#TeamTess back in the studio

A NEW song from British musical TESS is to get its first commercial release as the show comes out of hibernation from the pandemic.
 
Composer Michael Blore and lyricist Michael Davies are heading back into the studio this month to record a new version of Tess’s first-act solo In My Hand.

The number will be performed by Jessie-Mae Thomas, who starred as Tess in workshop performances at the RSC’s studio theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon before the first lockdown, and previously released a single from the show entitled The Wrong Side of the Door.
 
As with the earlier release, In My Hand will be available for download online, and the sheet music will also go on sale when the recording is unveiled in the spring, produced in Bristol by composer Blore.

A full concept album recording of TESS is already available to listen to at the show’s website www.tessthemusical.com and has won five-star praise from critics and fans, including legendary lyricist Sir Tim Rice.

Blore said: “We have been so impressed by Jessie’s performance as Tess – both on stage and in the studio – that when we decided to record a new single, she was always the obvious choice to perform it.”

​TESS is a new adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s epic novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. It has been featured on Radio 2’s Elaine Paige on Sunday programme and talks are under way for a full staging. Followers and fans can sign up on the website to join #TeamTess and be given free access to hear the entire concept album, featuring lead vocals by Siobhan Dillon, Tam Mutu and Simon Bailey.

Jessie-Mae Thomas

Set in the Wessex so beloved by Hardy, TESS tells the devastating story of Tess Durbeyfield, daughter of a poor villager who fatefully discovers that they may be related to the ancient aristocratic d’Urberville family. As Tess is sent to seek respectability with her new-found relatives, she embarks on an emotional and dramatic journey that leads to love, loss and ultimate tragedy.

​Read again

'How to make a musical' blogs by TESS lyricist Michael Davies on WhatsOnStage:

Part 1: From page to concept album - WhatsOnStage
Part 2: Putting it out there - WhatsOnStage
Part 3: Tiptoeing towards the stage - WhatsOnStage
Part 4: Seeing is believing - WhatsOnStage
Part 5: What to do after your workshop - WhatsOnStage