Performed by the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra and Bedford Arts Choir. (release:19th May 2014).
Collecting the lyrics for this movement was done mostly via local schools and play-groups. We asked them to think of a hero, possibly a friend, family member, fictional character, or someone famous and then to describe them. It is these descriptions that formed the lyrics for this movement. 

Part three of an eight movement work entitled 'An Anthology of All things' with a libretto made out of hundreds of personal statements donated by the public based on the various themes of the movements.

Childhood Heroes

Performed by the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra and Bedford Arts Choir. (release:19th May 2014).
From the sentimental to the risqué, from a grand statement of love to a running joke between you and a partner, romantic statements can be among the most memorable words we utter and receive. We were looking for something romantic, loving, sensual, etc. that was actually expressed by or to you...

Part six of an eight movement work entitled 'An Anthology of All things' with a libretto made out of hundreds of personal statements donated by the public based on the various themes of the movements.

Movement VI - Romantic Statements

First official debut album of the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra. johnnyparry.com

01 Keep Kicking & Screaming

03 Rebuid it Piece by Piece

04 Little Prayer No.14

11 Find Your Way Home

Performed by...
Johnny Parry - Piano, Voice
Dave Lynch - Bass
Ben Milway - Drums and Percussion
Donna Loomans - Soprano
Margit Van Der Swan - Cello
Anne-Marie Kirby - Violin
Ed Bruggermeyer - Violin
Merly Sturt - Viola
Jim Bennett Trumpet
Jenny Hird - Saxophones

Taken From Album 'More Love & Death'

God Loves Me

At first a solo artist, then came The Johnny Parry Trio and finally the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra; a unique ensemble of over thirty players. Fully armed with strings, woodwind, brass and opera singers they have recorded six studio albums in the their various guises. 
The most recent album, ‘Fields & Birds & Things’, is full of grand gestures of love and death, and an unashamed commitment to both the romantic and the unusual. May 19th 2014 sees the release of 'An Anthology of All Things', notably different than the previous recordings where instead of Johnny's growly lead vocals it is performed by a choir.

"Johnny Parry vaults his way from being just another singer-songwriter to something more akin to the UK's equivalent of Sufjan Stevens, an artist with a distinctive musical vision." The Independent

Johnny Parry’s musical output began in Toronto in 2002 with the album ‘Break your little heart’. Johnny wandered the streets and clubs until he found a collection of underground musicians to perform on the record. Upon returning to the UK he joined up with Ben Milway (Drums) and Dave Lynch (Bass), and also started working with artist Andy Holden to produce bespoke live visuals for the performances. 
The trio then went on to record a mini album 'Little Prayers 1-8' in their own studio in the Bedfordshire countryside.  For the two albums that followed, ‘Songs without a Purpose’ and 'More Love & Death’ the ensemble exponentially expanded, exploring a different side to Johnny's craft as a composer as well as a song-writer. Hundreds of pages of scrutinized manuscript were brought to the studio to be played by the trio and a selection of classical musicians. Influenced as much by ideas from film soundtracks, (think Morricone, Nyman and Glass) as songwriters, (Cohen, Cave, and Waits) the records jump-cut between between hushed melancholic whispering, and sweeping final-scene grandeur.

The UK launch of "More Love & Death', May 2009 saw the official birth of the Johnny Parry Chamber Orchestra with a concert at the Union Chapel. The 2012/13 album 'Fields and Birds and Things', (international release date and european tour: May 2013), sees the Orchestra into an era of ever increasing scale and ambition.

In 2012 Johnny also set up a fifty piece choir (now the Bedford Arts Choir), to perform alongside the chamber orchestra for his new choral piece, 'An Anthology of all Things’, a collage of unique text/lyrics donated by hundreds of members of the public.

Johnny Parry Chamber Orch

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