The Actor (The Moody Blues Song)
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The Actor (The Moody Blues Song)
''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is the third album by The Moody Blues, released in July 1968 on the Deram label. Content ''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is a concept album around a broad theme of quest and discovery, including world exploration (" Dr. Livingstone, I Presume"), music and philosophy through the ages ("House of Four Doors"), lost love (" The Actor"), spiritual development ("Voices in the Sky"), knowledge in a changing world ("Ride My See-Saw"), higher consciousness ("Legend of a Mind"), imagination ("The Best Way to Travel"), and space exploration ("Departure"). Space exploration would go on to become the theme of the group's 1969 album ''To Our Children's Children's Children'', inspired by and dedicated to the Apollo 11 mission. The mysterious "lost chord" of the title is revealed to be the mantra " Om" (in the last stanza of Graeme Edge's poem "The Word"). According to keyboardist Mike Pinder, the title was inspired by Jimmy Durante's humorous song "I'm the Guy t ...
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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 ...
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Mantra
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. At its simplest, the word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra, it is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. Aum sound when produced creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting an ...
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Ray Thomas
Raymond Thomas (29 December 1941 – 4 January 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist, flautist, singer, founding member and composer in the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Nights in White Satin" is regarded as one of progressive rock's defining moments. In 2018, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues. Career Early years Thomas was born at an emergency maternity unit set up during the Second World War in Lickhill Manor, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England. His father's family was from the southwest corner of Wales. His grandfather was a Welsh miner and went on to become a carpenter and a wood-carver, at one stage working on the church where Thomas later got married. His father taught him at the age of nine to play harmonica, and this sparked his interest in music. He joined the school choir a year later. He quit schooling at the age of 14, and bri ...
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Oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A soprano oboe measures roughly long, with metal keys, a conical bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word ''oboe'' is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais (English horn), or oboe d'amore. Today, the oboe is commonly used as orchestral or solo instrument in symphony orchestras, concert bands and chamber ensembles. The oboe is especially used in classical music, film music, some genres of folk music, and is occasionally heard in jazz, rock, pop, an ...
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Visions Of Paradise
"Visions of Paradise" is a 1968 song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. First released on their album ''In Search of the Lost Chord'', it was written jointly by band members Justin Hayward and Ray Thomas, and was the first of many collaborations between them. The song is primarily led by Justin Hayward's voice and Ray Thomas's flute, with the lyrics describing the writer's perception of paradise. The song has been described as ".. little else than Thomas’s flute riff and Hayward’s softly picked acoustic. Apparently resuming the drug-trip theme, this song may be even further "out there" than "The Best Way to Travel" with a surreal perception of paradise." Regarding the song, Hayward has explained: You have to start with the Mellotron that Mike Pinder was playing. The way he got that sound was by bouncing between machines. We were only on 4-track machines, going up to 8-track for Lost Chord, so he would bounce the whole thing across many times to get that layered sou ...
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Tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబలా, ur, , group="nb", name="nb" is a pair of twin hand drums from the Indian subcontinent, that are somewhat similar in shape to the bongos. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as accompaniment with other instruments and vocals, and as a part of larger ensembles. It is frequently played in popular and folk music performances in India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Tabla
Encyclopædia Britannica
The tabla is an essential instrument in the

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Tanpura (instrument)
The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of another instrument or singer by providing a continuous harmonic bourdon or drone. A tanpura is not played in rhythm with the soloist or percussionist: as the precise timing of plucking a cycle of four strings in a continuous loop is a determinant factor in the resultant sound, it is played unchangingly during the complete performance. The repeated cycle of plucking all strings creates the sonic canvas on which the melody of the raga is drawn. The combined sound of all strings–each string a fundamental tone with its own spectrum of overtones–supports and blends with the external tones sung or played by the soloist. Hindustani musicians favour the term ''tanpura'' whereas Carnatic musicians say ''tambura''; ''tanpuri'' is a smaller varian ...
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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 ...
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Sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau Khan, an 18th century figure of Mughal Empire has been identified by modern scholarship as the originator of Sitar. According to most historians he developed sitar from setar, an Iranian instrument of Abbasid or Safavid origin. Another view supported by a minority of scholars is that Khusrau Khan developed it from ''Veena''. Used widely throughout the Indian subcontinent, the sitar became popularly known in the wider world through the works of Ravi Shankar, beginning in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the 1960s, a short-lived trend arose for the use of the sitar in Western popular music, with the instrument appearing on tracks by bands such as the Beatles, the Doors, the Rolling Stones and others. Etymol ...
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London Festival Orchestra
The London Festival Orchestra (LFO) was established in the 1950s as the 'house orchestra' for Decca Records. In 1980 it was incorporated as an independent performing orchestra under Ross Pople. At least in the world of pop music, the orchestra is best known for providing accompaniment to the Moody Blues for their landmark 1967 album ''Days of Future Passed''. With the staging of the orchestra's summer festival of music in cathedrals, under the title Cathedral Classics, sponsored by American Express and British Gas, London Festival Orchestra quickly became a household name in the UK and abroad. In 1994 Pople's vision of artistic independence inspired the creation of The Warehouse; making LFO the first British orchestra to own a permanent, independent home. The Warehouse, situated in the heart of the South Bank, is a state of the art rehearsal, recording and concert venue and a significant focal point for UK and international artists and orchestras where they rehearse, perform and re ...
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Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', ''The Pirates of Penzance'' and ''The Mikado''. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord". The son of a military bandmaster, Sullivan composed his first anthem at the age of eight and was later a soloist in the boys' choir of the Chapel Royal. In 1856, at 14, he was awarded the first Mendelssohn Scholarship by the Royal Academy of Music, which allowed him to study at the academy and then at the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre, Leipzig Conservatoire in Germany. His graduation piece, inc ...
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The Lost Chord
"The Lost Chord" is a song composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1877 at the bedside of his brother Fred during Fred's last illness. The manuscript is dated 13 January 1877; Fred Sullivan died five days later. The lyric was written as a poem by Adelaide Anne Procter called "A Lost Chord", published in 1860 in ''The English Woman's Journal''. The song was immediately successful and became particularly associated with American contralto Antoinette Sterling, with Sullivan's close friend and mistress, Fanny Ronalds, and with British contralto Clara Butt. Sullivan was proud of the song and later noted: "I have composed much music since then, but have never written a second Lost Chord.""The Lost Chord"
''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed 13 August 2014
Many singers have recorded the song, including