. It was a process that was considerably time consuming, but ultimately rewarding. Also, ‘I Always Get My Way’ was the first of my studio creations where I could really indulge my influence from one of my favourite music producers of all time - Phil Spector - right up to the inclusion of 'Be My Baby' castanets during the song's climactic moments (I hope you didn’t mind, Mr Blore!). The demo we finally created was truly "magical", though the vocal interplay between Joanna and Antony in 'One Look of Love' did it for me most especially - you wouldn't think the two singers recorded their individual parts on completely different days! I'd love to say that I worked arduously in engineering these songs, but honestly, from the quality material I was given to work with, everything just simply fell into place and nothing was laboured. And of course, no studio session is complete without the obligatory bit of banter (almost always between the two Michaels!), but there was absolutely no antagonism amongst the team; just excellent communication at all levels. The Michaels put complete trust in me and gave me the freedom that any audio engineer in the field longs to have without a single feeling of artistic compromise. This is more than exemplified by what Mr Blore said to me on more than one occasion: "Don't tell me what you want to do, just go ahead and do it!!" It has been an absolute honour to engineer even such a small portion of this musical masterpiece and I very much hope to be continually involved as the show evolves into a life that it truly deserves.” Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you :) Next time on d’Blog… composer Michael Blore concludes the Tess herstory and discusses the future of the show
“So, what next? Well, there were two over-riding and competing thoughts that began to take hold. One was the need for change and to simply run away, the other was to continue with TESS. Soon after the events of that August, a friend mentioned the possibility of my renting a cottage on a remote Scottish island, which had an enormous attraction. After long and hard consideration, only one thing was stopping me from “doing a Peter Maxwell Davies” – TESS. Such a move away would surely put unnecessary strain on the working relationship with Mike and I wasn’t prepared to let that happen. However, I wanted to move. The following months were then spent preparing my house for putting on the market and, whenever possible, spending fleeting moments composing. If not a very productive time in the Tessie gestation, those few months yielded 2 love songs, a draft dairymaids’ number “Have You Ever?” and Alec’s fiery sermon “The Greater The Sinner, The Greater The Saint”. But wait a moment. TWO love songs? Whether it was because of the grief or that a set-piece love duet is an easier compositional feat in the scheme of things, I’d drafted two ballads – “The One” and “One Look Of Love”. I just couldn’t decide which ‘one’ I preferred. It’s like asking me which song in TESS I like the most. I just can’t do it. To paraphrase Rufus Wainwright, it’s like asking me “to pick my favourite child. Impossible!” To help me in my “Sophie’s Choice” moment, I turned to Mike and, smart chap that he is, he went with “One Look Of Love”. In December, I then came up with two possible numbers (don’t sigh) to open Act 2. And, you guessed it, I couldn’t make up my mind which one I preferred. So, true to form, I recorded both and sent them off to Mike for him to have the final say. And, smart chap that he is, he went with “Confession” (you can hear the opening to Act 2 in our promotional trailer - oh go on, click the link. You know you want to...). Which brings me to Christmas 2013. The first Christmas without John. Needless to say, all TESS work had stopped. A move back home to Bristol was on the cards and I was planning a first ever trip to Australia and New Zealand at the start of the New Year. To satisfy the need to flee, I was taking the 5-week journey Down Under alone and didn’t envisage doing any work on the musical while away. But there is something about my musical mind that just won’t rest. And so I found, on a remote beach on the South East coast of Australia, in February 2014, that I was singing into my recording app Tess’s Act 2 lament “The Wrong Side Of The Door” (one of the few songs where lyrics came before music). Take a listen here. I’m all sotto voce in swimming trunks! Who would believe that 9 months later the entire show would be composed? Then again, who would believe many of the things that were happening at that time. As someone much cleverer than me once said, “No matter how many plans you make or how much in control you are, life is always winging it.”
Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you :) Next time on d’Blog… Techie Tales. Audio engineer, Sunim Koria, talks about his TESS studio days. Hello again! And thank you for clicking over to the latest d'Blog. Our post comes from Michael Davies. The lyricist. Mr Words. That's right. The writer who has been curiously absent from writing d'blogs. To find out why, read on. "But Michael B is the composer, I hear you cry! Well, I would if the internet was multi-sensory. So why is he doing all d'blog writing?
Good question. And not an easy one for me, supposedly Mr Words, to answer. Part of it is to do with the fact that I did attempt a bit of a blog during the writing process, couple of years ago now, so to revisit all that at this stage feels a bit repetitive. I stopped when we came to the hiatus (see previous d'blog entries around personal tragedy) and didn't pick it up again as things had moved on significantly by that point. Now, I find d'blogging being so ably covered by my musical colleague that my contribution is distinctly superfluous. However, I am part of this musical, so I'm going to offer a little piece of the lyrical perspective. Whether you want it or not. When we launched into this enterprise, I somehow entertained the notion that the musical and lyrical division of labour would be fairly evenly split between its two creators. How wrong I was. I think I can claim rights to, perhaps, four musical notes in the entire score. And quite right too. As soon as I began to hear Michael's extraordinary Romantic output, I willingly downed manuscript paper and quill in favour of the trusty Qwerty keyboard. There was nothing I could add to his musical virtuosity, so I pinned all my hopes on being able to keep up with him lyrically. I also had training in story, thanks to an MA and some practical experience writing plays, so this was where I concentrated my efforts. We spent a long time getting our 'bible' right, choosing which bits of Hardy's epic tale to include and which to leave out, and then shaping them into a workable two-act structure. From this, Michael began to generate melodies. Lots of them. And all of them memorable and beautiful. I offered him a few snippets of lyrics at the start, but the reality became one of writing to the score. Looking back, I couldn't honestly say it was easy - and maybe I'll explore why in a little more detail for a later post - but it was an absolute delight. My musical background allowed me to understand, I think, what Michael was aiming for (at least, most of the time) so it turned into a curiously exhilarating mixture of crossword puzzle and scriptwriting, two of my favourite activities. And all set to gorgeous music. There's a real art to writing successfully for voices, and Michael has it. My intention throughout has been to supply words that are meaningful, entertaining and, above all, singable without descending into cliche. But you'll have to judge that for yourself." Thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment. We'd love to hear from you :) Next time on d'Blog... Love songs and Australia. The composer's journey continues as TESS begins to take off.  So what was it like to record the first songs from a new musical? How does a singer approach such an undertaking? In this special d'Blog, vocalist Joanna Strand talks about her TESS experience.
"I was delighted when Michael Blore asked me to have a look at his songs from TESS. I had looked at one of his songs a couple of years ago and knew I would enjoy singing his music again. What a joy when I received the songs and they were utterly beautiful. And not only was the melody soaring and romantic, but I loved the lyrics and believed them. Plus, best of all, I would have a chance to really explore different vocal colours and range. I like to get a song into my voice before I record or audition and work on those little phrases or words that are challenging or could be delivered in a number of ways. I also like to try to get to know a song, if not by heart then just so it becomes familiar enough so that I can think about the overall shape - and also to stop me rustling too many pages in the studio! Having said that there was still something very spontaneous about the recording for TESS. The colour we eventually chose for the character's voice wasn't the one I had prepared. We decided, even at her young age, to give Tess a depth and warmth of colour that would reflect the deep soul she has and somehow foreshadow her future suffering. I must admit that I love performing live more than recording as interacting with my audience and feeling their participation and enjoyment is of great importance to me. But that aside, our recording days for TESS were fulfilling in the same way - and the Michaels and (audio engineer) Sunim seemed to enjoy the process as much as I did! It makes me deeply grateful to be lucky enough to have followed my heart and become a professional singer as opposed to a more sensible and reliable profession! I have a feeling TESS will go far. The lyrics are intelligent and the music is beautiful and truly and unashamedly romantic. In our everyday lives, being able to express such romance so unselfconsciously, and so articulately, is a rare experience. Thank you to the Michaels for allowing me to do this for you in this recording!" Joanna will be performing at 54 Below, New York, USA on September 16th 2015. For more information please go to www. 54below.com We hope you enjoy Joanna's performances on "In My Hand" and "One Look Of Love". You can find out more about her at www.joannastrand.co.uk Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment. Next time on d'Blog... The lyricist speaks. Michael Davies shares his thoughts about the TESS process to date. Hello again and thanks for clicking over to d’Blog.
In “Tess – A Herstory (Phase the Third… Phase? Check out Hardy’s novel for the reason)”, composer Michael Blore reflects on his initially slow musical progress and a personal tragedy. “Aside from the “love that book” response and having the long-standing ambition, there were other reasons for wanting to take on “Tess”. One of these was its theme of love and loss. It chimed with me because of the experience of losing my partner, John, in 2000. I had written “Trekkin” for him and we were planning on the next musical venture together when he so tragically and unexpectedly died. It is true to say that writing a musical was for me then unfinished business. My composing “Tess” was also being encouraged on the home front by my civil partner (another John!). His reaction on hearing this news? “Yeah… that could work”. Not being one for moments of gushing excitement, it was encouragement indeed from someone who had spent most of his life either acting in or directing musicals and knew a thing or two about what it takes for a show to be successful. So it was with high hopes and trepidation (as well as some degree of emotion) that I took along some songs for Mike to listen to at our very first planning meeting (April 18th 2013 for all the a-Tess-ciondas among you). We’d agreed beforehand that if my compositional style didn’t match his vision of the sound world for the show then “Tess” would be a non-starter. He was after music with heart to support his writing that, as he described, was all “head”. His reaction to my songs? He had a tear. Result! We were as one. “Tess” would be a musical in a classically Romantic style with a majestic score full of lush harmonies and beautiful (as well as hopefully memorable) melodies. Blimey! Now I had to write the thing! I was buzzing with ideas. Most of those springing from long walks with my two dogs, Jack and Tess (yes, really – though she was born way before our musical baby was conceived). However, all musical ideas were kept in check as we set about shaping the story and characters to fit our theatrical purposes. There was another reason for initially slow musical progress. Life. I had a job – as an actor – and was about to begin rehearsals on a play to tour the UK. Still, the dog-walking song was taking shape and gained an encouraging “That’s nice” from John when I first played it to him. The song? “In My Hand”. Oddly enough, having the “Hello to Tess” song quickly led on to sketches for her farewell number, which would become “Guardian Angel”. In hindsight, having the finale mapped out from the outset was a great help in planning the whole route of the show’s musical journey. The next few months were taken up with sketches for a dairymaids number and by July I had drafted a setting of the Lord’s Prayer, but Tessie time was very limited as I was now on tour with the play “Up4aMeet?”. I was beginning to wonder whether this was going to be too much of a commitment for me. There was no pressure from Mike, just my own sense of bitten-off-more-than-I-could-chew. Then while on tour, I got the news that my partner John had been taken to hospital. Within 5 days, he died. My life and that of “Tess” was about to change forever. Thank you for reading the latest d'Blog. Please feel free to comment. We'd like to hear from you :-) Next time on d'Blog… Love songs and Australia. |
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HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? MASTER AT WORK MIXING TIME INTERVIEW WITH A COMPOSER ANOTHER MICHAEL'S STORY THE LAST 5 MONTHS LONDON STUDIO DAYS A DAIRYMAID'S DIARY IN THE STUDIO WITH TAM MUTU THE ADVENTURE ROLLS ON IT'S PRE-PRODUCTION TIME! WHERE ARE ALL THE D'BLOGS? A HERSTORY (THE FINAL PHASE) TECHNICAL TALES A HERSTORY (PHASE THE 4TH) THE LYRICIST SPEAKS RECORDING TESS - THE SINGER A HERSTORY (PHASE THE 3RD) A HERSTORY (PHASE THE 2ND) A HERSTORY (PHASE THE 1ST) REVIEWS & REVELATIONS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ALEC ONE HELLO IS HOW IT STARTS Categories
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