Jay Ramsay poetry and Rosemary Duxbury music

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VIDEO: “Angel Whisper” - A poem set to music Here is a video featuring Rosemary Duxbury’s choral work “Angel Whisper”. The music is a setting of a poem by Jay Ramsay, and extracts are performed in concert by English choir, the Kingfisher Chorale. The video tells the story of the music from Rosemary’s initial inspiration at the piano to a final performance in the concert hall. 
MUSIC - settings of poetry by Jay Ramsay Songs of the Mysterious - Listen
Soprano, flute, harp & gong "Speak of what you know Speak of what you know well Speak of what you have touched, tasted and smelt..." Songs of the Mysterious is a setting of 2 poems by Jay Ramsay published in ‘Transmissions’ (Stride 1989). The songs can be performed with either harp or piano along with flute and optional gong (tam-tam). The songs were premiered by Julie Moffat (soprano), Emily Barter (harp), David Calow (flute) and Tim Neal (gong), at Leicester Cathedral, England. The piano version was premiered by Julie Moffat with Marlene Fleet (piano), and Alison Wright (flute), at the University of Leicester in 1991. They also recorded it for the album "Thread of Gold". Adam’s Song
Alto & piano I, John 
Alto & piano Mother Song
Soprano, cello and piano Canticle to the Sun
Tenor and symphony orchestra Angel Whisper 
Choir: SSATB + soprano solo 

"And our whisper is like the breeze in the leaves And the birdsong that pauses you in its pausing, And it is the whisper of that breeze in you Where you walk, suddenly in knowing As its cloak of light gathers around you." 
Angel Whisper, takes its lyrics from an improvised poem by Jay Ramsay published in ‘Meditations on the Unknown God’ (University of Salzburg 1996). It is a 3 movement choral work for SSATB and soprano solo. It was commissioned by the Kingfisher Chorale and the Central Composers’ Alliance and was premiered at the University of Leicester in 2003. It has since received several performances in the Midlands UK and received its Canadian premiere in Quebec in 2011. Read more and listen.... PERFORMANCES include
Songs of the Mysterious
International Composer Festival, Bexhill on Sea, UK September 2018 Angel Whisper
- Kingfisher Chorale. Peter Crump Memorial Concert. St Margaret's Church, St Margaret’s way, Leicester, UK. Saturday 14th May, 2011
- Vox Luminosa (conductor Claudel Callender)February 6 2011 Repentigny, Quebec, Canada.
- Kingfisher Chorale (conductor David Fisher) 
Fraser Noble Hall, Leicester
November 7 2009
- Invocation. A Central Composers’ Alliance Concert. Fraser Noble Hall, University of Leicester
Premiere of Angel Whisper
Kingfisher Chorale (conductor David Fisher) 2003 Mirrors of Grace. Alternatives, St. James’ Piccadilly, London. The poetry of Jay Ramsay, Prue Fitzgerald, Gabriel Bradford-Miller, Alan Jackson and the music of Rosemary Duxbury - performed by Shirley Smart, Elizabeth Bell and David Wickham

Lyn & Exmoor Festival. Lynton, Devon, UK
I, John & Adam’s Song (premieres) Songs of the Mysterious (premiere). 
Leicester Cathedral UK
Julie Moffat, Emily Barter, Tim Neal, David Calow. Music & Poetry at Browsers Bookshop, Leicester
Poetry readings and Songs of the Mysterious Into the Light. Rawlins College, Quorn UK
Charnwood Arts Festival 1994
Readings of poetry and premiere of Canticle to the Sun. 
Singer: Christopher Martyn (tenor)

RECORDING
Thread of Gold FILM
Adam’s Song (director: Mark French)
http://www.rosemaryduxbury.com/sounds/Songs%20of%20the%20Mysterious%20extract%20mp3.mp3Angel_Whisper._Kingfisher_Chorale._Music_for_choir_by_Rosemary_Duxbury.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1

Poetry and Music

Jay Ramsay’s poems set to music by Rosemary Duxbury

Jay Ramsay (1958 - 2018) British author of many books including Kingdom of the Edge (Element, 1999), Alchemy—the art of transformation (Thorsons, 1997) Tao Te Ching with Martin Palmer (Element/Vega reprint 2002), Crucible of Love—the alchemy of passionate relationships (O Books, 2005). Co-founder of the poetry collective Angels of Fire in London, in 1983, he performed his work internationally for many years. He was Poetry editor of Kindred Spirit magazine and Caduceus, project director of Chrysalis—the poet in you and co-founder with painter Genie Poretsky-Lee of The Lotus Foundation in North London (a small healing and art centre, in 2001). His final work, ‘A Dangerous Book’ is now available from Amazon .
“My award for the bravest, most unusual and exhilarating volume goes to Jay Ramsay. I’d read Ramsay’s poetry before — but nothing like this. He’s been bold enough to take the Holy Bible and re-imagine it afresh in poetry, prose and drama. Muscular, exciting, controversial and beautiful, this takes the Bible out of church and offers it back to everybody.” Bel Mooney, Daily Mail.

Rosemary Duxbury first set his poetry to music in 1990. She says:

“I first met Jay in 1990 at Burgh House, London at one of my concerts. Jay asked me to set his poetry to music and the result has been several songs, a choral work for SSATB and a piece for tenor voice and orchestra.

Jay and I have worked together in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Devon and London putting on concerts together, recording ‘Thread of Gold’ - a collection of Jay’s poems, read by him alongside songs sung by alto Chloe Goodchild, and soprano Julie Moffat, and a short film directed by Mark French called ‘Adam’s Song’.


Extracts of his poems are also included in my cd booklets.

My latest setting of Jay’s work is a choral piece called Angel Whisper composed for unaccompanied choir and solo soprano.”


Angel Whisper: ‘Your musical composition is so beautiful and unearthly. The Midlands choir lifted it to the heavens for us all. It was delightful to hear one of Jay's poems set to music and it's total transformation beyond spoken language.‘ Lara Fiedler, dancer, Glos. UK

LISTEN:

Introductory talk by Rosemary Duxbury

Introductory talk by Jay Ramsay

Angel Whisper
1st movement

2nd movement

3rd movement

read more about Angel Whisper


FURTHER INFO/Scores


Read more about songs


For further information or details of scores, please email music@rosemaryduxbury.com


For further information about Jay Ramsay, please visit: www.jayramsay.co.uk



 

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