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Excalibur (rock Opera)
''Excalibur'' is a three-part "Celtic rock opera" written and directed by Breton folk-rock musician Alan Simon, the first part of which premiered in 1998, and was released as an album in the following year under the French title ''Excalibur, La légende des Celtes''. Its success in France led to two more albums and two novels. In 2009 a spectacular adaptation combining material from the first two albums was performed in Germany under the English title ''Excalibur: the Celtic Rock Opera'', with great success. It was extended with material from the third album in 2011. The Excalibur trilogy The first part of an intended trilogy, ''Excalibur, La légende des Celtes'' blended musical styles and was performed by Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Fairport Convention, Dan Ar Braz, Tri Yann, Angelo Branduardi, Didier Lockwood, Gabriel Yacoub. The story is based on the legend of King Arthur. Narration is led by Merlin. It is structured as a series of songs and instrumental interludes linked by nar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Simon (musician)
Alan Simon (born 3 July 1964) is a French folk-rock musician and composer, best known for his rock operas performed with noted rock musicians guesting. Simon is associated with Breton Celticism, and his most ambitious works are typically on themes linked to Celtic myth and history. Simon has also branched out into film-making. Life Simon was born in Nantes, spending his early years in the moorlands of Goulaine. He left school at 15 to travel the world, supporting himself in a variety of trades. From 1979 to 1992 he lived in Asia. He also travelled twice around the world, financed by photographic work, journalism and musical performances. He also marketed his songs to rock musicians, having some success and building up contacts before he achieved fame. He currently resides near Nantes. Career Early work Aged 20, he wrote his first work, ''The Rebel Child'', which won the Grand Prize of the Society of Artists in France. In 1995, he composed his first musical story, ''Le Petit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jon Anderson
John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across three tenures until 2008. Anderson was also a member of ARW along with former Yes bandmates Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin from 2016–2020. Together with bassist Lee Pomeroy and drummer Lou Molino III, they toured under the name Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman. Anderson is also noted for his solo career and collaborations with other artists, including Vangelis as Jon and Vangelis, Roine Stolt as Anderson/Stolt, and Jean-Luc Ponty as AndersonPonty Band. He has also appeared on albums by King Crimson, Tangerine Dream, Iron Butterfly, Milton Nascimento, Battles, Mike Oldfield and Kitaro. Anderson released his first solo album, '' Olias of Sunhillow'', in 1976, while still a member of Yes, and subsequently released 14 mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andreas Vollenweider
Andreas Vollenweider (born 4 October 1953) is a Swiss harpist. He is generally categorised as a new-age musician and uses a modified electroacoustic harp of his own design. He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti and in 1987 received a Grammy Award for the album ''Down to the Moon''. Vollenweider's style has been described by ''The New York Times'' as "swirling atmospheric music, which evokes nature, magic and fairy tales". Biography Early life Vollenweider was born in Zürich, Switzerland, and is the son of Hans Vollenweider (1918–1993), an organist and composer, while his mother was a painter. In 1971, he married Beata, a kindergarten teacher, with whom he has two sons (Jonathan and Sebastian) and a daughter, Noëmi. In 1975, Vollenweider discovered the harp and, finding its traditional versions too limited for his own musical ideas, developed his own style, tailoring the instrument according to his needs. He created the electro-acoustic harp. He for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karan Casey
Karan Casey (born 1969) is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas. She resides in Cork, Ireland. Early years Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she studied piano then took music at University College Dublin in 1987. Having learned to copy Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, she performed in a Dublin bistro several nights per week while still a student. At the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied classical music and sang in a jazz band, then a folk-ballad band, then another jazz band. She also fell under the influence of Dublin folk singer Frank Harte. During this time she also formed her own band, called "Dorothy". Emigration to the USA In 1993, Casey moved to New York City, to study jazz at Long Island University. When she began to frequent Irish traditional sessions in New York, she starte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flook (band)
Flook is an Anglo-Irish band playing traditional-style instrumental music, much of it penned by the band themselves. Their music is typified by extremely fast, sometimes percussive, flute and whistle atop complex guitar and bodhrán rhythms. Flook is made up of Brian Finnegan, Sarah Allen, Ed Boyd and John Joe Kelly. History The band was formed in 1995, originally by Becky Morris, with three flute-playing friends Sarah Allen, Brian Finnegan and Michael McGoldrick, (who left in 1997 to join Capercaillie). The band was briefly known as Three Nations Flutes. Flook's 10th anniversary tour included a concert at the Purcell Room (on 7 November 2005) as part of a week of "Folk in the Fall" on London's South Bank and another at the new Sage Gateshead concert hall on the south bank of the River Tyne on 10 November 2005. Their third studio album, '' Haven'', was released in October 2005. In December 2008 the band sent a Christmas message saying they were disbanding. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to prominence playing rhythm and blues. They made some changes in musicians but settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, who stayed together for most of the band's "classic era" into the early 1970s. Edge was the group’s sole continuous member throughout their entire history. Their second album, ''Days of Future Passed'', which was released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music which established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums". The group toured extensively through the early 1970s, then took an extended hiatus from 1974 until 1977. Founder Mike Pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justin Hayward
David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band the Moody Blues. Hayward became the group's principal lead guitarist and vocalist over the 1967–1974 period, and the most prolific songwriter and composer of several international hit singles for the band. Hayward wrote singles for the Moody Blues including " Nights in White Satin", " Tuesday Afternoon", " Voices in the Sky", "Never Comes the Day", "Question", "The Story in Your Eyes", "Driftwood", "The Voice", " Blue World", "Your Wildest Dreams", "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" and "English Sunset"; in all, writing 20 of the group's 27 post-1967 singles. He also has a solo career. His first album outside the Moody Blues, '' Blue Jays'', a collaboration with John Lodge, reached the UK top five in 1975. The single "Blue Guitar", recorded with 10cc as the backing band, reached the UK top ten in 1975, and his 1978 recording of " Forev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful line-up was its original, which consisted of four members of different progressive rock bands that had enjoyed great success in the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton of King Crimson and U.K., guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, keyboardist Geoff Downes of Yes and the Buggles, and drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Their debut album, ''Asia'', released in 1982, remains their bestselling album and went to number one in several countries. The lead single from the album, " Heat of the Moment", remains their top charting and best-known song, reaching the top 40 in over a dozen markets and peaking in the U.S. at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The band underwent multiple line-up changes before the original four members reunited in 2006. As a result, a band called Asia Featuring John Payne exists as a continuation of John Payne' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band has earned a large cult following. Founded by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and lyricist Peter Sinfield, the band initially focused on a dramatic sound layered with Mellotron, McDonald's saxophone and flute, and Lake's powerful lead vocals. Their debut album, '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release, with a potent mixture of jazz, classical and experimental music. Following the sudden simultaneous de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and principal songwriter of the supergroup Asia, which proved to be his biggest commercial success. The debut Asia album sold ten million copies worldwide, and was ''Billboard'' magazine's number one album of 1982. He also performed with many other progressive rock and hard rock bands, including King Crimson, U.K., Family, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash. He later formed the duo Icon with his Asia band mate (and songwriting partner) Geoff Downes. From the 1990s he had a successful solo career. Wetton signed his name with his left hand but played bass right handed. Career Wetton was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset, where he attended Bournemouth School. His older brother Robert was a classical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacqui McShee
Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee (born 25 December 1943) is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz-influenced folk rock band. Biography McShee was born in Catford, South London. Her musical career began as a soloist in British folk clubs in the mid 1960s. After working with guitarist John Renbourn, she co-founded Pentangle. Pentangle rapidly established itself as one of the earliest exponents of the British folk rock movement. However, in addition to attracting fans of traditional British folk, they also drew audiences from the rock, pop and psychedelic folk worlds. The original band played a mixture of ballads, blues, and jazz, often blending these genres in the same piece. In 1994, McShee formed a new band named Jacqui McShee's Pentangle which, with a few personnel changes, is still performing today. In 1995, McShee performed as a session singer, along with her husband, drummer Gerry Conway, on the album ''Active in The Parish'' by the singer-songwr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maddy Prior
Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police drama ''Z-Cars''. She was married to Steeleye bass guitarist Rick Kemp, and their daughter, Rose Kemp, is also a singer. Their son, Alex Kemp, is, like his father, a guitarist and has deputised for his father playing bass guitar for Steeleye Span. She was part of the singing duo 'Mac & Maddy', with Mac MacLeod. She then performed with Tim Hart and recorded two albums with him, before they helped to found the group Steeleye Span, in 1969. She left Steeleye Span in 1997, but returned in 2002, and has toured with them since. With June Tabor she was the singing duo Silly Sisters. She toured with the Carnival Band, in 2007, and with Giles Lewin and Hannah James, in 2012 and 2013. She has released singles and albums as a solo artist, with these b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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