This is an exercise in orchestration, telling Beren and Lúthien's romantic adventure tale with expressive modern orchestral textures. The tune is based on Swedish folk tune Näktergalen, learned from Poeta Magica and Saga Björling. The text is the nine-verse poem told by Aragorn in Book One in Fellowship of the Ring.

Spitfire Audio BBCSO Discover and LABS were used as colors for an evocative setting, with the Etherealwinds Celtic harp carrying the story through its coldest passages, joined by the warmer BBC concert harp when Spring returns. In the last verse the Double Bass joins the horns to symbolize Luthien's agency in joining Beren on his quest. SynthV Mai and  EMvoice Lucy sing along with me on each  "Tinúviel" in the lyrics.

art by Elena Kukanova, DeviantArt

"Beren" and "Lúthien" are registered trademarks of The Tolkien Estate Limited

Now with illustrations on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ISPk15pMuRY

Original folk tune can be seen and heard here: https://youtu.be/GHfkWtkvssk

"Beren and Lúthien"

A morning in Summer 1972 on Vancouver Island, whilst visiting a pen-pal

from collection "An Island Invermere". Progression was inspired by Tom Rapp's songs from the mid 1960s.

My Day (on a faraway island)

"Lúthien stood upon the bridge and declared her power, and the spell was loosed that bound stone to stone, and the gates were thrown down, and walls opened and the pits laid bare; and many thralls and captives came forth in wonder and dismay, shielding their eye against the pale moonlight, for they had lain long in the darkness of Sauron." --- J.R.R. Tolkien

"Lúthien" is a registered trademark of The Tolkien Estate Limited

Lúthien Casts Down Tol-in-Gaurhoth -- on a theme of Tinúviel Greenleaf

In the 1980s Mary K would welcome my trying her new Knabe baby grand, so I did a lot of noodling on it. The twin themes of this song grew from that, and have never deserted my head entirely. After Mary K passed away the Knabe went to her talented older daughter Lizzie.

Thoughts Of You

One Monday morning in February I woke up after getting one more sleep cycle, and this tune was in my head. I went to the computer and pulled up Reaper so I could play it in on my 'painted toes' keyboard and spend a week thinking of counter-melodies to pile onto it. Here's the result.

Awakening Tune 2 - 7-22

One afternoon in Spring, 
I sat amid a crowd, 
you had to leave the world behind you.
Deep, the memories of you, 
like footprints on the ground; 
if I could follow them I'd find you.

Your form lingers on, 
like the shadow that you cast, 
long after you were ever here.
Laughter lights the shadows when we hold those things that last, 
and, while invisible, you're near.

Meeting you will never be, 
you're just too faraway, 
but, like the wind that stirs the leaves,
you drew them from afar, 
you're the wind that blew that day. 
In their faces, you, I almost see.

(c)1992, Wm Weber

Footprints, Shadows, and Leaves

My choral work "Meditation", grown from "Meditation for Cross-Strung Harp", now has its text sung as well: a couple of members inspired me to redo it using Emvoice voices, and SynthV voices were added, giving it more feeling. Headphones recommended

Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life
In its brief course lie all all your verities and realities
Bliss of growth, glory of action, splendor of beauty
For yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow only a vision
But, well-lived, today makes every yesterday a dream of happiness 
and every tomorrow, a vision of hope
Look well, therefore, to this day

Meditation on "Look To This Day"

Kalidasa meditation, "Look To This Day"

Cover of OkDal's moving beautiful "Good Night", adapted from the original Korean into English and sung by SynthV Natalie, Solaria, and Weina, backed by Kontakt Factory choir voices and guided by OkDal's original accompaniment. Headphones recommended

Korean words and music by Kim Yoon Ju and Park Se Jin

inspired by this YT video: https://youtu.be/VB2loCvqdy8

"Good Night", OkDal cover and English free translation

"The Mewlips" can be found in The Tolkien Reader, and is impishly creepy, by contrast to the ethereal Elven histories such as the Lay of Leithian. SynthV Mai and Emvoice Lucy sing.

The shadows where the Mewlips dwell are dark and wet as ink
And slow and softly rings their bell as in the slime you sink
You sink into the slime who dare to knock upon their door
While down the grinning gargoyles stare and noisome waters pour
Beside the rotting river strand the drooping willows weep
And gloomily the gorcrows stand, croaking in their sleep.
Over the Merlock Mountains a long and weary way,
in a mouldy valley where the trees are grey
By a dark pool's borders, without wind or tide
Moonless and sunless the Mewlips hide
The cellars where the Mewlips sit are deep and dank and cold
with single sickly candle lit and there they count their gold
Their walls are wet their ceilings drip, their feet upon the floor
Go softly with a squish-flap-flip as they sidle to the door
They peep out slyly, through a crack, their feeling fingers creep,
and when they've finished, in a sack your bones they take to keep.
Beyond the Merlock Mountains, a long and lonely road,
through the spider shadows and the marsh of Tode,
And through the wood of hanging trees and the gallows-weed,
you go to find the Mewlips --- and the Mewlips feed!
J.R.R.Tolkien

Art by Pauline Baynes

The Mewlips, by J.R.R. Tolkien, sung

"Our Day Will Come" cover to a samba or bossa nova rhythm

"Our Day Will Come" Samba cover

Cover of "Our Day Will Come" in waltz swing

"Our Day Will Come", swing waltz cover

Cover of Maurice Jarre's "Lara's Theme" from the film "Doctor Zhivago" using all Spitfire LABS libraries. Had it not been for the remake of "Doctor Zhivago", starring Keira Knightly, with the score by Ludovico Einaudi, I'd have never viewed this old classic.

In "Dr Zhivago", Lara ended up possibly, if still living, in some faraway unknown concentration camp, so it made sense to spotlight her for a while.

"Lara's Theme" cover

Children's classic, produced here with a lot of LABS and a few Kontakt instruments.
Emvoice Lucy and Jay and Synth V Mai. Solaria, Natalie, Eleanor, Ritchie, and Kevin sing.

(Inspired by the Christmastime tune called "Frost" written and produced by Achazia, though having none of the celestial qualities of the latter.)

Frosty the Snowman, Walter Rollins and Steve Nelson cover

To another Taurus, red-haired, brown-eyed, no stranger to affection

words and music copyright 1984 Wm Weber

model from pexels

Gentle Brown

Written on my laptop in Passport Rhapsody in 2002, as just a tune, later made a song with a lot of local color, back when Angleside was more about sunbeams than twilight. ;)  Synth V Natalie sings

Southside Serenade

Cover of Peter DeRose "(My) Deep Purple (Dreams)" sung by Synth V Natalie

Deep Purple, Peter DeRose - Mitchell Parish cover

Tolkien's "Beren and Lúthien", sung by four virtual female voices to the accompaniment written in 2021, including one virtual male voice for Beren's calls of  "Tinúviel". From Fellowship Of The Ring, the book, chapter "A Knife In The Dark". Set to a variation of Swedish folk tune "Näktergalen" I learned from Poeta Magica and Saga Björling.

Spitfire Audio BBCSO Discover and LABS were used as colors for an evocative setting, with the Etherealwinds Celtic harp carrying the story through its coldest passages, joined by the warmer BBC concert harp when Spring returns. In the last verse the Double Bass joins the horns to symbolize Luthien's agency in joining Beren on his quest.

"Beren" and "Lúthien" are registered trademarks of The Tolkien Estate Limited

Beren and Lúthien sung by Solaria, Natalie, Mai and Eleanor of SynthV

An attempt at soul chords to cheer up my Spirit Guide, an old-soul friend, sung by Synth V Natalie

Lyrics:
(child of rainbows, cousin of the Moon)
Hey, friend, there's a tear in your smile
shall I listen, as we sit for a while?
What's been happening in your life,
that you're struggling to heal your own soul?
Tryin' to fall in love is like tryin' to fall asleep,
Doesn't mean you lack any qualities you need.
Your wishes are all coming true, they're on their way!
Go ahead and Love, the way you were born to!
Go ahead, you had it coming all your life!
You've flung your seeds of joy,
now somewhere there's a flower blooming in somebody's heart,
calling back to your heart: Welcome home!

(c) 2023 Wm Weber

Love, The Way You Were Born To

Brief exploration of resources of the Soundiron Lakeside organ, with cinematic possibilities

Impomptu For Organ

Inspired by the Salisbury Cathedral Choir's 1970s Christmas record
sung by SynthV Mai, Solaria, Natalie, Kevin, and Ritchy, with help from Spitfire Epic Choir and a 'cello in LABS Cello Moods

"Sleep Holy Babe" -- Caswell/Dykes cover

Back in the 1990s I asked the choirmaster if we might do some John Rutter and he said no. (I still have him to thank for letting me use his old Roland MT-32 tone generator) After moving to a border town 30 miles away from Boston I heard Rutter's "Candlelight Carol" on the radio (WCRB) and knew I wanted to move back where my musical friends were. Nearly a quarter-century later the song still brings back warm tasty memories and I've put a virtual choir together to sing it.

This arrangement is based on one written for Church of the Assumption, Pittsburg

Photo is mine, thanks to my cousin Susan for the Christmas tree candle :)

Candllight Carol, John Rutter cover

The theme came to me May 4th, so I wrote it down and harmonized it (taking some ideas from IG posters especially Nahre Sohl), then arranged it.  If it actually exists somewhere I'm interested to know, and I'll retitle this recording as a cover.

The Swing Club

A fanciful choir piece for the Unitarian Flower Communion, customarily held in June before option Summer Break, to the tune of my Lancaster Avenue Sonatina 2nd movement, Pastorale Forlane

Voices are from Dreamtonics Synth V

Art from Deep Dreams Generator

Dance of the Sunflower Maiden

A cover of an earlier form of Saga Björling's newly released "Oak"  (Starur -- "The Lovers" track 4), as streamed from her kitchen during pandemic times.  It has been posted here before, but Saga told me the song was a work-in-progress and "If you could wait spreading this until the original is ready, that would be lovely." so she could release it on Spotify.  SynthV Weina replaces Synth V Solaria singing, in hopes of finding a virtual voice with Saga's delicate loveliness.  Art is my hasty sketch.

Saga's Acorn -- Saga Björling cover

Resurrected epic fail from my beginning years of learning to write songs, now with brand-new hook, SynthV Natalie and Synth V Solaria singing

art from Pexels.com, modified

lyrics-
I'll tell you a story that I rarely speak
about a fan-boy who was crushing on me, out of his league.
I met him in back before I went on the stage
and in the notebook of his songs he ougha rip out that page!

She's always in motion, forever in motion, she's so in a motion blur!
She's always in motion, unending motion, she's so in a motion blur!

I bailed and drove away and never said goodbye,
I guess the smell of my leather musta gotten him high!
My agent gave him reality as he took his leave,
so all the rest of the night hecould do nothin but grieve!

She's always in motion, forever in motion, she's so in a motion blur!
She's always in motion, unending motion, she's so in a motion blur!
She's always in motion, forever in motion, she's so in a motion blur!

Motion Blur

Hermann Schroeder's haunting, mystical melody-in-pedal organ piece, on "Fairest Lord Jesus", alternate melody to "Crusaders' Hymn", last of his 6 Organ Chorales on German Religious Folksongs, with the pedal part arranged for voices singing the original hymn text plus organ, harp , and two clarinets

Art from Pexels.com

Schroeder's Crusaders

I first heard David Hurd's haunting setting of "A Stable Lamp Is Lighted" performed in a Christmas Eve service by a small choir in a modern church south of Dover Delaware, during my mother's last frail years when my baby sister and I would wheel her into the church.

Andujar, "A Stable Lamp Is Lighted"

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Frank Sinatra revision, sung by SynthV Natalie. Writing this arrangement, I used a few tri-subs to make it smoothly jazzy.

artwork from pexels.com, two sisters in winter

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane cover

Cover of Achazia's wildly popular Christmastune "Frost" with vocals inspired by the illustration she painted for it, sung by SynthV Solaria and Mai

Frost -- Achazia cover

This alternative recording of "Love the Way You Were Born To" is sung by SynthV Weina in "tender mode" to obtain a more motherly sort of voice than a pop singer would have. 

art by Pavel Danilyuk

Weina sings "Love the Way You Were Born To"

Sam's troll poem from Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, the book, and The Tolkien Reader, sung by Synth V Solaria, Weina, and Kevin, based on my a capella solo of it. 

art by Pauline Baynes

The Stone Troll, words by J. R. R. Tolkien

My first real song, written in 1979, an effort to channel Justin Hayward's style, including Mellotron, rearranged in 1994 for MIDI-sequenced synth, now optimized with some virtual instruments. Mellotron Flute I have recently added, both for its inclusion in the original 1979 version and in tribute to Justin Hayward's gorgeous new flutist, Karmen Gould. Most recently I added Chorus from Kontakt, for an extra 'Moodies' touch.

It turns out, this song draws unobvious melodic and harmonic influence from Scottish folk tunes.

Lyrics:
"Sometimes I could fly over cloud-tops on your smile,
and when you turn away, sometimes the whole world feels like night.
Now, we may be in each others' eyes for a short while,
still I wait until the time feels right.

And then what could I ever bring myself to say?
You told me, once, you said you'd found I'm no good at this game.
Next time, when that gets here, I can hope I know the way
to launch my arrow with a better aim.

If I counted the mornings I'd like to wake up, see your face, and greet the Sun,
would the mornings make a lifetime, or just ten thousand dawns?
If I counted those days you'd help me through, by simply being around,
I'd be a long time, my head in clouds, and feet upon the ground.

Sometimes you can heal all my worst fears with your eyes,
and show me that you want me just as much as I want you.
Though you're done with stories that have aged into lies,
seeing you, each time, is something new.

Nothing's been forgotten, we've both had our shares of pain,
and someday when you're weary, and decide you need a rest,
be with me in the Sun, and I'll help you bear the rain.
Of lives to choose, I'd like one with you best.

If I counted the mornings I'd like to wake up, see your face, and greet the Sun,
would the mornings make a lifetime, or just ten thousand dawns?
If I counted those days you'd help me through, by simply being around,
I'd be a long time, my head in clouds, and feet upon the ground."


Inspired by Stan Rogers' "Forty-five Years" and dedicated to the singer who first sang "Wishes and Dreams Rephrased" in 1977

Ten Thousand Dawns

I've been songwriting and composing since 1967 as an amateur in the positive sense of the term, composing on any tune that comes along in my head, a few times using clairaudience as a compositional aid.
Cockos and Spitfire have been an immense help in putting together the colors of my vision for each tune.
I was introduced to SoundCloud by a local historian's daughter who has since graduated to Spotify.

Earthlights Music

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