''Music from Macbeth'' is a 1972

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by the Third Ear Band. It consists of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

from

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's 1971 film '' Macbeth'', an adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

The Tragedy of Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those wh ...

''.

Composition

The band composed original music for the film, by adding electronic music to hand drums, woodwinds and strings.Deanne Williams, "Mick Jagger Macbeth," ''Shakespeare Survey: Volume 57, Macbeth and Its Afterlife: An Annual Survey of Shakespeare Studies and Production'', Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 152. Elements of music in India and the Middle East and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

were also incorporated into the score.Christopher Sandford, ''Polanski'', Random House, 2007, p. 222. While the score has some

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

influence, this is not found in the scenes where Duncan is assassinated and Macbeth is killed. Polanski and the band used

aleatoric music Aleatoric music (also aleatory music or chance music; from the Latin word ''alea'', meaning "dice") is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the ...

for these scenes, to communicate chaos.

Track listing

#"Overture" – 4:20 #"The Beach" – 1:54 #"Lady Macbeth" – 1:47 #"Inverness: Macbeth's Return/The Preparation/Fanfare/Duncan's Arrival" – 5:00 #"The Banquet" – 1:21 #"Dagger and Death" – 2:49 #"At the Well/The Princes's Escape/Coronation/Come Sealing Night" – 3:03 #"Court Dance" – 2:28 #"Fleance" – 4:02 #"Grooms' Dance" – 4:21 #"Bear Baiting" – 1:10 #"Ambush/Banquo's Ghost" – 2:27 #"Going to Bed/Blind Man's Buff/Requiescant/Sere and Yellow Leaf" – 3:04 #"The Cauldron" – 2:39 #"Prophesies" – 1:53 #"Wicca Way" – 1:24 ''(All compositions by Bridges, Sweeney, Minns, and Buckmaster.)''

Personnel

*Paul Minns —

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. ...

and

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

*Glen Sweeney — drums * Paul Buckmaster —

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Simon House Simon House (born 29 August 1948 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) is a British composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. Career Before his time with Ha ...

—

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and VCS3 *Denim Bridges —

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s The album also features vocals by a 12-year old

Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017) was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and ''Cheggers Plays Pop''. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music From Macbeth Third Ear Band albums Works based on Macbeth 1972 soundtrack albums Harvest Records soundtracks Drama film soundtracks