Sunday, January 10, 2010

Look What iFound


Coming across Peter Pan related material that hasn't passed my way before has become something of a rarity for me. Ah, obsession! But everyone once in a while, I'll stumble upon a way to find one that's been hiding in the Neverland jungle. Such as iTunes. Truth be told, I don't purchase much from iTunes. In general I tend to prefer actual CDs and also in general I don't hunt for music very often. So, while browsing (it does happen sometimes) the other day, I typed in "Peter Pan" (imagine that!) and found a treasure.


A CD with 33 tracks, outlining the story in an orchestral score. I pecked around at such titles as "I Do Believe in Fairies" and "The Room" and "The Injured Peter on the Rock" and quickly made my decision to purchase.


Having listened to all of it several times through now, I feel the piece captures the mood of the tale quite well. Intense, sweet, powerful, soft, precious and spooky all at the right moments laid out in a wonderful composition. Bravo to Stephen Warbeck! For he's the man who crafted this musical retelling of Barrie's classic in classical style.


By now you may have already read the words on the picture. Well, I did not at the time. Two reasons. 1] Buying it through iTunes (and quite eager to hear the snippets of sound) I didn't fully examine (or make larger) the cover art. 2] When downloading from iTunes, the full track name didn't show up in my particular window setup. And when I said quick to purchase, I meant it. So I did not, then, initially realize the reason for this fantastic score. Ballet! But of course.
Yes, it's David Nixon's Peter Pan as performed by the Northern Ballet Theatre. So another Bravo! to the Northern Ballet Theatre Orchestra and conductor John Pryce-Jones.


Bart's been hearing me play it (since I've been writing Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between to it) and loves it as well. He now wants to see the ballet should it ever come to Chi-town. At this time the show is still running. More information can be found at Northern Ballet Theatre

I've compiled a 60 second mix of some of the music. I wanted you to be able to experience a bit of the grandeur for yourself:

Buy at Amazon.com
(iTunes link seems only available through iTunes program)

Note: If I'm infringing, my sincere apologies, and I will remove it if instructed. Please consider though, that merely one minute of 1.2 hours of music is being used to entince others to purchase this composition and/or see the show.

1 comment:

Anon said...

Did I hear "Mares eat oats and does eat oats" in there??? O_O

Anyway, it sounds neat, and I may try to find a copy myself! ^_^ I didn't even know there was a balletic version of Peter Pan! (Though, why not?)

And I know I heard the ticking crocodile in there at the end.... ;)