Post by sunshine on Aug 1, 2008 9:29:40 GMT -5
Calke pops as Queen musical arrives 01-August-2008
IMAGINE yourself listening to a live performance of the powerful and stirring music of that epic rock band Queen.
Imagine it again with a 60-piece symphony orchestra thrown into the mix. Combine the sounds of classic woodwind with the thrashing of a rock guitar and impressively soaring vocals and you will begin to get a sense of an event which is likely to prove one of the highlights of Derbyshire's open air summer concert season this year.
The Music Of Queen – A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular, takes place in the grounds of Calke Abbey on Friday, August 8 and is designed to celebrate the careers of the celebrated rock band who were one of the most dominant and enduring forces in the British music scene throughout the 1970s and 80s.
The outdoor show is loosely linked to the successful West End musical We Will Rock You.
Queen's best-known songs have been adapted to incorporate a symphony orchestra, various vocalists and a full rock band – a task which fell to seasoned musician Richard Sidwell.
Richard is a trumpeter and musical arranger who has worked with the likes of Blur, The Stranglers, Duran Duran and Robbie Williams. But, despite his credentials he confessed that he was still rather daunted by the task.
“The music of Queen is so huge and so beloved by all that it was like taking a masterpiece and trying to improve it,” he said.
“It was like trying to rewrite a Charles thingyens novel. You don't want to spoil it – you just want to make it bigger.”
Richard began the task by listening to the original Queen songs over and over again, transcribing each instrument in turn to form a solid base for the arrangements.
“As you pull the songs apart you find a lot of interesting things going on under the surface with complex tempo changes and elaborate harmonies that you wouldn't notice on the first hearing,” he said.
He then battled to put them back together to create a grander, more operatic version.
But the struggle to expand everyone's best-loved anthems and try to make them even more moving did finally pay off when the Queen Spectacular first took the stage by storm last August in Bournemouth, it was extremely well received and Richard hopes it will be equally popular with the audience at Calke.
With more than 70 performers on stage, it is thought to be one of the biggest rock shows to date and it features all of Queen's classic hits including A Kind of Magic, Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, We Are The Champions, Somebody To Love, Who Wants To Live Forever, Killer Queen, Don't Stop Me now, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Want It All and many more.
The vocals will be mainly provided by singers who have been performing in the West End musical We Will Rock You for several years.
The performers were recommended by former Queen guitarist Brian May and they include Ricardo Afonso, who is Galileo in We Will Rock You, Mig Ayesa (a previous Galileo) and also Mazz Murray, the Killer Queen in the show.
The outdoor show climaxes with a fireworks display and launches a weekend of summer events at Calke which also includes an open-air performance by the English National Orchestra on Saturday, August 9.
Called the Flying Proms Spectacular, the event's musical programme features popular classics, film themes and favourites from Last Night at the Proms.
The evening's entertainment will also include a flying display by Second World War Spitfire planes and another firework finale.
THIS IS DERBYSHIRE.CO.UK ARTICLE
IMAGINE yourself listening to a live performance of the powerful and stirring music of that epic rock band Queen.
Imagine it again with a 60-piece symphony orchestra thrown into the mix. Combine the sounds of classic woodwind with the thrashing of a rock guitar and impressively soaring vocals and you will begin to get a sense of an event which is likely to prove one of the highlights of Derbyshire's open air summer concert season this year.
The Music Of Queen – A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular, takes place in the grounds of Calke Abbey on Friday, August 8 and is designed to celebrate the careers of the celebrated rock band who were one of the most dominant and enduring forces in the British music scene throughout the 1970s and 80s.
The outdoor show is loosely linked to the successful West End musical We Will Rock You.
Queen's best-known songs have been adapted to incorporate a symphony orchestra, various vocalists and a full rock band – a task which fell to seasoned musician Richard Sidwell.
Richard is a trumpeter and musical arranger who has worked with the likes of Blur, The Stranglers, Duran Duran and Robbie Williams. But, despite his credentials he confessed that he was still rather daunted by the task.
“The music of Queen is so huge and so beloved by all that it was like taking a masterpiece and trying to improve it,” he said.
“It was like trying to rewrite a Charles thingyens novel. You don't want to spoil it – you just want to make it bigger.”
Richard began the task by listening to the original Queen songs over and over again, transcribing each instrument in turn to form a solid base for the arrangements.
“As you pull the songs apart you find a lot of interesting things going on under the surface with complex tempo changes and elaborate harmonies that you wouldn't notice on the first hearing,” he said.
He then battled to put them back together to create a grander, more operatic version.
But the struggle to expand everyone's best-loved anthems and try to make them even more moving did finally pay off when the Queen Spectacular first took the stage by storm last August in Bournemouth, it was extremely well received and Richard hopes it will be equally popular with the audience at Calke.
With more than 70 performers on stage, it is thought to be one of the biggest rock shows to date and it features all of Queen's classic hits including A Kind of Magic, Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, We Are The Champions, Somebody To Love, Who Wants To Live Forever, Killer Queen, Don't Stop Me now, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Want It All and many more.
The vocals will be mainly provided by singers who have been performing in the West End musical We Will Rock You for several years.
The performers were recommended by former Queen guitarist Brian May and they include Ricardo Afonso, who is Galileo in We Will Rock You, Mig Ayesa (a previous Galileo) and also Mazz Murray, the Killer Queen in the show.
The outdoor show climaxes with a fireworks display and launches a weekend of summer events at Calke which also includes an open-air performance by the English National Orchestra on Saturday, August 9.
Called the Flying Proms Spectacular, the event's musical programme features popular classics, film themes and favourites from Last Night at the Proms.
The evening's entertainment will also include a flying display by Second World War Spitfire planes and another firework finale.
THIS IS DERBYSHIRE.CO.UK ARTICLE