"Thousand Years" - the first area from the opera.

It's been a thousand years
at least that seems to me
It's been a thousand years 
since the last time someone touched me   
And now this pain is killing me
as much as my feeling of loneliness
I thought it was my heart 
but apparently it's the other side
Perhaps it is my soul complaining for being so long alone
How miserable I feel
siting in this waiting room
every minute is a century
and the pain is just increasing...


A 2017 demo.

A&E - No 2 "Thousand Years"  (2017 Demo, Aria)

A music only demo of the 2nd aria "If I Die" . 

This was the penultimate song to be completed (the last being "No 10 - The Dilemma" - which is based on this song). Both songs are Adam's internal dialogue and struggle, hence I felt the music should be shared, though with variations. The music also is based upon the "Thousand Years" chord, which forms the basis for much of the opera. 

ADAM: If it's not my heart it could be my lung
but that does not make sense at all as I don't smoke,
Which other organs have we here? Maybe the liver...
I drink a lot...or just the kidney...I remember my mom... 
What else could it be? It feels so deep....
If I die now who would cry for me?
My mom, my dad...maybe my brother and a few friends
I'm not gonna die...that's a stupid thought!
I have a career, a loan, a mortgage and a dog
I'm fucking 35...I'm fucking young!

A&E - No3 "If I Die"  (2020, Demo Orchestral)

I couldn't write this number consciously, the aims were too high! So i had to borrow from myself... Based upon my Kyiv Suite Meditation.

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal."

Lord Byron.

A&E - No 5 "The Exam" (2020, Live Recording - String Quartet)

A personal favourite... Song No 6 "Is this Love" . Also known as "Vika's Music"... 

Sung by Dominic J Walsh and Rebecca Silverman

EVE: Oh my God...what am I feeling...is this love or lust? 
ADAM: The pain is gone...oh my god...what is going on? 
EVE: I can't believe it...I’ve done this so many many times...what is 
happening?...what is wrong?...what is going on? 
ADAM: I wanna cry...what is this? I can't barely breath.... 
EVE: My heart is beating so fast...can he notice it? 
ADAM: I'm trembling...I can't look at her...I feel scared... 
EVE: I could kiss him right now and sleep on his chest... 
ADAM: I should kiss her right now...that would be really brave!

A&E - No 6 "Is This Love?" (2020, Live Show - Aria)

A live recording of "I Can See Inside You" , song No 7.

EVE: Adam, please come this way, we're gonna take some x-rays...
ADAM: Yeah...sure, you have to take some x-rays...

(Adam is inside the x-ray machine. Eve is watching his body on the computer screen)

EVE: I can see inside you,
I've just met you and I can see inside you
so defenseless, just breathing...
I can see your heart, it's beating fast
Is it because of the machine or is it because of me?
All your feelings are there, I can see your heart but I can not read what it says
Mine is jumping inside my chest
This is amazing I have to say
ADAM: I feel more naked than naked can be
She's looking through me
seeing my bones, my guts, my heart...
I can feel it's beating fast
That's embarrassing
How can I stop it?
Maybe I should stop breathing
That will slow down my heart
EVE: Adam, please, can you breath normally for me?
ADAM: Sure thing...
EVE: It's almost done...one minute more
ADAM: No prob at all...
EVE: Thank you, it's done. Please wait for the results in the waiting room.

A&E - No 7 - "I Can See Inside You" (2020, Live Show - Spoken word)

The instrumental demo of No 7 -

Inspired by the idea of the X- Ray, I wanted represent this in sound, so decided to try adding delay / echo effect on the violin... The repeat violin strokes becomes the flashing X-Ray engulfing Adam (and the audience).

EVE: Adam, please come this way, we're gonna take some x-rays...
ADAM: Yeah...sure, you have to take some x-rays...

(Adam is inside the x-ray machine. Eve is watching his body on the computer screen)

EVE: I can see inside you,
I've just met you and I can see inside you
so defenseless, just breathing...
I can see your heart, it's beating fast
Is it because of the machine or is it because of me?
All your feelings are there, I can see your heart but I can not read what it says
Mine is jumping inside my chest
This is amazing I have to say
ADAM: I feel more naked than naked can be
She's looking through me
seeing my bones, my guts, my heart...
I can feel it's beating fast
That's embarrassing
How can I stop it?
Maybe I should stop breathing
That will slow down my heart
EVE: Adam, please, can you breath normally for me?
ADAM: Sure thing...
EVE: It's almost done...one minute more
ADAM: No prob at all...
EVE: Thank you, it's done. Please wait for the results in the waiting room.

A&E - No7 "I Can See Inside You" (2020, Demo version)

Live recording of song No 4 - "Who's Next?" 

(Eve - Walking towards the waiting room and reading the dossier on her clipboard)

EVE: Male, British white, 35, reports a deep pain in his chest, right hand side.
No fever, no sweating, breathing normally. No accident or physical harm to refer. No signs of drunkenness, no bruise. Life signs normal. Heart rate 78.

A&E - No 4 "Who's Next?" (2020, Live Show)

Adam is back in the waiting room... The music also is based upon the "Thousand Years" Chord. 

Things start building towards the climax...

A&E - No 8 "The Temptation" (2020, Live London)

Live recording of No 9 - Tinder Surprise.

The music was originally written as an alternative to the final song. Finally I realised it would be suitable for this song, albeit sped up!

A&E - No 9 "Tinder Surprise" (2020, Live London)

One of my favourite moments. 

I had always intended to do a pizzicato section in the opera, to make use of the quartet like. This moment where Adam "mutes" tinder made for the perfect moment to do this.

A&E - No 9 "Tinder Surprise" (2020, Live - extract pizzicato)

No 10 - The high point of drama!! Musically based on No 3. 

ADAM: He was right...she's on here...
DARYL: I was right...she's on here...(One second delayed and overlapping)
ADAM: Should I 'Like' her?
DARYL: Should you 'Fuck' her?
ADAM: I think I should...but what if she doesn't 'Like' me in return
DARYL: She doesn't like you in return.
ADAM: That would be terrible!
DARYL: That would be horrible!
ADAM: But I can't just say 'Nope' ...
DARYL: But you can't just say 'Nope' ...
ADAM: ...because I like her...I really like her
DARYL: ...because you want her...you really want her
ADAM: And if she sees me on here, 
and 'Likes' me and there's no match 
I will regret it for the rest of my life...
So left or right?
DARYL: Left or reel?
ADAM: 'Like' or 'Nope'?
DARYL: 'Shag' or 'Wank'?
ADAM: Hold on! What's this button for?

A&E - No 10 "The Dilema" (2020, Live Show)

The Results... what will happen to Adam and Eve!!

A&E - No 11 "The Results" (2020, Live spoken)

The final song!! 

Musically actually based on the first song... the overture! So we go full circle.

A&E - No 12 "Come On"  (2020, Live London)

The full live recording... 

Full details to follow ... of performers, crew and direction.

A&E - The Opera

A&E - the Full Opera Live in London 2020!

The finished instrumental demo track for song No 9...

A&E -No9 - Rehearsal.DEMO (2020)

'Shaping Scars' takes the viewers on a journey with two girls who once loved each other, but while one is able to embrace herself openly (and therefore their relationship), the other is struggling to step into the light and shake off her demons. They love, they hate, they are passionate, intimate, they get physical when one hurts the other, they make love, they raise then break one another. Through dance, music and spoken word we witness a true love story which was equally inspired by the creators' straight, gay and lesbian relationships making the film a true testament of love being universal.

The poem within the piece opens with a reference to King Edward VIII who abdicated in 1936 because of a woman he adored, Wallis Simpson. This December marks the 80th anniversary of Edward abandoning the throne because his love for her was that powerful. But not all of us could make that sacrifice...

"Shaping Scars" (Short Film - Piano & Spoken Word 2016)

Music for Strings - 

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal."  

Lord Byron.

"Kyiv Suite: No 1.  - Meditation" (2017)

Music for pianos... Based on music from "Shaping Scars", a spoken word and contemporary dance short film.

"Kyiv Suite: No. 1 - Dance" (2017)

Is it a tango? A nice rhythm of some kind.... :) 

Piano and Double Bass.

"The Assassin's Dance" - Opening Music (Short Film 2017)

Composition notes: 

Here's how it came about... 

It started off as an attempt at a pastiche Bach fugue but that failed as i realised that was quite hard! But that was the initial genesis idea. 

The bass figure first then underscores the rising motif which forms the basis of the piece in different variations, with a B section  (0m44s - the 4 note melody, also rising that goes between two chords). 

After a pause the main section repeats with different orchestration ...  moving the melodies and accompaniment between combinations of instruments. For example the piano bass part is now played by the cellos staccato, and i've added new counter-melodies to try to help the piece develop in a dramatic sense .... Its always nice to shift from solo instruments, to different pairings. So sometimes the bassoon, flute or oboe is the solo instrument, other times paired between say marimba and harp. I choose these all deliberately for their different sounds, usually trying different combinations, in different orders before deciding... Strings eventually take the melody of the B section to lift the music to its highest point. 

I enjoyed writing some little counter rhythms for the percussion section including glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone and vibraphone, plus timpani at the end. Often these are on the off beat (2nd / 4th). 

Finally the initial base motif repeats in a full orchestra version to fit with the structure of the film "Tamah", as the plot has now come full circle.  

In general, the principle of "less is more" I find is important for getting a good balance and clarity with orchestral writing. It can be quite good though to perhaps over-write a section, to generate ideas then cut away at it into a better shape. 

When writing , the melody came first , developing the main ideas and different sections, giving the piece shape. This was done with a piano sketch in Logic. Once happy i then orchestrated it out as detailed above.   

For production, I spend a lot of time working on the balance of volume between instruments to replicate the real orchestra, and to allow the focus to shift. The instruments are panned in the stereo image to give it width and space for the different sounds... again in the traditional positions of an orchestra (e.g. violins left, cellos right). The percussion are spread out a bit.

This is all made in Logic Pro X with Spitfire Audio sound libraries, and an XLN addictive piano ("Noir").

If anyone is really interested, the full score can be purchased for £10.00. 

Email me at info@christopherjward.com

"Tamah" - Main Theme (Short Film - 2017)

"FORA" (Commercial - 2017)

Kyiv Suite No 1 - "Home"

Christopher is a British composer based in Kyiv Ukraine. He creates characterful, emotional music - from a simple piano piece to a dramatic full orchestra sketch.

As a guitarist Christopher has performed extensively, most notably Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto in D with the Harlow Symphony Orchestra and at the Classical Guitar Festival of Great Britain. He was also a member of the indie pop band Filter Beds. 

Christopher is a member of PRS and the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors. He actively participates in Film Festivals, including the East End Film Festival and Zurich Film Festival Score Competition.

ChristopherJWard

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