Martin Springett is not only a talented artist who created the first worldwide covers of the three books of GGK’s The Fionavar Tapestry, he is also a musician who has written melodies based on songs and themes within GGK’s books, and performed them. We present a selection of them here.
The music files are Microsoft Streaming Media files (.asf), playable on Windows Media Player. If you don’t have it, download Media Player now. The asf files stream directly from the net, so you’ll be able to hear the songs almost immediately.
Rachel’s Song
Rachel’s song is composed and played by Kevin, a character from The Fionavar Tapestry. It was composed in grief and memory, for Rachel Kincaid, Paul’s girlfriend, who was killed in a car crash. Martin relates: “I remember that this was the first of Guy’s poems I set to music, and I’ve had the honor of playing this piece a few times at his readings. I made no attempt to paraphrase the Brahms cello concerto, I rather felt I wanted my own emotions to enter into this. I have a longing though to re-record it with a cello introduction. I have actually recorded several versions, this is the most “rambling”, but the emotions behind the words and the event that inspired them are difficult to contain, are they not?”
M.S. Electric Guitars/Keyboards/Voice
Bertran’s Song
Bertran de Talair, one of the main characters of A Song for Arbonne, is a nobleman and troubadour. He composes this song for his love, Aelis de Miraval.
Martin relates: “This song was created after talking with Guy about Bertran’s views on his own work. He reckons it not to be his finest work but decent enough. Guy suggested I keep the setting “simple”, direct. So in this case I did try and write the song “in character” if not in the style, of a joglar.”
M.S. Electric Guitar/Twelve String Guitar/Voice.
A Song for Arbonne
This song is sung by Ramir, Bertran’s joglar, in response to a challenge by Gotzlanders as to why Arbonne should be pre-eminent in the field of song. It was written by Anselme of Cauvas, the first of the troubadours.
Martin relates: “A simple explanation here, I just wanted to echo the longing in the words. Some may feel I should have written this song in the troubadour style, but forcing a musical style without “knowing” it would have been false.”
M.S. Electric Guitar/Twelve String Guitar/Keyboards/Voice.
“Painted Feet (On Ochre Sand)”
This is an instrumental piece composed by Martin. While strictly speaking this piece belongs to the other section, since it is an ‘inspired by’ piece, it seems silly to split up Martin’s oeuvre, so it’ll stay here. Martin relates: “Painted Feet is most definitely Kay inspired, firstly by The Lions of Al-Rassan, and then I suppose a “subtext” from Sarantium, the idea of life being a fleeting thing, sometimes captured through art. The dancers dance becomes a memory, beautiful but transient, the sands she dances on shift and change. I started working on it while reading Lions, and as these things normally go, I didn’t do a good recording of it till I was reading Sarantium, so they merged in my head.” In this composition, Martin plays the twelve string guitar, and sings, William Penner Mackay is on percussion, Ron Allen on Bansuri (flute) Peter Smith on flute, and Rahlen Sullaphen/Fretless Bass.