Music of the Spheres (Mike Oldfield album)
Encyclopedia
Music of the Spheres is an album by English musician Mike Oldfield
, released in the United Kingdom
on 17 March 2008. New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra
is the featured vocalist on "On My Heart", and the album also features Chinese pianist Lang Lang
on six tracks.
The album, Oldfield's second album with Mercury Records
and his first classical work, is based on the concept of a celestial Musica universalis
. A 2 CD limited edition version including both the studio and live recordings was released on 24 November 2008. It was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2009.
's Steve Wright show, broadcast 23 February 2006, Oldfield elaborated on his next project, saying he was working on a long instrumental — probably in three parts and without any drum loops
. He also mentioned the possibility of a tour. In an interview for the March 2007 issue of Resolution Magazine, Oldfield added that it would be a classical album "going to be based around the festival of Hallowe’en, rather than the Hollywood horror film
", in which he would only play "classical guitar and grand piano". In an interview with This is London
, Oldfield revealed the name of the new album as Music of the Spheres.
, but as the album developed it became an orchestral piece. The single "Spheres
" is from the early stages of the album. Oldfield wrote much of the music in the music notation software Sibelius on Apple Macintoshes. Oldfield noted in the computing magazine MacFormat
that creating the orchestral score for the album was time consuming, as the MIDI timing
and velocities varied too much.
On the ITV
This Morning
show, while promoting his autobiography, Changeling
, Oldfield stated that he would be recording the album with Karl Jenkins
and a full orchestra at Abbey Road Studios
in early June 2007; 9 months before the final release date. In an interview with British radio station Classic FM
on 10 August 2007, Oldfield noted that Lang Lang had recorded his piano pieces over a webcam
from Legacy Recording Studios, New York
, using iChat
and a Steinway piano
.
, but ultimately it was only made available on CD and Online. On iTunes
the album has bonus material and there was also a promotion at hmv
.co.uk; a competition with a prize of the full annotated orchestral score used during the recordings. 200 randomly selected copies from play.com
were also signed by Mike Oldfield. A 2 CD Limited Edition version including both the studio and live recordings was released on 24 November 2008.
On 18 September 2007, Universal, the record label, held a presentation event, hosted by Yellow Lounge at the Tape club in Berlin
; Oldfield was not scheduled to be present, but he appeared for 5 minutes to answer questions. There was no orchestra present, thus the album was played by DJ. There was also a promotional release, packaged in a tin. It includes a heat sensitive mug mat, shaped insert brochure, and an EPK
disc featuring 2 video clips.
In November 2007 Universal included "On My Heart" (featuring Hayley Westenra) on their No 1 Classical Album 2008 compilation album. Westenra and Oldfield performed "On My Heart" live on the ITV daytime program The Alan Titchmarsh Show
on 18 March 2008. During the week beginning the 10 March, Music of the Spheres was the featured album on the Classic FM
radio station.
in Bilbao
on 7 March 2008; as part of the launch event Oldfield performed music from Music of the Spheres live with the Euskadiko Orkestra Sinfonikoa, the Bilbao Choral Society and Hayley Westenra
. The concert was recorded and was originally released exclusively on Apple's iTunes
on the same day as the album, with modified artwork, EPK videos and a PDF
booklet. A 2 CD version of the album was released on 24 November 2008 in a card package.
According to an interview with BBC Wiltshire
there are currently no plans to tour the album.
Best Album of 2009, but failed to win. It lost to Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
' Spirit of the Glen–Journey.
. It also entered the UK Albums Chart
at number 9, making it the most successful Oldfield album of the 2000s. Also, according to Music Week, as of October, Music of the Spheres is the 2nd best selling classical album of 2008.
" is a digital-only single which was released on 3 March 2008. It is a piece from the conception stages of the album and contains parts of "Harbinger" and "Shabda". Although "Spheres" was the digital single released alongside the album, the vocal piece "On My Heart" was played in promotion of the album, such as on television show performances.
. This record company name trick is a repeat of a track title on his previous album Light & Shade
: "Quicksilver", which is another name for the metal mercury
; Light & Shade was released on Mercury Records
, a sublabel of Universal Music.
's Seven Network
television station used sections from the album ("Prophecy" and "On My Heart" (Reprise)) as backing music for a salute to Michael Phelps
' 8 medals in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing
, China
. They also played "Harbinger" behind the salute to a Japan
ese equestrian participant, who competed in the Olympic Games
44 years previously.
The album was used as background music in BBC2's Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness
programme in 2009.
Sections from Music of the Spheres have been used as backing music for Russell Ducker's Epimitheus, a 20 minute ballet piece. Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon premiered the work in 2009 in Spain, and they performed it in New York in March 2010.
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 17 March 2008. New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
is the featured vocalist on "On My Heart", and the album also features Chinese pianist Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
on six tracks.
The album, Oldfield's second album with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
and his first classical work, is based on the concept of a celestial Musica universalis
Musica universalis
Musica universalis is an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and planets—as a form of musica . This 'music' is not usually thought to be literally audible, but a harmonic and/or mathematical and/or religious concept...
. A 2 CD limited edition version including both the studio and live recordings was released on 24 November 2008. It was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2009.
History
In an interview on BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's Steve Wright show, broadcast 23 February 2006, Oldfield elaborated on his next project, saying he was working on a long instrumental — probably in three parts and without any drum loops
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
. He also mentioned the possibility of a tour. In an interview for the March 2007 issue of Resolution Magazine, Oldfield added that it would be a classical album "going to be based around the festival of Hallowe’en, rather than the Hollywood horror film
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
", in which he would only play "classical guitar and grand piano". In an interview with This is London
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, Oldfield revealed the name of the new album as Music of the Spheres.
Recording
Initially the album was written with electronic elements, like his last album, Light & ShadeLight & Shade
Light + Shade is a two-disc album by English musician Mike Oldfield. It is the first album to be released by Oldfield following his signing with Mercury Records. The album was released on 26 September 2005...
, but as the album developed it became an orchestral piece. The single "Spheres
Spheres (song)
"Spheres" is a classical digital-only single by Mike Oldfield from his album Music of the Spheres released on 3 March 2008 .- Demo version :...
" is from the early stages of the album. Oldfield wrote much of the music in the music notation software Sibelius on Apple Macintoshes. Oldfield noted in the computing magazine MacFormat
MacFormat
MacFormat is a the UK's biggest computer magazine aimed at Macintosh users. It is published monthly by Future Publishing, and has been since 1993.-Content:...
that creating the orchestral score for the album was time consuming, as the MIDI timing
MIDI timecode
MIDI time code , or MIDI time division, embeds the same timing information as standard SMPTE timecode as a series of small 'quarter-frame' MIDI messages. There is no provision for the user bits in the standard MIDI time code messages, and SysEx messages are used to carry this information instead...
and velocities varied too much.
On the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
show, while promoting his autobiography, Changeling
Changeling (Mike Oldfield)
Changeling is a 2007 autobiography by Mike Oldfield. It was published in May 2007 by Virgin Books. In May 2008 Changeling was re-released in a paperback edition.- Profits :...
, Oldfield stated that he would be recording the album with Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
and a full orchestra at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in early June 2007; 9 months before the final release date. In an interview with British radio station Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
on 10 August 2007, Oldfield noted that Lang Lang had recorded his piano pieces over a webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
from Legacy Recording Studios, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, using iChat
IChat
iChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging...
and a Steinway piano
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
.
Release
The album had been delayed a number of times, for many various reasons. The original release date for the album would have been to aim for a Halloween release; this was later pushed back to November 2007. In September 2007, Oldfield and Universal decided to delay the release of the album until January 2008, for personal reasons. However in November the release date was again put back until March 2008, around this time Oldfield also moved out of the UK to Spain. It was also going to be the first classical recording released on a USB flash driveUSB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
, but ultimately it was only made available on CD and Online. On iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
the album has bonus material and there was also a promotion at hmv
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
.co.uk; a competition with a prize of the full annotated orchestral score used during the recordings. 200 randomly selected copies from play.com
Play.com
Play Ltd., trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group....
were also signed by Mike Oldfield. A 2 CD Limited Edition version including both the studio and live recordings was released on 24 November 2008.
On 18 September 2007, Universal, the record label, held a presentation event, hosted by Yellow Lounge at the Tape club in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
; Oldfield was not scheduled to be present, but he appeared for 5 minutes to answer questions. There was no orchestra present, thus the album was played by DJ. There was also a promotional release, packaged in a tin. It includes a heat sensitive mug mat, shaped insert brochure, and an EPK
Electronic Press Kit
An electronic press kit is a press kit equivalent in electronic form. An EPK usually takes the form of a website or e-mail, though they are also known to exist in CD and DVD form....
disc featuring 2 video clips.
In November 2007 Universal included "On My Heart" (featuring Hayley Westenra) on their No 1 Classical Album 2008 compilation album. Westenra and Oldfield performed "On My Heart" live on the ITV daytime program The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot...
on 18 March 2008. During the week beginning the 10 March, Music of the Spheres was the featured album on the Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
radio station.
Live at Bilbao
A second press event was scheduled at the Guggenheim MuseumGuggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, built by Ferrovial, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Atlantic Coast. The...
in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
on 7 March 2008; as part of the launch event Oldfield performed music from Music of the Spheres live with the Euskadiko Orkestra Sinfonikoa, the Bilbao Choral Society and Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
. The concert was recorded and was originally released exclusively on Apple's iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on the same day as the album, with modified artwork, EPK videos and a PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
booklet. A 2 CD version of the album was released on 24 November 2008 in a card package.
According to an interview with BBC Wiltshire
BBC Wiltshire
BBC Wiltshire is the BBC Local Radio station and BBC Online service for the English county of Wiltshire. The station marked its 20th anniversary in 2009.-BBC Wiltshire Sound :...
there are currently no plans to tour the album.
The Classical BRIT Awards nomination
Music of the Spheres was nominated for a Classical BRIT award, the NS&INational Savings and Investments
National Savings and Investments , formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is an executive agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer...
Best Album of 2009, but failed to win. It lost to Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of...
' Spirit of the Glen–Journey.
Chart performance
Music of the Spheres entered the UK Classical charts at number 1, as published by Music WeekMusic Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
. It also entered the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number 9, making it the most successful Oldfield album of the 2000s. Also, according to Music Week, as of October, Music of the Spheres is the 2nd best selling classical album of 2008.
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Classical Chart UK Classical Chart The UK Classical Charts are three record charts based on classical music in the United Kingdom: the Classical Artist Albums Chart, the Classical Compilation Albums Chart and the Specialist Classical Albums Chart... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
9 |
| Irish Album Chart | 87 |
| Irish Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... Classical Album Chart |
2 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
14 |
| Hungarian Albums Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
13 |
| Polish Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... Albums Chart |
13 |
| Spanish Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... Albums Chart |
7 |
| Greek Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... Album Chart |
23 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
31 |
| Billboard Billboard charts The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine... Top Classical Crossover Albums |
10 |
Standard studio version
Live from Bilbao
iTunes-only version
The iTunes-only version includes Music of the Spheres, Music of the Spheres - Live from Bilbao and Interviews."Spheres"
"SpheresSpheres (song)
"Spheres" is a classical digital-only single by Mike Oldfield from his album Music of the Spheres released on 3 March 2008 .- Demo version :...
" is a digital-only single which was released on 3 March 2008. It is a piece from the conception stages of the album and contains parts of "Harbinger" and "Shabda". Although "Spheres" was the digital single released alongside the album, the vocal piece "On My Heart" was played in promotion of the album, such as on television show performances.
Track meanings
One of the album's tracks is entitled "Musica Universalis", which when translated into English is music of the spheres, an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies as a form of music; the concept of which the album is based upon. It is also, when literally translated, the name of Oldfield's current record label, Universal MusicUniversal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. This record company name trick is a repeat of a track title on his previous album Light & Shade
Light & Shade
Light + Shade is a two-disc album by English musician Mike Oldfield. It is the first album to be released by Oldfield following his signing with Mercury Records. The album was released on 26 September 2005...
: "Quicksilver", which is another name for the metal mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
; Light & Shade was released on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, a sublabel of Universal Music.
Personnel
- Mike Oldfield – Classical guitar, producer and mixer
- Hayley WestenraHayley WestenraHayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
– vocals - Lang LangLang Lang (pianist)Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
– piano on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9. - Karl JenkinsKarl Jenkins-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
– orchestrations, conductor and producer - Sinfonia Sfera Orchestra
Orchestra
The Sinfonia Sfera Orchestra are:- Choir:
- Mary Carewe
- Jacqueline Barron
- Nicole Tibbels
- Mae McKenna
- Heather Cairncross
- Sarah Eyden
- 1st Violins:
- Richard Studt (leader)
- Judith Temppleman
- Tom Piggott-Smith
- Harriott McKenzie
- Tristan Gurney
- Jemma McCrisken
- Amy Cardigan
- Joanna McWeeney
- Gillon Cameron
- Louisa Adridge
- Kotono Sato
- Jeremy Morris
- Miriam Teppich
- Vladimir Naumov
- 2nd Violins:
- Peter Camble-Kelly
- Emma Parker
- Sophie Appleton
- Jenny Chang
- Holly Maleham
- David Lyon
- Nicholas Levy
- Joanna Watts
- Lucy Hartley
- Jo West
- Sarah Carter
- Elizabeth Neil
- Violas:
- John Thorn
- Rachel Robson
- Edward Vanderspar
- Emma Owens
- Vincent Green
- Olly Burton
- Rachel Dyker
- Sarah Chapman
- Fay Sweet
- Holly Butler
- Cellos:
- Sally Pendlebury
- Jonny Byers
- Chris Worsey
- Verity Harding
- Chris Fish
- Lucy Payne
- Morwenna Del Mar
- Ben Trigg
- Basses:
- Sian Hicks
- Hugh Sparrow
- Jeremy Watt
- Kylie Davis
- Frances Casey
- Ben Griffiths
- Flutes:
- Gareth Davies
- Juliette Bausor
- Oboes:
- Roy Carter
- Rosie Jenkins
- Clarinets:
- Chris Richards
- Nick Ellis
- Bassoon:
- Steven Reay
- Louise Chapman
- Horns:
- Peter Francomb
- Dave Tollington
- Joe Walters
- Evgeny Chebykin
- Trumpets:
- Gareth Small
- Edward Pascal
- Tom Watson
- Trombone:
- Simon Willis
- James Adams
- Bass Trombone:
- Rob Collinson
- Tuba:
- Alex Kidston
- Timpani:
- Steve Henderson
- Percussion:
- Gary Kettel
- Paul Clarvis
- Sam Walton
- Neil Percy
Additional personnel
- Miles Showell – Mastering at Metropolis Mastering, London
- Simon Rhodes – Engineer
- Rupert Christie – Assistant Producer
- Richard King – Engineer
Uses of the piece
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
television station used sections from the album ("Prophecy" and "On My Heart" (Reprise)) as backing music for a salute to Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
' 8 medals in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. They also played "Harbinger" behind the salute to a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese equestrian participant, who competed in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
44 years previously.
The album was used as background music in BBC2's Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness
Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness
Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness is a television series hosted by Ray Mears, showing Mears in Canada. The series is broadcast by the BBC.Mears also released a book of the same title.-Synopsis:Ray Mears explores the Canadian wilderness...
programme in 2009.
Sections from Music of the Spheres have been used as backing music for Russell Ducker's Epimitheus, a 20 minute ballet piece. Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon premiered the work in 2009 in Spain, and they performed it in New York in March 2010.