Composer Blair Thomson arranged the musical themes from "The Virgin Courtesan" for this inspired "Virgin Courtesan Suite". Listen to it here, brilliantly performed by the Quatuor Claudel - Canimex with clarinet soloist Simon Aldrich. Please give yourself the time to sit back, close your eyes, and let the music of "The Virgin Courtesan" carry you into our theatrical world. You are in Venice... it is the early Renaissance... and a beautiful young woman named Brianna is embarking on a dangerous and self-sacrificing road towards self-discovery. Take this musical journey with the most beautiful woman in the world... we hope you enjoy the experience.

THE VIRGIN COURTESAN SUITE PREMIERE

A roughly-mixed medley of songs from "The Virgin Courtesan", a musical by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson.

The Virgin Courtesan Sample Clips

From "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson. This Ave Maria opens the show. It is sung by a gondolier, and establishes the religious fervour of the early Renaissance.  

AVE MARIA

The Act One Finale of "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson, sung by Melanie Leblanc as Brianna.

LEST ALL I LOVE

Full company singing the finale of "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson.

OUT FROM THE SHADOWS, FINALE

Our wonderful Robert Marien again, as the villain of the piece, hyping his latest discovery in "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson.

HONOURED LADY

This raucus number presents us with three Tavern Wenches harrassing our heroine for her resisting opportunities in the World's Oldest Profession. There is no misogynistic intention in the lyrics, which depend on dramatic context to be fully understood and appreciated. "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson is written to celebrate a strong, intelligent and independant woman who is, in many ways, a feminist ahead of her time. Ariane Gauthier, Caitlyn Milot and Lisa Forget all lend their fantastic voices to create these characters. Thanks gals! 

The Tavern Scene

In this song from "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy & Blair Thomson, the young hero, Angelo, has spent two years on a quest to find the woman he loves. Finally he finds her, cloistered in a convent in Rome, but he is turned away at the gate by the Reverend Mother who explains that his beloved Brianna has foresworn the outside world. Determined not to give up hope, Angelo sings this undying vow of devotion.

BRIANNA

This duet opens act two of "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson. Here we have both of Brianna's most devoted male friends determined to find her, now that word has spread that she has returned to Venice. The teacher, Mario, has found the courage to leave the priesthood, and is determined to somehow correct the injustices that Brianna's great sacrifice for him has brought upon her. Angelo, meanwhile, is still desperate to find the woman whom he has faithfully loved for the last two years. Now, at last... she is near. The singers are Mike Melino and Frayne McCarthy. Arranged and Played by Blair Thomson.

THE THOUGHT OF HER

Lisa Forget and Melanie Leblanc sing this duet from "The Virgin Courtesan" by Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson. In the scene preceding this song, Nina reveals to her cousin that she is trapped in an abusive marriage. The women comiserate, as they must both be strong in their sad circumstances under the control of cruel men.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN (duet)

This is the instrumental version of "Seducing Brianna" which will be sung by the villain of the show, Signore Roberto D'Este (Robert Marien). I just love listening to Blair's accompaniments. I have often told him that we could present "The Virgin Courtesan" as a ballet!

SEDUCING BRIANNA INST 200611 1

After finally being reunited with the love of his life, the young courtesan Brianna, Angelo is publicly threatened and humiliated by the pimp Roberto D'Este. Sensing that Brianna is in great danger, Angelo resolves to kill his enemy. 

THE WILL TO KILL DEMO

Broadway veteran and international star Robert Marien once again lends his magnificent voice to our project. 

In this song, D'Este, the nobleman-turned-pimp has his sights set on Brianna, who is destitute having been ousted from the convent for confessing to having had an affair with a priest... a confession that was itself a lie meant to protect Father Mario. D'Este is especially determined to have Brianna join his "elite company of women" because he blames her for his own social fall-from-grace, as she rejected his betrothal when he was counting on her family's money to maintain his titled lifestyle.

SEDUCING BRIANNA DEMO FINAL

The love duet from "The Virgin Courtesan" comes to life through the glorious voices of Catherine Savoie and Nathan LeLièvre. After a long separation and some misadventures, Brianna and Angelo are reunited, and their love is stronger than ever. Blair Thomson (Composer and Pianist) recorded this thrilling duet live with the singers at Studio Piccolo in Montreal. Thanks to the world-class engineers who helped capture the chemistry between Catherine and Nathan.

Brianna Duet_Piccolo

This is a more produced version of our demo for "Beautiful".
Broadway star, Robert Marien, sings the role of D'Este.

BEAUTIFUL R MARIEN  W STRINGS

Merci Choeur classique Vaudreuil-Soulanges et leur formidable chef Jean-Pascal Hamelin pour cette première éblouissante de “Music of the Nuns” pour chœur féminin. A superb world premiere of “Music of the Nuns” (Sacred Themes from the musical "The Virgin Courtesan") for women’s choir sung by the Chœur classique Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Thanks so much for your brilliant musicianship! Music and Choral Arrangement by Blair Thomson, Lyrics by Frayne McCarthy

"Music of the Nuns" a choral arrangement of music from the musical "The Virgin Courtesan"

With this Soundcloud site Frayne McCarthy and Blair Thomson wish to introduce listeners to their musical, "The Virgin Courtesan".

Set in Venice, during the early Renaissance, this is the story of Brianna... a young woman who sacrifices nearly all she has in life to protect those people she loves most from coming to harm. It is also the adventure of those very loved ones, who, in turn, must set out to save Brianna from great even greater peril and loss. This is a love story, a tale of good versus evil, a journey towards self-discovery and redemption, and it's also a quest for personal freedom.

Welcome. We hope you like what you hear!

To contact us on Facebook, please look up:
Frayne McCarthy (Book and Lyrics)
Blair Thomson (Music and Arrangements)

McCarthy & Thomson

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