Paul McCartney will release a new orchestral album, Ocean's Kingdom, on October 4 via Hear Music/Telarc. It represents the first time McCartney has written an original orchestral score -- or any kind of music -- specifically for dance.
The project is the result of a collaboration between McCartney and Peter Martins, New York City Ballet's Master in Chief. The pair worked together to present the world premiere of the new ballet for the company's 2011/2012 season in September. It is conducted by John Wilson, produced by John Fraser and performed by The London Classical Orchestra.
The ballet -- an hour-long score featuring four movements ("Ocean's Kingdom," "Hall of Dance," "Imprisonment" and "Moonrise") -- tells a love story within the story of an underwater world whose people are threatened by Earthlings.
"What was interesting was writing music that meant something expressively rather than just writing a song," McCartney said. "Trying to write something that expressed an emotion - so you have fear, love, anger, sadness to play with and I found that exciting and challenging."
The premiere of the ballet "Ocean's Kingdom" will take place at NYCB's Fall Gala on Thursday, September 22, while the release of the orchestral score will follow on October 4, available digitally, on CD and on vinyl. It was recorded in June in London.
TRACK LISTING
1. Movement 1 Ocean's Kingdom (14:07) 2. Movement 2 Hall of Dance (16:19) 3. Movement 3 Imprisonment (13:36) 4. Movement 4 Moonrise (12:29)
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
