misteri che infittiscono tra mondi di favole Anthony Phillips & Harry Williamson - Tarka (1988) 1 Movement One 11:27 2 Movement Two 15:43 3 Movement Three 15:25 4 The Anthem 6:06 Credits Art Direction, Design – Mainartery London* Bassoon – Lindsay Cooper Cello – Janet Crouch Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Nick Cox (2) Composed By, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards – Anthony Phillips, Harry Williamson Conductor – Jeremy Gilbert Edited By [Digital Edit], Mastered By – Mike Ross* Executive-Producer – Richard Newman, Simon MacCorkindale, Susan George Flute, Piccolo Flute, Soprano Saxophone – Didier Malherbe French Horn – Andrew Anscombe (2) Harp – Julie Allis Liner Notes – Simon Heyworth Mixed By – Anthony Phillips, Harry Williamson, John Gibbons (7), Simon Heyworth Oboe – Ann Glover, Ian Hardwick Orchestra – National Philharmonic Orchestra, The* Orchestrated By, Arranged By – Phillips* (tracks: 1, 3, 4), Williamson* (tracks: 1,2), Heyworth* (tracks: 4) Percussion – Dave Sawyer, Guy Evans Photography By – Steven Speller Producer – Simon Heyworth Recorded By [Assisted By, Gooseberry Studios] – David Robertson-Campbell Recorded By [CTS Studios] – John Richards Recorded By [Gooseberry Studios] – John Gibbons (7) Violin – Ann Morfee, Krysia Osostowicz Notes Recorded at CTS Studios, Wembley, London; at Gooseberry Studios, Tulse Hill, London. Additional recording at Vics Place, Clapham, London. Digital edit and mastering at CBS Studios, London. Movements 1-3 published by Southern Music Ltd./Copyright Control The Anthem published by Copyright Control/Motion Picture Music/Southern Music Ltd Anthony Edwin Ant Phillips (born 23 December 1951, Chiswick, west London) is an English multi instrumentalist, first known as a founding member of the band Genesis. He played guitar and sang backing vocals until leaving in 1970, following the recording of their second album, Trespass. He left due to suffering from stage fright, after being told by his doctor that the best thing would be to leave the band. He is known for his twelve string guitar work, and his influence can be heard throughout Genesiss early output. Genesiss first album after Phillipss departure, Nursery Cryme, featured two songs which were holdovers from the days when Phillips was in the band: The Musical Box (originally called F#) and The Fountain of Salmacis. After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music (especially classical guitar) and made recordings in collaboration with Harry Williamson, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, among others. He played the keyboards on the demos for Peter Gabriel in 1976. His first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, was issued in 1977. He released his second album, Wise After the Event, in 1978. This was followed the next year by Sides. Both of these albums were produced by Rupert Hine and were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither album was successful in that regard. In its initial release in the UK, Sides was accompanied by a more experimental album entitled Private Parts and Pieces; in the U.S. and Canada the two albums were issued separately. Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion followed the next year, and several further sequels were issued in the 1980s and 1990s. Phillips began writing material with Andrew Latimer of Camel in 1981, and was a featured performer on that bands album, The Single Factor (released in 1982). Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled Invisible Men in 1983. He later claimed that this project went horribly wrong as a result of commercial pressures, and would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialised material. Since leaving Genesis, Phillips has remained continuously involved in a variety of musical projects, including extensive soundtrack work in England often for the label Atmosphere part the Universal Music Group. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled The Living Room Concert, which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material. He also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, Genesis Archive 1967-75, released in 1998. Several of his albums feature artwork by Peter Cross. In 2008, the first Anthony Phillips biography, The Exile, by journalist Mario Giammetti, was published in Italy (Edizioni Segno) Discography Genesis Studio From Genesis to Revelation (1969) Trespass (1970) Compilations Genesis Archive 1967-75 (1998) Genesis 1970–1975 (2008) Solo albums Studio The Geese and the Ghost (1977) Wise After the Event (1978) Private Parts and Pieces (1978) Sides (1979) Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion (1980) 1984 (1981) Private Parts and Pieces III: Antiques (1982, with Enrique Berro Garcia) Invisible Men (1983, with Richard Scott) Private Parts and Pieces IV: A Catch at the Tables (1984) Private Parts and Pieces V: Twelve (1985) Private Parts and Pieces VI: Ivory Moon (1986) Private Parts and Pieces VII: Slow Waves, Soft Stars (1987) Missing Links Volume One: Finger Painting (1989) Slow Dance (1990) Private Parts and Pieces VIII: New England (1992) Sail the World (1994) Missing Links Volume Two: The Sky Road (1994) The Living Room Concert (1995) Private Parts and Pieces IX: Dragonfly Dreams (1996, with Enrique Berro Garcia) Archive Collection Volume I (1998) Private Parts and Pieces X: Soirée (1999) Radio Clyde (2003) Archive Collection Volume II (2004) Field Day (2005) Missing Links Volume IV: Pathways & Promenades (2009) Ahead of the Field (2010) Private Parts and Pieces XI: City of Dreams (3 December 2012) Compilations Harvest of the Heart (1985) Anthology (1995) Legend (1997) Legend (1999) [Different release from above] Soft Vivace (2002) All Our Lives (2002) Soundscapes (2003) Collaborations Tarka (1988, with Harry Williamson) Gypsy Suite (1995, with Harry Williamson) Meadows of Englewood (1996, with Guillermo Cazenave) Missing Links Volume 3: Time and Tide (1997, with Joji Hirota) Live Radio Sessions (1998, with Guillermo Cazenave) Battle of the Birds - A Celtic Tale (2003, with Harry Williamson) Wildlife (2008, with Joji Hirota) Seventh Heaven (2012, with Andrew Skeet) Guest appearances Intergalactic Touring Band: Intergalactic Touring Band (1977) Mike Rutherford: Smallcreeps Day (1980) Camel: The Single Factor (1982) Iva Twydell: Duel (1982) Asha (Denis Quinn): Open Secret (1987) Asha (Denis Quinn): Mystic Heart (1989) Asha (Denis Quinn): Amadora (1991) David Thomas & Ronnie Gunn: The Giants Dance (1996) Mother Gong: Battle of the Birds (2004) ProgAID: All Around The World (2004) Steve Hackett: Out of the Tunnels Mouth (2009) Harry Williamson (born May 12, 1950) is a British musician, producer and inventor. Williamson was born in Ilfracombe, North Devon, the son of noted author Henry Williamson and his second wife Christine Duffield. He is divorced, with one daughter, Bee Williamson. He was educated at Exeter Cathedral School under Lionel Dakers (later head of RSCM), and at Millfield School, Street, Somerset. He started a Physics degree at Imperial College, University of London, but abandoned Physics for Rock Theatre, working at Glastonbury Festival and the Rainbow Theatre and crewing for The Rolling Stones in the 1970s. He helped establish the Green Party of England and Wales and is still actively involved in designing innovative energy efficient systems. In 1970 he met Anthony Phillips of Genesis with whom he composed music for the film of his fathers bestseller Tarka the Otter. The music, recorded by the National Philharmonic Orchestra was not used in the film due to budgetary considerations but some years later was finished with funds from Amy International and released by PRT, where it became #1 in the New Music Charts for three months. It is still regarded as a classic by Genesis fans and excerpts are used for documentaries and other nature oriented films worldwide. Another series of recordings with Anthony started in 1976 became Gypsy Suite, released 1998. In 1977 Harry was playing with Nik Turner of Hawkwind and he wrote Nuclear Waste which was recorded by The Radio Actors, with Sting on vocals, Mike Howlett on Bass and Steve Hillage on lead guitar. It was released by Virgin Records and later by Charly and is still considered an anti-nuclear anthem in Eastern Europe. In 1978 Harry met Gilli Smyth, formerly of (Gong). They formed Mother Gong, made their first album and toured the United States for the first time as part of the ZU Manifestival promoted by Georgio Gomelski. Returning to Devon, they lived at Oxs Cross and Harry set up his first studio in the building his father had used for writing. They played the Glastonbury Festival twice and after much disillusionment with Thatcherist politics, left England in 1982 and emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. They divorced in 1992. Harry now is an Australian citizen and dedicates his time to composing film, world, and many other styles of music, making concert DVDs, producing recordings from artists around the world and implementing his environmentally-sustainable house designs. In 2004 with his partner Maribel Steel he completed a musical Lace which deals with life, death romance and despair in a Spanish family, and a soundtrack for the film - Rokkashomura Rhapsody a Japanese documentary on nuclear reprocessing in Rokkasho, Aomori In 2009 Tarka has been commissioned to launch the book Our Watermark published by the Victorian Womens Trust and will receive its first live performance in 2010. Harry is currently exploring the migration of the Celts from northern India from a musical point of view, and preparing music for a feature film. He is also developing a musical collective to explore the musical synthesis of Bollywood and the Australian Bush. Discography 1975 - Gypsy Suite (with Anthony Phillips) 1998 Voiceprint 1976 - Tarka (with Anthony Phillips) 1988 PRT 1996 Voiceprint 1978 - Nuclear Waste (with Sting and the Radio-Actors) (Virgin, Charly, DB, Voiceprint) 1978 - Fairy Tales (with Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe et al.) (Charly) 1981 - Robot Woman 1(with Mother Gong) (Butt) 1983 - Robot Woman 2(with Mother Gong) (Shanghai) 1984 - Living on the brink (with Gilli and tom the poet) (Ottersongs) 1986 - Robot Woman 3(with Mother Gong) (Shanghai) 1986 - Stroking the Tail of the Bird (with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth) (Voiceprint) 1987 - Owl in Tree (With Mother Gong and Daevid Allen)1989 (Demi-Monde)2004(Voiceprint) 1989 - Buddhas Birthday (With Mother Gong) (Ottersongs) 1989 - Wild Child (With Mother Gong) (Demi-Monde) 1990 - Fish in Sky (With Mother Gong) (Ottersongs) 1991 - Mothergong Live in the USA 1991 (Ottersongs )2008 (Voiceprint) 1993 - She made the world (Voiceprint) 1998 - Far from the madding crowd (Faraway) (with Liz Van Dort) (Voiceprint) 2001 (Prikosnovenie) 1999 - Life in the Unseen World (with many friends) (Voiceprint) 1999 - 22 meanings (with Daevid Allen) (Gliss, via Pinnacle) 2000 - Seadrone (meditation with wind spirits) ( Sleeping Tiger) 2003 - Battle of the Birds (Celtic tale) (Voiceprint) 2005 - Fish in Tree(compilation re-issue of Fish and Owl above) Voiceprint 2005 - Dreaming in English (with Jeltje) (Private Release) 2005 - Soleluna (with Soleluna quintet) (Elysian) available from CB Baby 2008 - The Glissando Orchestra DVD with Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage and others (Daikini) Review by François Couture (ALLMUSIC) (2.5 stars) Tarka was a difficult delivery. Guitarist/keyboardist Harry Williamsons father is Henry Williamson, author of the novel Tarka the Otter. The idea to write an orchestral cycle around the book was planted in 1975 when musician and ex-Genesis member Anthony Phillips lived for a while in the geographical space described in the tale. From that point, the music was written, submitted for a movie soundtrack, half-recorded, dropped, requested for another project, augmented, finished recorded, released on CD in 1996 by PRT Records, which went out of business immediately after, and finally made largely available by Blueprint in October 2001. The album begins like an early Phillips Private Parts and Pieces, builds up to Mike Oldfield-ian symphonic proportions, and boils down to a latter-day new age Williamson solo album. The two musicians are accompanied by an 88-piece orchestra and a roster of soloists that includes bassoonist Lindsay Cooper, Gong flutist Didier Malherbe, and Van der Graaf Generator drummer Guy Evans. The music is well-written -- compelling at times, benign at others. The best moments are found in Movement One: The First Years (Phillips plays 12-string guitar) and Movement Three: The Hunt (good sense of drama and use of the orchestra). Those familiar with any of these two artists know their talent for cute, intelligent instrumental themes. Review by Easy Livin (progarchives) (3 stars) Tarka is based on the book Tarka the otter by Henry Williamson. The music was apparently originally written as the soundtrack to the film based on the book, but was never used. This, it took about 11 years from the albums conception, to its eventual release. The album is actually credited to Anthony Phillips and Harry Williamson (the son of the author of the book) as a joint project, rather than just to Phillips alone. In truth however, their contribution is largely swamped by the lush orchestration, which transforms the whole album into a quasi-classical piece. The classical connection is accentuated by the fact the album consists of four long pieces, or movements. It sounds to me as if the basic tracks have been laid down first, mainly on acoustic guitar, then orchestrated later. This may in reality not be the case(!), but the balance leans heavily towards the orchestra. The playing of Phillips ands Williams is therefore further back in the mix than might be expected. The music is pleasant if generally under-whelming, with lots of appropriate running water plinking on the keyboards and guitar. It is the sort of music that is nice to put on in the background. For those hoping to hear traces of Phillips brief time with Genesis, only the familiar acoustic guitar style gives even a hint of this. Review by chopper (progarchives) (4 stars) SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator This has to be one of the most gorgeous instrumental albums of all time. Obviously based on the book by Henry Williamson, this is a collaboration between Anthony Phillips and Henrys son, Harry. Its mainly orchestral apart from acoustic guitars and some keyboards and it captures the mood of the book and the film perfectly (although it wasnt actually used in the film). Its hard to believe that music as good as this remained in the vaults for ten years until rescued thanks to Susan George. Its very relaxing music, the sort you can put on in the background and chill out to, although this is not to say it is background lift music - it also bears up to concentrated listening. Just listen to the short Postlude track, remember the end of the book and feel those goosebumps! Review by Marty McFly (progarchives) (3 stars) Slowly coming, as a river stream from source, through creek size waterline to big river. Same with Tarka. I must confess that I havent seen the movie, nor read the book. Even this music wasnt used, it is connected with it, inspired by it. So here I go nature, beware of my mighty footprints. Not big business, this is not wilderness, this is carefuly directed countryside. Its so fragile, or maybe the right word is tender. Strings, soft keyboards, no voice. Flute, piano, these instruments are npt so often used (solely these) in prog rock music. Anthony Phillips is interesting person. I wonder where Genesis could be now with him. Nevermind, this music is easy to listen, but hard to review and decide what it deserves. It seems more like ambient music to me, something pleasant, but not too proggy. Maybe I just lack voice or something more rockingly. 3(+) stars. Review by ZowieZiggy (progarchives) (3 stars) I was rather positive about the prior album from dear old Anthony. His seventh private parts were quite nice to listen to and I really had a great feeling while listening to Ice Flight. This album is of another texture and sounds much more classical. The first movement of this work is truly gorgeous and impressive. This is a superb combo of delicate acoustic guitar, harmony and symphony at the same time. There is a definite Trespass feel during most of this piece which is my fave one from the whole album. The second movement is almost as catchy. Some great violin parts are featured, symphonic moments are present; these features are combined with an overall pleasant orchestral feel. My interest in the music performed throughout this release is unfortunately going downwards with the third movement: this is due to the overall classical feel which is quite frankly too much for my ears. This work has started rather positively but I was quite disappointed after a while. The shortest and closing part (Anthem) from this offering is the most pleasant one in terms of my perception. It is elegant, discreet and beautiful. It is a fine way to say goodbye but the whole of this Tarka couldnt really move me. Classical and prog music have never been my cup of tea. And never will. Still, this effort is not bad at all and I will upgrade it from average to three stars. Rewiew by Mcgraster Mcgraster (progarchives) (4 stars) I totally agree with reviewer chopper. This is indeed one of the most gorgeous instrumental albums of all time! If you played this record in the classical section of a music store, none of the bespectacled elites who were browsing through the bins, would be able to guess that Tarka was writeen by one of the pioneers of prog rock. The only track that would give them a clue is the final track, Anthem that is heavy on the synthes. Proggers, dont worry though, there are enough Prog elements here to keep you happy. This is huge! A daring and successful project from one of the originals. Rewiew by linnie (progarchives) (4 stars) This is PHILLIPS most classical album to date. In fact, it is a classical score to film (?) that never came out. But it is a goodie! No question that Phillips is not a classical composer. However, in his attempt to compose semi-classical music, he comes up with something altogether wonderful. Its not very good classical music. Yet, if you like orchestral-prog, you will love this album. It is an album in four movements. Heavy on strings, keyboards, guitars, it is lilting and big - both at the same time. Pick this up. You will impress your friends. Rewiew by jaham1 (progarchives) (4 stars) An album that was years in the making, or rather, years before it saw the light of day - it was certainly worth the wait. Anthony collaborates here with Harry Williamson (Williamson co-wrote, played guitars and keyboards) whose father authored the book about Tarka the otter. Im not familiar with Williamsons other work, so I cant tell how much he detracted from this album! But it seems to me, based on my knowledge of Ants work, that his collaboration with Williamson is what keeps this album from being PERFECT. This could easily have been a work as beautiful and grand as SLOW DANCE, but I fear that when Ant works with lesser lights, the outcome is often less than stellar. With rich orchestration - from a real live orchestra, and great themes and musical ideas, this album captures the bucolic mood of the great outdoors, both land and sea. This is A Day in the Life of an otter - if anyone can figure out what the hell that is. But Im sure the otters really dig this album. So will you if you give it a listen: guitars, keyboards, and traditional orchestra - all put at the service of the brilliant Anthony Phillips. Its sure to please and inspire. Ant was astute enough to add a piece written only by him. As he has done so many times before (Anthem 1984, Sleepfall/Geese Fly West) he takes you on a musical journey to the corner of your soul. With beautiful synthesizers and a melody played on a lilting, meloncholic oboe, track 4, The Anthem is classic Phillips, and classic Prog rock. In fact, that song alone is what brings this collaboration album from 3.5 stars up to 4! Rewiew by Gonghobbit (progarchives) (4 stars) One of the most lavish and orchestrated of Ants works, Tarka is one of his few most enjoyable albums, not some much highlighting his guitar playing as is often the case, but more so his sense of composition and arrangement of a larger ensemble of instruments, and to excellent effect. This would be among his few best albums. Biografia di Progman59 (rottersclub) Phillips, Anthony Lunedì 26 Ottobre 2009 13:52 | Author: Progman59 | Nasce a Londra il 23 dicembre 1951 e alletà di tredici anni, nellaprile del 1965, entra nella Charterhouse, collegio austero situato vicino Godalming nel Surrey. Dopo qualche settimana, insieme allamico River Job (col quale già lanno prima aveva dato vita agli Spiders, che suonavano musica genere Beatles) forma gli Anon, con Rob Tyrell alla batteria e Richard McPhail al canto. Poco dopo, anche Michael Rutherford si aggregò alla formazione proponendosi come chitarra ritmica; era il maggio del 65: «Suonavamo un po di tutto, soprattutto quello che piaceva, i Rolling e i Beatles insomma. Ho ancora un nastro a casa e quando lo ascolto, tutto sommato, mi diverto. Tra me e Michael il terzo era Richard McPhail. Credo sia ancora famoso per le sue bevute e per il suo carattere che passa in un decimo di secondo dal sorriso alle sfuriate più tremende: un vero scozzese. E anche un vero amico: per molto tempo è stato il tour manager dei Genesis, poi ha preferito continuare con Peter, forse perché gli piaceva lidea di ricominciare da capo» (Anthony Phillips). Peter Gabriel e Tony Banks, intanto, nel clima della Charterhouse formavano i Garden Wall insieme a Chris Stewart alla batteria. Lincontro/scontro definitivo tra Anon e Garden Wall avvenne alla fine del corso del 66, e dalla inevitabile fusione sorsero i Genesis. Nellestate del 68 esce From Genesis To Revelation; album molto bistrattato dalla critica corrente, contiene tredici brevi canzoni impostate concettualmente sullevoluzione dellumanità che solo raramente (Am I Very Wrong?, The Serpent) presentano qualche spunto interessante: «Indubbiamente eravamo ingenui, privi di esperienza e di tecnica. Ma i solchi originali erano più grintosi del prodotto finito: a furia di sovrapporre violini, si persero un mucchio di particolari» (Anthony Phillips). In definitiva, il quadro dei Genesis che emergeva da quel loro primo album non risultò esaltante, e così nella primavera del 69 il gruppo sta per sciogliersi, ma durante lestate proprio Ant decise, con Mike, che sarebbero diventati professionisti, e insieme a Tony e Peter iniziarono a suonare in concerto. Nellestate del 70 prese forma Trespass, che sarà così commentato da Ant: «Trespass finì col raccogliere certe esperienze culturali che ci venivano dalla Charterhouse e che non eravamo riusciti ad esprimere prima. Cè quel mondo incantato che sembra raccontato da Tolkien, quel classicismo nelle cose descritte e in quelle suonate che, a mio avviso, ne fanno un bel disco. Cè anche un pizzico di surrealismo: Peter, Michael e io ne andavamo matti». Ma subito dopo la registrazione, Ant voleva andarsene, avvertiva già il peso eccessivo della vita di gruppo: «No, non litigai con i miei amici, ma piuttosto con la musica; io la credevo ancora poetica, libera e invece allimprovviso mi trovavo imbrogliato in contratti, opzioni, management e cose varie. Era decisamente troppo per la mia concezione artistica, e allora decisi di mollare con quella musica per darmi totalmente alla mia musica, studiando composizione e pianoforte. Non ho però interrotto i rapporti con i miei amici, anzi con Michael continuo a comporre: credo che nei Genesis sia sempre rimasto qualcosa di mio e che in me sia rimasto qualcosa dei Genesis». Ant si ritirò quindi a vita privata fino al 1977, anno del suo timido rientro nel rock, e da quel momento ha pubblicato dozzine di album, la maggior parte dei quali (ad esempio, Private Parts & Piaces e Missing Links) sfugge a ogni regola commerciale, contenendo pezzi strumentali dallimpostazione classicheggiante, in genere per sola chitarra o solo piano, e molto di rado con linserto di qualche altro strumento; lavori che costituiscono una chiara esemplificazione della delicata sensibilità di questo artista. Insomma: un personaggio particolare, contraddittorio, vera e propria fucina di idee (non sempre brillanti). Discografia The Geese And The Ghost (1977) Mitico primo album di Phillips. Autentico capolavoro, vede la partecipazione di Mike Rutherford (autore con Ant di alcuni brani) e di Phil Collins che canta divinamente due canzoni, tra cui la struggente ballata Wich Way the Wind Blows. Violini, violoncelli, oboi, flauti, etc. arricchiscono lavvincente Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times. Chiude lalbum la malinconica Sleepfall: The Geese Fly West. Disco imperdibile. Wise After The Event (1978) Album meno affascinante del precedente. Sono da segnalare i brani Were All As We Lie , Wise After The Event e Moonshooter. Private Parts And Pieces – A Collection Of Guitar And Piano Solos, Duets And Ensemble 1972-1976 (1978) In Gran Bretagna questo disco uscì come LP solo in omaggio nelle prime 500 copie di Sides, mentre in America era stato pubblicato nel dicembre 1978. Contiene gemme quali Field Of Eternity, Reaper, Beauty And The Beast e Seven Long Years . Sides (1979) Un lavoro forse un po più commerciale. Comunque, pezzi come Sister of Remindum e Nightmare emozionano non poco; decisamente scadenti Holy Deadlock e Side Door. Private Parts And Pieces II: Back to the pavilion (1980) Nel settembre del 1980 viene pubblicato il secondo capitolo con la bellissima Scottish Suite. Da segnalare Postlude: End Of The Season, miniatura per sola chitarra classica, Lindsay, riuscito momento lirico con una piacevole linea melodica, Spring Meeting e la chopiniana Nocturne. Disco magnifico, intriso della vena romantica e notturna di Ant: atmosfere ora pacate ora drammatiche si alternano senza fine. 1984 (1981) Ispirato al romanzo omonimo di George Orwell, lalbum non convince per luso troppo moderno di tastiere elettroniche: questa musica futuristica non è per Ant Phillips. Private Parts And Pieces III: Antiques (1982) Album attribuito ad Anthony Phillips & Enrique Berro Garcia, è tra le migliori produzioni di Ant. Tutti i brani sono strumentali, con lutilizzo esclusivo delle chitarre secondo una impronta decisamente classica. Pezzi bellissimi, tra cui Esperansa ed Elegy che raggiungono un livello di dolcezza imbarazzante. Una nota di riguardo merita la conclusiva Old Wives Tale, basata su un semplice e suggestivo arpeggio. Invisible Man (1983) E lalbum del compromesso totale. Un inedito Ant sforna alla chitarra solista una manciata di pop commerciali. Il disco peggiore dellintera discografia dellartista. Private Parts And Pieces IV: A Catch At The Tables (1984) Pubblicato solo in America, è caratterizzato dallampio uso dei sintetizzatori (Earth Man, Dawn Over The Lake, Bouncer, Heart Of Darkness), ma non mancano brani classici alla chitarra (Eduardo, The Sea And The Armadillo e il bonus della ristampa in Cd A Catch At The Table), tra cui spicca lArboretum Suite. Private Parts And Pieces V: Twelve (1985) Lalbum contiene dodici brani, dedicati ciascuno ad un mese dellanno, eseguiti con la chitarra a dodici corde. Bellissimo. Private Parts And Pieces VI: Ivory Moon – Piano Pieces 1971-1985 (1986) Il disco esce nel marzo del 1986 ed è interamente suonato al piano. Stupende le due tracce tratte da Masquerade: Taras Theme e Moonfall. La ristampa in Cd è imperdibile per chi, come me, ama alla follia i Genesis; include, infatti, Let Us Now Make Love in una versione per solo piano. Private Parts And Pieces VII: Slow waves soft stars (1987) Il settimo capitolo comprende brani acustici (Beachrunner, Carnival, le grandissime Sospirando, Elevenses e Goodbye Serenade nonché la breve Bubble And Squeak) ed altri per synt. Bella anche End Of The Affair . Tarka (1988) Questalbum è stato scritto a quattro mani da Anthony Phillips e Harry Williamson, ed è ispirato al libro Tarka The Otter di Henry Williamson, padre di Harry. Un disco da avere assolutamente, tanto è bella la musica in esso contenuta: passaggi orchestrali e strumenti classici lasciano senza parole. Superlativo. Finger Painting – Missing links vol. 1 (1989) Pubblicato originariamente su cassetta nel novembre del 1989, è una collezione di brani registrati per la televisione. Nonostante risulti essere il più ostico di tutta la discografia di Ant, alcune tracce come Land Of Dragon Suite sono stupende; apprezzabili quei pezzi dove si sviluppa la melodia, Force Majeure o la classicheggiante Boulevard Of Fallen Leaves; ma il vertice dellalbum è senzaltro Tropical Moon Over Darking Suite. Slow Dance (1990) Slow Dance è il massimo capolavoro della discografia di Ant Phillips. Il tema dellintera opera si sviluppa su una melodia estrema tanto emozionante che lascoltatore ben presto si scioglie in lacrime. Grande, grandissimo disco. Private Parts And Pieces VIII: New England (1992) Agosto 1992: esce New England, ritorno di Ant allacustico. Si alternano pezzi per chitarra, piano e canzoni che offrono nuovi motivi di interesse. Phillips alla chitarra acustica duetta mirabilmente col sax soprano di Martin Robertson, coautore di cinque brani. Album eccellente, anche per la presenza delle due lunghe suite New England Suite e Pieces of Eight, top del disco. The Sky Road – Missing links vol. 2 (1994) Si tratta di una raccolta di materiale darchivio e inediti realizzati con la chitarra, arrivando a riesumare cose molto vecchie. Tra i brani che più si distinguono sono da citare sicuramente il bellissimo Exile, Tears On A Rainy Day, la suite Wild Voices, Quiet Water Suite, la struggente Serenita e, al primo posto, Timepiece. Lalbum è stato messo fuori catalogo da poco. Sail The World (1994) Questo Cd ha al suo interno esclusivamente musica composta allo scopo di commentare il giro del mondo di barche a vela Whitbread Round The World Race 1993-94, e quindi ha ragione di esistere in funzione delle immagini. Ben 15 dei 24 brani si avvalgono di una batteria programmata talvolta molto invadente. Gypsy Suite (1995) Il disco fotografa Ant in una delle sue collaborazioni più riuscite, quella con Harry Williamson. Altra raccolta di materiale vecchio, dove brillano particolarmente la Gypsy Suite e le versioni demo dei primi due movimenti di Tarka. Album splendido, molto delicato e carico di malinconica dolcezza. Lyric Book – The living room concert (1995) Nel 1993 fu chiesto a Phillips di partecipare alla serie dei Living Room Concerts, programma chiamato Echoes comprendente musica prettamente strumentale, trasmesso da alcune radio americane. Il 21 marzo del 1993 Ant registò la sua musica, poi trasmessa il 25 giugno e qui riproposta su disco. Ci sono Reaper, Which Way The Wind Blows, Henry: Portraits From Tudor Times e tanti altri, tra cui linedito Conversation Piece. Anthology (1995) Nellottobre 1995, anche per Anthony Phillips esce un album antologico. Include diciassette brani che sono tratti da The Geese And The Ghost, Wise After The Event, Sides, 1984, Invisible Men, Tarka, Slow Dance, Private Parts And Pieces voll. I, IV, VII, The Sky Road. Non si può certo definire lantologia del tutto rappresentativa, mancando brani come Which Way The Wind Blows o Henry, mentre invece troviamo The Woman Were Watching di Invisible Men! Bello, comunque, il booklet interno del Cd. The Meadows of Englewood (1996) Cd pubblicato in Spagna dellinedita coppia formata da Anthony Phillips e Guillermo Cazenave, registrato dal vivo negli studi di Ant nel luglio ed agosto 1995 e masterizzato negli studi Astral di Barcellona. Spicca su tutto la monumentale suite (37 minuti) The Meadows Of Englewood: Ant alle tastiere e Cazenave alla chitarra elettrica. Favolosa la versione di Lucy: an Illusion. Ottime pure lappassionata Sortilege e la melodica The Circle. Private Parts And Pieces IX: Dragonfly dreams (1996) Il disco contiene musiche composte e registrate tra il 94 e il 96, oltre a materiale degli anni 80 tra cui Chinese Walls, eseguita alla dodici corde. Bella lintroduttiva Openers, Something Blue per la chitarra classica e Lostiwithiel per le tastiere. Splendida Night Song, dal sapore sacrale. Anche questalbum è da avere, e lo consiglio a tutti gli amanti di Phillips. Time and Tide – Missing links vol. 3 (1997) Accreditato ad Anthony Phillips e Joji Hirota, percussionista giapponese. Compendio di brani utilizzati in gran parte per la TV inglese, ma che senza il supporto delle immagini perdono la loro evocatività. In ogni caso, sono da apprezzare la notevole Underwater Forest, African Dream e, soprattutto, lorientale SongoKu. Survival (1997) In realtà, questo doppio Cd raggruppa il lavoro di artisti vari a supporto delle immagini della trasmissione televisiva dedicata alla natura e agli animali selvatici Survival. Ant Phillips è presente con 15 pezzi, per oltre 40 minuti di musica inedita. Davvero suggestivo. The Live Radio Sessions (1998) Si tratta di un Cd uscito alla fine di gennaio 1998 solo in Spagna che riporta le session radiofoniche registrate per alcune radio spagnole da Ant Phillips insieme a Guillermo Cazenave. Segnalo, per brevità, liniziale Lights On The Hill, la bellissima Shell Be Waiting e la solita Sortilege. Album molto godibile, ristampato con artwork diverso e scaletta leggermente modificata: manca Collection, e vi sono inserite delle interviste ad Ant e Guillermo. The Archive Collection Volume One (1998) Disco abbastanza raro, con una tiratura, pare, di sole 1000 copie, contenente anche un EP (Special Limited Edition EP). Materiale di oltre ventanni fa, con porzioni di brani inediti composti e suonati insieme a Mike Rutherford. Il Cd è impreziosito da F Sharp: versione strumentale di due terzi di The Musical Box che spiega come questo brano fosse nato quando ancora cera Ant Phillips in formazione. Private Parts And Pieces X – Soirée (1999) E un album che ha una reperibilità quasi vicino allo zero. Disco pesante da ascoltare per il fatto di essere realizzato esclusivamente al pianoforte. Mirabile ed intimo (anche molto lirico a tratti), peraltro è il primo a proporre nuove composizioni. In evidenza Sad Ballerina, assai malinconica, e Rain Suite. Direi che, in generale, si respirano atmosfere invernali – non so chi, in una recente inchiesta, lamentava lassenza di un album che desse lidea dellinverno: ebbene... eccolo! Da ricordare, inoltre, lantologia del settembre 1985, Harvest of the heart, che è una summa di brani dai volumi 1-4 di Private Parts And Pieces, e lantologia Legend, pubblicata in due versioni, argentina e spagnola; quella spagnola include un inedito: Sombrero. Fondamentale per la redazione del profilo di Ant Phillips è stata la consultazione della fanzine Dusk di Mario Giammetti che ringrazio pubblicamente per essere una persona sempre disponibile nonché un amico. Monografia di Anthony Phillips a cura di Nando Caserta (radiopopolare) from genesis to revelation Questa sezione contiene molti percorsi discografici e non solo, consigliati da addetti ai lavori, ma anche da semplici appassionati e simpatizzanti di Progressive Rock, genere musicale che miete ancora molte vittime...... Antony Phillips cerco di avventurarmi per far capire a chi non lo conosce o lo conosce poco di far capire la sua discografia: 1) THE GEESE AND THE GHOST Mitico primo album di Ant, esce nel marzo 1977:autentico capolavoro.Vede la partecipazione di Mike Rutherford (autore insieme ad Ant di alcuni brani) e di Phil Collins che canta divinamente due brani tra cui la struggente ballata Wich Way The Wind Blows. Violini,violoncelli,oboi,flauti,etc.arricchiscono lavvincente Henry:Portraits from Tudor Times. Chiude lalbum la malinconica Sleepfall: the Geese Fly West.Disco imperdibile 2) WISE AFTER THE EVENT Album meno affascinante del precedente esce a maggio del 1978.Sono da segnalare i brani Were All As We Lie , Wise After The Event e Moonshooter. 3) SIDES Nel marzo 1979 esce qustalbum forse un po più commerciale. Comunque brani come Sister of Remindum e Nightmare emozionano non poco; decisamente scadenti brani come Holy Deadlock e Side Door. 4) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES (A collection Of Guitar And Piano Solos, Duets And Ensemble 1972/1976) In Gran Bretagna questo disco uscì come LP solo in omaggio nelle prime 500 copie di Sides, mentre in America era stato pubblicato nel dicembre 1978.Contiene gemme come Field Of Eternity, Reaper, Beauty And The Beast e Seven Long Years 5) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES II - BACK TO THE PAVILION Nel settembre del 1980 esce il secondo capitolo con la bellissima Scottish Suite. Da segnalare Postlude: End Of The Season miniatura per sola chitarra classica, Lindsay riuscito momento lirico con una bella linea melodica, Spring Meetingmelodia per sola chitarra classica, la chopiniana Nocturne. Disco bellissimo intriso della vena romantica e notturna di Ant: atmosfere ora pacate, ora drammatiche si alternano senza fine. 6) 1984 Ispirato al romanzo omonimo di George Orwell esce nel 1981.Lalbum non convince per luso troppo moderno di tastiere elettroniche: questa musica futuristica non è per Ant Phillips 7) PRIVATE PARTS AND PICES III - ANTIQUES Album attribuito ad Anthony Phillips & Enrique Berro Garcia esce nellottobre del 1982 ed è tra le migliori produzioni di Ant.Tutti i brani sono strumentali con lutilizzo esclusivo delle chitarre con una impronta decisamente classica. Tutti i brani sono bellissimi, ma segnalo Esperansa ed Elegy che raggiungono un livello di dolcezza imbarazzante.Una nota di riguardo merita la conclusiva Old Wives Tale basata su un semplice e suggestivo arpeggio. INVISIBLE MEN Nel dicembre del 1983 esce lalbum del compromesso totale. un inedito Ant, sforna alla chitarra solista una manciata di pop commerciali. Disco peggiore dellintera discografia di Phillips. 9) PRIVATE PARTS AND PICES PART IV - A CATCH AT THE TABLES Pubblicato nel marzo del 1984 solo in America contiene un uso abbastanza ampio dei sintetizzatori (Earth Man, Dawn Over The Lake, Bouncer, Heart Of Darkness), ma non mancano brani classici alla chitarra (Eduardo, The Sea And The Armadilloe A Catch At The Table bonus della ristampa in Cd) tra cui spicca lArboretum Suite. 10) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES PART V - TWELVE Questalbum pubblicato nellottobre del 1984 contiene dodici brani,dedicati ciascuno ad un mese dellanno,eseguiti con la chitarra a dodici corde.Bellissimo. 11) PRIVATE PARTS AND PICES VI - IVORY MOON (Piano Pieces 1971/1985) Lalbum esce nel marzo del 1986 ed è interamente suonato al piano.Bellissime le due tracce tratte da -Masquerade-:Taras Theme e Moonfall .La ristampa in CD è imperdibile per chi,come me, ama alla follia i Genesis; contiene infatti Let Us Now Make Lovein una versione per solo piano. 12) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES VII - SLOW WAVES SOFT STARS Il settimo capitolo esce nel novembre del 1987; contiene brani acustici (Beachrunner, Carnival, le bellissime Sospirando,Elevenses e Goodbye Serenade nonchè la breve Bubble And Squeak) ed altri per synt.Bello anche il brano End Of The Affair 13) TARKA Nel novembre del 1988 esce questalbum scritto a quattro mani da Anthony Phillips e Harry Williamson ed ispirato al libro Tarka The Otter di Henry Williamson padre di Harry.Un disco da avere assolutamente tanto è bella la musica in esso comtenuta: passaggi orchestrali e strumenti classici lasciano senza parole.Superlativo. 14) FINGER PAINTING (MISSING LINKS VOL.1) Collezione di brani (pubblicato originariamente su cassetta nel novembre del 1989) registrati per la televisione. Nonostante questo album risulti essere il più ostico di tutta la discografia di Ant alcuni brani come Land Of Dragon Suite sono stupendi; belli quei brani dove si sviluppa la melodia Force Majeure o la classicheggiante Boulevard Of Fallen Leaves; il top dellalbum è senzaltro Tropical Moon Over Darking Suite. 15) SLOW DANCE Nel settembre del 1990 esce Slow Dance capolavoro assoluto della discografia di Ant Phillips. Il tema dellintera opera si sviluppa su una melodia estrema tanto emozionante che lascoltatore ben presto si scioglie in lacrime.Grande grandissimo disco. 16) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES VIII - NEW ENGLAND Agosto 1992: esce New England ritorno di Ant allacustico. Si alternano brani per chitarra,piano e canzoni che offrono nuovi motivi di interesse.Phillips alla chitarra acustica duetta mirabilmente col sax soprano di Martin Robertson,coautore di cinque brani.Album eccellente anche per la presenzadelle due lunghe suite New England Suite e Pieces Of Eight top del disco. 17) MISSING LINKS VOL.2: THE SKY ROAD Pubblicato nel maggio del 1994 è una collezione di materiale di archivio e brani inediti realizzati con la chitarra arrivando a riesumare cose molto vecchie. Tra i brani più riusciti sono da citare senzaltro il bellissimo episodio di Exile, Tears On A Rainy Day, la suite Wild Voices,Quiet Water Suite, la struggente Serenita e il capolavoro dellalbum Timepiece.Lalbum è stato messo fuori catalogo da poco. 18) SAIL THE WORLD Questo CD contiene esclusivamente musica composta per lunico scopo di commentare il giro del mondo di barche a vela Whitbread Round The World Race 1993-94e che quindi ha ragione di esistere in funzione delle immagini. Ben 15 dei 24 brani contengono una batteria programmata talvolta molto invadente. 19) GYPSY SUITE Nel novembre del 1995 esce questo disco che fotografa Ant in una delle sue collaborazioni più riuscite,quella con Harry Williamson.Il CD è accreditato ad entrambi e raccoglie materiale vecchio.Bella la Gypsy Suite e belle le versioni demo dei primi due movimenti di Tarka.Disco splendido molto delicato e carico di malinconica dolcezza. 20) LYRIC BOOK - THE LIVING ROOM CONCERT Nel 1993 fu chiesto ad Ant di partecipare alla serie dei Living Room Concerts,programma chiamato Echoes comprendente musica prettamente strumentale,trasmesso da alcune radio americane.Il 21 marzo del 1993 Ant registò la sua musica poi trasmessa il 25 giugno e qui riproposta su disco.Ci sono Reaper,Which Way The Wind Blows,Henry:Portraits From Tudor Times e Tanti altri tra cui linedito Conversation Piece. 21) ANTHOLOGY Nellottobre 1995 anche per Anthony Phillips esce un album antologico.Contiene diciassette brani che sono tratti da The Geese And The Ghost, Wise After The Event, Sides, 1984, Invisible Men,Tarka, Slow Dance, Private Parts And Piaces volumi 1, 4, 7, The Sky Road.Mancano brani inediti e per giunta non si può definire del tutto rappresentativa mancando brani come Which Way The Wind Blows o Henry e contenente invece The Woman Were Watching da Invisible Men.Bello comunque il booklet interno del CD. 22) THE MEADOWS OF ENGLEWOOD CD pubblicato in Spagna dellinedita coppia formata da Anthony Phillips e Guillermo Cazenave e registrato dal vivo negli studi di Ant Phillips nel luglio ed agosto 1995 e masterizzato negli studi Astral di Barcellona.Spicca su tutto la monumentale suite (37 minuti) The Meadows Of Englewood: Ant alle tastiere e Cazenave alla chitarra elettrica.Stupenda la versione di Lucy:an Illusion.Belle la struggente Sortilegee la melodica The Circle 23) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES IX - DRAGONFLY DREAMS Questo album contiene musiche composte e registrate tra il 94 e il 96, nonchè materiale degli anni 80 tra cui Chinese Wallseseguita alla dodici corde.Bella lintroduttiva Openers, Something Bluealla chitarra classica o Lostiwithielalle tastiere. Slendida Night Songdal sapore sacrale.Anche questalbum è da avere per tutti gli amanti di Phillips. 24) MISSINK LINKS VOLUME 3 - TIME AND TIDE Accreditato ad Anthony Phillips e Joji Hirota percussionista giapponese. Collezione di brani utilizzati in gran parte per la TV inglese. Brani che senza il supporto delle immagini perdono lella loro evocatività. In ogni caso sono da segnalare la stupenda Underwater Forest, African Dream e il topo dellalbum, lorientale SongoKu. 25) SURVIVAL In realtà questo doppio CD contiene musica di artisti vari che supporta le immagini della trasmissione televisiva dedicata alla natura e agli animali selvatici Survival.Ant Phillips è presente con 15 brani per oltre 40 minuti di musica inedita.Molto suggestivo. 26) LIVE RADIO SESSIONS Si tratta di un CD uscito alla fine di Gennaio 1998 solo in Spagna e contiene le session radiofoniche registrate per alcune radio spagnole da Ant Phillips insieme a Guillermo Cazenave.Segnalo per brevità liniziale Lights On The Hill, la bellissima Shell Be Waiting e la solita Sortilege.Album molto godibile ristampato con artwork diverso e scaletta leggermente modificata: manca Collectione vi sono inserite delle interviste ad Ant e Guillermo. 27) THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION VOLUME ONE Raro Cd stampato, pare, in sole 1000 copie contenente anche un EP (Special Limited Edition EP).Materiale di oltre ventanni fa con porzioni di brani inediti composti e suonati insieme a Mike Rutherford.Una di queste è F Sharp gemma assoluta di questo CD:versione strumentale di due terzi di The Musical Box che spiega come questo brano fosse nato quando ancora cera Ant Phillips in formazione. 28) PRIVATE PARTS AND PIECES X - SOIRÉE Pubblicato ai primi di novembre 1999 questalbum ha una reperibilità quasi vicino allo zero. Disco pesante da ascoltare per il fatto di essere realizzato esclusivamente al pianoforte. Album molto bello ed intimo peraltro, anche molto lirico a tratti, è il primo a contenere matewriale nuovo. Cito il primo brano Sad Ballerina molto malinconico e Rain Suite. Un disco molto invernale (non so a chi in una inchiesta recente mancava un album che desse lidea dellinverno:eccolo). Da segnalare anche lantologia pubblicata nel settembre 1985: HARVEST OF THE HEART che raccoglie brani tratti dai volumi 1/4 di Private Parts and Piecese lantologia LEGEND pubblicata in due versioni:argentina e spagnola;quella spagnola contiene un inedito:Sombrero. Fondamentale per la redazione del profilo di Ant Phillips è la consultazione della fanzine Dusk di Mario Giammetti che ringrazio pubblicamente per essere una persona sempre disponibile nonchè un amico. Biography by .... (anthonyphillips.co) Anthony Phillips (b. 1951) is a composer and guitarist who is known as a prolific writer of music for film and television as well as a recording artist. He was a founding member of the band Genesis alongside Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks with whom he recorded the albums From Genesis To Revelation and Trespass. After leaving the group in 1970, Ant studied orchestration and harmony externally at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After passing his LGSM exams, he taught music at Reeds School and Peper Harrow whilst continuing to compose and record in his home studio. Ant marked his return to the commercial music scene with the release of his debut solo album The Geese & The Ghost in 1977 and since then has created a large and diverse output as a recording artist. As well as album releases such as Wise After The Event, Slow Dance and Field Day, he has to date also released ten albums in the Private Parts & Pieces series and four volumes in the Missing Links series. Amongst other projects he collaborated with Harry Williamson on the large-scale instrumental work Tarka and he also co-wrote the stage musical Alice with Richard Scott. Whilst Ant continues to release solo albums to critical acclaim, increasingly his music has also been much in-demand for film and television. Commissions have included scores for both dramas and documentaries and he has written and recorded music for over a dozen Survival programmes in collaboration with percussion virtuoso Joji Hirota, including the award-winning Land of Dragons and Creatures of the Magic Water. Ant has also established himself as one of the most prolific and successful composers of library music, with tracks from his extensive output being regularly featured on commercials, films and television series throughout the world. His latest album releases are Seventh Heaven (a collaboration with composer and arranger Andrew Skeet) and City of Dreams, the eleventh album in the Private Parts & Pieces series. Both albums are released by Voiceprint Records. From wiki Tarka the Otter Puffin Paperback (1971) Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers is a highly influential novel by Henry Williamson, first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnams Sons with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue. It won the Hawthornden Prize in 1928 and remains Willamsons best-known and most popular work, having never been out of print since first publication. As its title suggests, the novel describes the life of an otter, along with a detailed observation of its habitat in the country of the River Taw and River Torridge in Devon (the Two Rivers); the name Tarka is said by Williamson to mean Wandering as Water (p. 10). Though often now characterised as a childrens book, Tarka has influenced literary figures as diverse as Ted Hughes and Rachel Carson. Plot summary, style The Beam Aqueduct, the Canal Bridge near which Tarka is born The book is separated into two main parts, The First Year and The Last Year. It begins shortly before the birth of Tarka in an otter holt on the River Torridge, near the Rolle Canal aqueduct. After a period learning to swim and hunt, and losing a sibling to a trap, he is separated from his mother and wanders around North Devon alone. His first mate is an elderly otter called Greymuzzle, who is killed during Tarkas first winter, which is unusually harsh. In his second year, he fathers a litter of cubs with his second mate, White-tip. Throughout the book Williamson juxtaposes Tarka with his main enemy, the local otter hunt, and particularly the pied hound Deadlock, the truest marking-hound in the country of the Two Rivers (p. 23). The book ends with a climactic nine-hour hunt of Tarka by the pack, and a confrontation between Tarka and Deadlock. Williamsons attitude to the hunt is somewhat ambivalent: while admiring them for their own regard for and knowledge of the otter, and despite being personally friendly with his local hunt, the violence and cruelty of some of his descriptions of hunting is clear. Locations featured in the book include Braunton Burrows, the clay pits at Marland, Morte Point, Hoar Oak Water and the Chains. The book begins and ends in the vicinity of Torrington. Williamson wrote with a descriptive style which some, such as Ted Hughes, have characterised as poetic: in his memorial address for Williamson, Hughes described him as one of the truest English poets of his generation. His writing is also characterised by a lack of sentimentality about the animals it describes; Williamson is generally careful to avoid anthropomorphising them and rarely attempts to present any but their most basic or instinctual mental processes. History and reception Williamson, who was born in London and had moved to Georgeham, Devon, in 1921, began making notes for Tarka about two years later: although he was usually a rather rapid writer, the book took him around four years to write thanks to the large amount of detailed research needed. Williamson often claimed that he was inspired to write Tarka after rescuing and raising an otter cub, but the truth of this story is uncertain and it seems likely that the 1909 book The Life Story of an Otter, by Cornish naturalist John Coulson Tregarthen, was a more substantial influence. Nevertheless, Williamson spent a great deal of time gathering information on otters habits and behaviour. The original edition featured illustrations by Charles Tunnicliffe. The book was extremely well-received on publication, attracting praise from Thomas Hardy and T. E. Lawrence, amongst others. Although not written for children, the book soon became popular with young readers. At the time the book was published, otters were generally regarded as vermin, but Tarka (and more specifically its later film adaptation) is credited with inspiring a transformation in public attitudes to otters. The book remains well-known, and is often used to promote the area of North Devon where it is set. The Tarka Line railway line to Barnstaple, and Tarka Trail long distance footpath and cycle path, are named after the book. Influence Although Williamsons reputation as a writer was affected in the wake of his support for Oswald Mosley and many of his works are now little read, Tarka has continued to be an influential work. Rachel Carson once wrote that Williamsons work had deeply influenced her and said that Tarka the Otter and Salar the Salmon would be two of three books she might take to a desert island. Ted Hughes, who later became friends with an elderly Williamson, repeatedly cited reading the book as an important experience for him, while the author Roger Deakin wrote that he admired the beauty and ice-clear accuracy of Williamsons writing and described Tarka as a great mythic poem. Others to whom the book was significant included the nature writers Kenneth Allsop and Denys Watkins-Pitchford, who described it as the greatest animal story ever written. Several later authors such as Sally Carrighar and Ewan Clarkson took many stylistic cues from Williamson. Audiobook In 1978 Sir David Attenborough narrated an audiobook version of the story, released as a double audio cassette. Film, TV or theatrical adaptations The novel has been adapted into a film: Tarka the Otter. In 1974, Williamson began working on a script for a film treatment of the novel, but it was not regarded as suitable to film. Having previously rejected two separate offers from Walt Disney, Henry finally accepted an offer to make the film from noted English wildlife documentary film-maker David Cobham, whom he trusted. The movie, narrated by Peter Ustinov, was released in 1979, with a screenplay by Gerald Durrell. One of Williamsons sons, Richard, and his daughter-in-law are actually in the film. It was voted the 98th greatest family film in a Channel 4 poll. The soundtrack for the film was composed by David Fanshawe and performed by Tommy Reilly. Notable editions 1927, UK, G. P. Putnams Sons, 1927, Hardback 1937, UK, Penguin Books, Paperback 1962, UK, Revised edition, Puffin Books, Paperback 1965, UK, Bodley Head, 1965, Hardback 1971, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-030060-0, January 1971, Paperback (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator) 1981, USA, Nelson Thornes ISBN 0-333-30602-3, March 1981, Hardcover (C.F. Tunnicliffe, Illustrator) 1982, USA, Salem House Publishers ISBN 0-370-30919-7, 1982, Paperback 1990, USA, Beacon Press ISBN 0-8070-8507-3, 1990, Paperback (Concord Library Series) 1995, UK, Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-036621-0, June 1995, Paperback (Annabel Large, Illustrator) 2009, UK, Penguin Modern Classics ISBN 0-141-19035-3, Paperback (Jeremy Gavron, Introduction) Tarka the Otter is a film made in 1979, based on the novel of the same name by Henry Williamson. Tarka the Otter was voted 98th in Channel 4’s poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. Tarka and me Tarka and me is by Pete Talbot, the films principal animal handler. He trained at the Otter Trust under Philip Wayre. In 1976 he was invited by film producers David Cobham and Bill Travers to hand rear a baby otter called Spade for the title role in Tarka the Otter. As his otter grew, Peter took him to live in a water mill in Hampshire - the home of wildlife film makers Ron and Rosemary Eastman. In time, they gathered a menagerie of five otters, including Spade, along with a tame barn owl, a goose and a German shepherd dog. With others, they became a family traversing Southern England, from Norfolk to The West Country, with their exotic pets. Over two years living and swimming side by side with his otter, Peter encountered a diverse mix of other animals and their keepers. His unique friendship with Spade offered him a privileged glimpse into the secret world of otters. Peter’s wonderful real-life experiences gradually awakened him to the magic of Henry Williamsons classic. In his book Peter Talbot also expands on the vision of The First World War underlying Williamsons classic, which has since been a source for other writers on the subject. Musical score In 1976 Anthony Phillips, formerly a guitarist with Genesis, and Harry Williamson recorded a soundtrack to the film of Tarka the Otter with the support of David Cobham, the producer. Harry had helped to persuade his father to sign the contract, reassuring him that with the music he had composed, the film would be true to the book. When the film rushes were shown, however, it became apparent that there had never been any intention to use this orchestral work in the film. In 1987, Amy International paid for the completion of the work at Strawberry Studios and it was released by PRT records as simply Tarka. In 2001 the work was re-released with additional music by Voiceprint Records. The music has been commissioned for its first live performance with a symphony orchestra in Melbourne in February 2010.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:16:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015