Posts Tagged audio
The Undercover Soundtrack – Teresa Frohock
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on November 30, 2011
‘Music is a trigger that lets me see a living person in my mind’
The Undercover Soundtrack is a weekly series by writers who use music as part of their creative process – special pieces that have revealed a character to them, or populated a mysterious place, or enlarged a pivotal moment. This week’s post is by dark fantasy author Teresa Frohock @TeresaFrohock
Soundtrack by Loreena McKennitt
My first step in writing has always been the compilation of a soundtrack. I look for music that conveys a mood and brings to mind a character’s essence, a trigger if you will, that makes me see a living person in my mind. I’ve loved Loreena McKennitt’s music from the first time I heard All Souls Night from her CD The Visit. Her music was a perfect fit for the ethereal mood I wanted to create for my novel Miserere, and its soundtrack was comprised entirely of her work.
Breaking free
There were three songs in particular that I used for my main characters. Lucian’s song was The Mystic’s Dream. At the beginning of the piece, men’s voices create the atmosphere and bring to mind Eastern Orthodox churches. The chant builds to become more intense as McKennitt’s voice rises to take control of the arrangement. She carries the song away from the men and pushes the notes forward without looking back.
Whenever I played The Mystic’s Dream I could see Lucian, determined to break free of his situation in spite of his fear. The lyrics, “Clutched by the still of the night / And now I feel you move / Every breath is full / So it’s there my homage’s due / Clutched by the still of the night / Even the distance feels so near / All for the love of you,” encapsulate everything about Lucian’s love for Rachael. By the end of the song, I can see Lucian standing on a precipice, looking over the Wasteland, triumphant that he has made a beginning, however slight, to take his fate into his own hands and find his way home.
Sorrow, longing and defiance
For Rachael and Catarina, I used two songs from the Elemental CD. Rachael’s song was Kellswater. The lyrics aren’t as meaningful to me as the way the song is arranged and how the music makes me feel. I’ve always been able to tune out the words and hear McKennitt’s voice as if it is another instrument. Kellswater is a lonely song, full of sorrow and longing for a love that was, and for a love lost. Yet McKennitt sings the song with a quiet determination and a hint of defiance that makes it perfect for Rachael.
Catarina has none of Rachael’s regrets. Catarina’s scenes and a few of Lucian’s were written to Lullaby in which Douglas Campbell recites Blake’s poem Prologue, Intended for a Dramatic Piece of King Edward the Fourth. The piece opens with the sound of thunder in the background, then McKennitt’s voice floats in beneath the storm with a haunting lullaby that gains prominence only to recede and give way to Campbell’s throaty recitation of Blake’s poem. I could see Catarina, humming the tune with a voice bright as summer sky, her beauty transfixed before the frightful storm of her madness.
Campbell begins the monologue softly, but his voice gains fury with every word until, like the storm, the violent imagery grows to tumultuous proportions. All the while, McKennitt’s rhythmic lullaby is in the background, distant as a memory, simultaneously soothing and disconnected to the carnage evoked by Blake’s poem.
Contrasts and hopes
As the last syllables fade, there is once more the sound of the storm and McKennitt’s voice rises over the thunder before the music fades. You can’t listen to the piece without feeling Campbell’s voice roll through your bones. With the final note, I knew I had Lucian, Catarina, and Rachael—their contrasts and their hopes all enveloped in one song. I saw Woerld and the battles fought and won and lost in their never-ending war against the Fallen.
Music will distract me when I’m writing, so I create a soundtrack and listen to it as I work out or surf the net for images. The music becomes background noise that somehow frees my imagination and inspires me to creativity. McKennitt’s music was the perfect accompaniment to Miserere and never failed to take me to that perfect Zen state where I could see my characters and hear their stories.
Raised in a small town, Teresa Frohock learned to escape to other worlds through the fiction in her local library. She now lives in North Carolina with her husband and daughter.
Teresa has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying. Miserere: An Autumn Tale is her debut novel. Every now and then, she heads over to Tumblr and sends out Dark Thoughts, links to movies and reviews that catch her eye. You can also follow Teresa on Twitter @TeresaFrohock and join her author page on Facebook.
Reader, she read it. Meredith Monk was here
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in My Memories of a Future Life, piano, Q2 Music on October 21, 2011
Like Ruby – Episode 3 nearly here
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Audrey Niffenegger, My Memories of a Future Life, piano, podcast, serialised fiction, The time Traveller' sWife on September 11, 2011
‘Compelling, well told and hugely entertaining’
‘Beautiful, simple, evocative’
‘Delves into the dangerous powers of mind over matter’
‘Part 2 was even better than part 1’ – Andrew Rollings, Facebook
‘Is it the 12th yet?’ Rebecca Allan, Facebook
‘What do I have to do to get parts 3 and 4 NOW?!’ Matt Kelland, Facebook
Tomorrow. Or just a few ticks after midnight, you can download episode 3, Like Ruby.
You can find episode 1 here, episode 2 here and you can try the first four chapters on a free audio here
Rachmaninov and Ruin – episode 2 up tomorrow
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Audrey Niffenegger, My Memories of a Future Life, piano, podcast, serialised fiction, The time Traveller' sWife on September 4, 2011
Written like a poet, with the depth of a well-glazed canvas Terre Britton on Twitter
Damn you can write well!! Didn’t look up once on my hour-long bus ride home! Amanda Glass-Watson, Facebook
I ended up reading it through in one sitting and found myself wanting immediately to know what happened next upon reaching the end of the episode. Andrew Rollings, Amazon review
Roll on September 5 and Episode #2 Matt Kelland, Amazon review
It’s been a heady week, letting my book fend for itself in the wilds at long last. And not a little nail-biting. I can’t tell you how delighted I am by the postive vibes you’ve been sending me, in comments, tweets, blog mentions, emails and reviews. Thank you.
My idea to release the novel as four episodes attracted the attention of a publisher… because they’d been cooking up the same idea. We had a good laugh about great minds thinking alike and decided to celebrate with a joint post on their blog. My novel also had a spot on Dorothy Dreyer’s blog We Do Write, where she asked about my inspirations, what part of the writing was easiest and what was hardest.
So Episode 2, Rachmaninov and Ruin, is limbering up for release on Amazon at midnight tonight. You can find episode 1 here and you can try the first four chapters on a free audio here
Have fun, and wear your white gloves
Download free audio of the first 4 chapters
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in My Memories of a Future Life, podcast on September 1, 2011
You can listen to the first four chapters right now!
Download now – this link will take you to a google Docs page and you can download the MP3. file size is 12MB.
If that file is too big, there’s a more compressed version here, but the sound quality isn’t as good. Try the other one first!
You can also stream it here at Soundcloud:
Special thanks to Barry Brimer at BeOriginal.com for masterful file compression and for bringing the text alive with footsteps, thunderstorms, passing trains and a soupcon of piano. If you need a sound file sweetened (as they call it in the trade), he’s your guy.
Where to buy My Memories of a Future Life