A blast from the past today, in more ways than one. I first started composing music because I needed a soundtrack to the documentaries I was making for an MA in Documentary at the University of Bedfordshire (which I completed in 2013, so this was made about 10 years ago). I didn't want to pay for music, so I thought I'd make my own. I mostly played recorders and whistles at that point, so that's what my soundtracks consisted of. I used a Canon EOS 550D DSLR with a lightweight tripod, a Flipcam for B-roll and a Zoom H2n digital recorder. All of it packed into my bike panniers at the time.
The soundtrack (I tried to use timestamps, but it seems they're not supported, so I'm put the timecodes in square brackets instead}:
- [start of film] The Fowles in the Frith - a massive pop hit for wandering bards in medieval times, played on a Chieftain low D whistle. The voice-over is my best attempt at Middle English pronunciation, a cheery little poem about how nobody escapes death. (Words and translation available here: http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/manmai.php )
- [3.37] Improvisation on alto recorder with risset drum added later in Audacity.
[5.04] Solo alto recorder playing a tune stolen from Benjamin Bagby's CD Edda, where the music was arranged from a trove of 11th century Icelandic manuscripts.
[12.00] Original jig composed by me and played on the low D whistle.
I also used a Middle English prayer about ploughing [8.32], available here: https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/merthe_of_alle_this_londe.htm
It's poignant watching the poets, as Dick Copeland, Ann Copeland and John Gohorry, who feature in this film, are no longer with us. The rest are still meeting and still writing, I believe, though not as a single group any more.
I hope you enjoy the film. It was my first assignment for the MA. I think it got a B+ which I was pretty happy with, considering I had never made anything like that before, and was still getting to grips with cameras and editing.