The Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards - 1 The Desert Hills

The Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards - Epilogue: Jasmine Tea at Cafe degli Artisti

All Creatures Final

JamesCaveCappelladelBarolo (2)

First version of 'Heim' (which means home or homewards) - soundtracking the 'Viking in the Sun' project. It charts the life of Harald Hardrarda, Viking king and voyager. This is a project in collaboration with Dr Gianluca Raccagni, U of Edinburgh History and Games Lab. The piece is my first creative project as part of a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship at U of Edinburgh

Secret Soundtracks: Haraldur - 1) Heim. V1.0

13 min rough cut of Under the Glacier for the U of Edinburgh Viking in the Sun project - featuring Supriya Nagarajan (vocals)

UnderTheGlacier13minversionROUGHCUT

England Will Fall (Gussied Up Mix) - lyrics/music/vocals - David Thorley - arrangement - James Cave

Full version of Latrabjarg - performed by U of York Chamber Orchestra and Choir

Latrabjarg - Full Version

SecretSoundtracks: 2 - Ghost Harp (V 1.0)

First attempt at an immersive sound environment for the 'Viking in the Sun' project for U of Edinburgh. It combines my string piece ' Heim' with narration by Bergur Þorgeirsson and field recordings from the Jorvik Viking Festival 2023 to give the sense - hopefully! - of moving through a Viking battlefield, complete with sounds of drums and war-horns.

Secret Soundtracks3:  Harald's War/Hjalmr V 1.1

A 'Mahlerian pop song' inspired by the shapeshifting raven from the Norse sagas. The bird becomes a metaphor for grief amongst other things...

Lyrics/Music/Vocals: James Cave

'Last night I lay in bed/I couldn't sleep
Tap tap tapping away
A shapeshifter into my room did creep 
Tap tap tapping away
Some tell of shapeshifting souls who still roam the earth
Are they just stories?
This mocking bird will sing
This shapeshifter takes wing
Tap tap tapping away
This broken bird still sings
Don't want to live in your cage...'

Secret Soundtracks: 4 - ShapeShifterV1.0

Work-in-progress string textures for a new 'multimedia opera' as part of the U of Edinburgh Viking in the Sun Project. (This creative work is part of my Knowledge Exchange Fellowship.) The aim here is to create an ethereal, otherworldy atmosphere for the opening of the piece.

Secret Soundtracks 5: Harald Strings (WorkInProgress)

A 17-minute extract from my opera 'Returns' performed at Rough for Opera at the Cockpit Theatre, London, in 2016. The opera tells the story of a traumatised army veteran who is trying to piece together his memories: it is based on the real-life experiences and writing of Joshua Casteel (1979-2012), a US army veteran who served in Iraq and later became a peace campaigner. It is a plea for compassion and understanding between nations, as well as greater respect for issues relating to PTSD.

This extract features: Teit Kanstrup (bass), CN Lester (mezzo), James Cave (countertenor), Jon Brigg (conductor) and members of the Returns Ensemble. Production was by Abigail Toland (Second Movement). A full-length version of the work with direction by Rosalind Parker, design by Anthony Lamble, and with David Valsimidis is currently in development with performances - hopefully! - in 2023 and 2024. The project has received support from Hinrichsen Foundation, AHRC, Mahler and Lewitt, YuFund, and Sir Jack Lyons Charitable Trust, and was developed in conjunction with Joshua Casteel Foundation. You can read more about Joshua's life and work here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/priest-abu-grahib-180971013/#:~:text=Casteel%20stood%206%2Dfoot%2D1,Abu%20Ghraib%20shocked%20the%20world.

And https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Casteel

Returns - an opera based on the play by Joshua Casteel (extract)

Performance of my choral piece, 'Donal Og' - a setting of a Gaelic poem - by Chimera Ensemble (University of York), conducted by Tim Ferguson

Donal Og

Rough sketch for the opening of an ambient/multimedia music-drama, 'Field of Broken Ice', based on Snorri Sturluson's 'Saga of Harald Hararda'. This section dramatises Harald's escape from the battle of Stiklastathus and journey to Byzantium. Vocals: James Cave. Incorporates various field-recordings.

Field Of Broken Ice - Part 1

Rough cut of 'Il Torre' (The Tower) from The Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards. Recorded at Heath St Baptist Church, 30/6/23. Viola: Morgan Goff. Piano: James Cave. Engineering: John Henry Baker

Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards (Viola Version): Il Torre

Rough cut of 'Il Ponte' (The Bridge) from The Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards. Recorded at Heath St Baptist Church, 30/6/23. Viola: Morgan Goff. Piano: James Cave. Engineering: John Henry Bake

Desert Hills Fan Out Like Playing Cards: Il Ponte (Viola Version)

Sketch for texture for Field for Broken Ice - Vocals: James Cave

BrokenGlass - (Sketch for Field of Broken Ice)

1ShotDrums

Very rough demo - in REAPER - of Power of Ice for the Field of Broken Ice project. Might redo this when I have time!

Power Of Ice

Audio from a collaborative improvised performance with Seema Kapur, performed at the Visual Art Building, Banff Centre, Canada, March 2015

DescendingThreeFloors - Live at the Banff Centre, March 2015

Seaside Songbook - complete version by Jonathan Brigg and James Cave

PhilaeDraftNEWSOUNDFILE

Ebor Singers - performance at National Centre for Early Music November 21st 2015

Conductor: Paul Gameson
Soloists: Pierre Dechant and Moira Johnston
Text: David Thorley
Recording and mixing: David Rose

Philae's Landing

Canopy Gig (3 Choirs)

Composed by James Cave. Recording by kind permission of Ceretto - from the LP Keeping Time (2019)

Viola: Morgan Goff
Electronics/Production: Ben Eyes
Voice/Double Bass: James Cave

The Point Over The Arch

(Artwork is by Milan Ivanic - ivanic.uk)

Composer/singer/ based in York, UK. Passionate about new music and collaborative projects

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