Composers
Listen | Voice Actors | Scottish Chamber Orchestra | Composers | Sound Designer | Players | MSc Sound Design
We had three composers on the Lost Book team: Alexis Bennett, Blair Mowat and Michael Ferguson, all commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Alexis is doing episodes 1 and 6; Blair episodes 2 and 4; and Michael episodes 3 and 5).
Alexis BennettAlexis Bennett is a composer, viola player, ceilidh musician, teacher and academic. He read music, English literature and history at the University of Edinburgh before studying composition for screen at the Royal College of Music and historical performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Channel 4 and Turner Classic Movies and at film festivals worldwide, including Cannes, London and Edinburgh. In addition to playing with his ceilidh band and string quartet, he has just formed a group called The Early Music Experiment, a collective of baroque musicians who also like messing around with laptops.
Blog posts:
• 06 January 2009 – Composing begins
• 06 January 2009 – Music and mysteries
• 07 January 2009 – First demo is nearly ready
• 08 January 2009 – So far so good…..
• 11 January 2009 – Progress made and some musings on Mickey Mouse
• 15 January 2009 – Score and parts done (I hope…)
• 24 January 2009 – Last minute checks before recording session
• 13 May 2009 – Razzmatazz!
One minute interview: Alexis Bennett
Occupation:
Composer and musician
Where were you born?
London
Where do you live now?
After living all over the place, including 9 years in Edinburgh (5 years as a child and 4 at university), I’m back in London!
How many books are there on your shelves? (Approx.)
Maybe 1,500. I have no idea really. Loads. I love buying second-hand books especially. Mostly fiction, but also lots of music books.
What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Literature, animation and music go together like eggs, tea and bacon.
Do you think that constraints are creative?
Yes. Sometimes if you give yourself all the freedom you like, you don’t know where to start. Working with other people on their projects means that you are restricted to certain styles or durations or moods. But also it’s important to remember that some of the greatest artists have worked within very strict rules – for example, Shakespeare with the strict construction of lines in his verse or Bach with his fugues.
Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
I think it might have been someone who is a writer. Just a hunch.
Which book would you most hate to lose?
Lanark by Alasdair Gray. If you love Scotland and you love fiction, then you MUST read this.
Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Poirot. I was obsessed with reading Agatha Christie when I was a kid. Still a bit obsessed.
Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
Dogmatix from the Asterix books.
Which book has affected you the most?
See my answer about Lanark. It made me think about the world in a different way.
When and where do you read the most?
On the train.
Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
My bed, which is next to a bookcase.
What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
The way you can pick any page and read a sentence at random and you can always find something interesting (although how interesting depends on the book).
For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Books are perfect.
Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
No, but my dad put one down his trousers when he was caned at school (back in the days when such horrid things happened).
Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
Some books remind me of happy times, so they are friends. Others remind me of bad times so I hide them!
Blair MowatBlair is a composer for film, television, theatre and media. He grew up in Edinburgh before studying music at Durham University, followed by an MA in Composition for Film and Television at Bristol University. His clients have ranged from the likes of Channel 4 to offbeat independent film/theatre.
In 2008 Blair was short listed for a 4Talent award and received a Dewar Arts Award. As well as composing he also conducts and plays a variety of instruments including the clarsach (the Celtic harp!)
Blog posts:
• 02 March 2009 – Composer’s blog: episode 2 – instrumentation
• 03 March 2009 – Composer’s blog – how to carry the music on
• 04 March 2009 – Composer’s blog – musical aims
• 05 March 2009 – Composer’s blog – the ‘technical stuff’
• 14 May 2009 – ‘Welcome Back…’
• 18 May 2009 – Composer’s blog – Themes and Atmospheres…
• 02 June 2009 – Composer’s blog – “Hit me”
One minute interview: Blair Mowat
Occupation
Composer for film, theatre and media.
Where were you born?
Edinburgh
Where do you live now?
London, though I do come back to Edinburgh quite often to visit.
How many books are there on your shelves? (Approx.)
In London most of them are either in boxes or on my desk. In Edinburgh there are probably about 2,000 kicking around.
What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Leaving the recording studio once we’d recorded all the music and having lunch at Susie’s diner with Adam, Helen and Lucy. The gluten-free chocolate cake was brilliant!
Do you think that constraints are creative?
Definitely. Mainly constraints of time – otherwise known as deadlines, which are the best creative help anyone can have!
Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
I don’t think we’ve met whoever stole it yet but I’d like to think it just fell down the back of a bookcase somewhere and all this fuss is for nothing.
Which book would you most hate to lose?
My copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy, which are all signed by Philip Pullman himself.
Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Dr Who. He’s a detective of sorts right?
Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
Watson from ‘The Lost Book’. Any dog that can type that fast on a laptop demands my respect.
Which book has affected you the most?
The Great Gatsby or Animal Farm, both of which I studied at school and changed the way I looked at the structure of our society.
When and where do you read the most?
Usually in bed during the winter or when I’m travelling on a long train journey.
Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
I love the National Library of Scotland. They’re so strict in there about talking and mobile phones that I always manage to get lots of work done when I’m there. Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London also has an amazing selection of books. I could spend all day in there.
What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
Smell is very important, especially how the smell develops as the book ages.
For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Well it’d have to be music, though I do occasionally read books whilst listening to an appropriate film score and it can have very interesting effects on your perception of the text.
Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
Doorstop – most likely. Missile – I’m sure I threw books at my parents when younger, probably in protest at doing the washing up!
Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
I think there are certain books that can be reread over and over, and as you mature you realise something different every time you go back to them. That kind of book is like an old friend. A book that deals with radical ideas in politics or religion can change the way people think about other groups of people. I don’t think one of those books could be a monster but if a monster were to read it, they might extract something from it that wasn’t intended by the author and use it as an excuse to cause other people harm.
That’s rather deep for a last question; can I have another, more frivolous, one to end on?
Okay: what’s your favourite cupcake flavour?
Well it’d have to be a gluten-free cupcake because of my allergy to wheat but I’d go for ‘rum and raisin’.
Michael FergusonMichael grew up in County Derry, Northern Ireland. He moved to Scotland in 2002 to study Music at Edinburgh University, and graduated in 2006 with First Class Honours. Subsequently he was awarded an AHRC scholarship to undertake a Masters in Composition of Music for Film and Television at the University of Bristol.
Michael has composed music for a range of short films and animations, and his work has been screened at festivals worldwide, including the Los Angeles Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Dublin Darklight Festival and Galway International Film Festival. He recently composed the score for the Film London funded The Beachcombers, which won an ITV ‘Best of Borough Award’, presented at BAFTA 2008.
Michael is no stranger to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In his role as full-time Orchestra Librarian he is responsible for sourcing and preparing all the music for SCO concerts and tours. When not composing his own scores, he can be found buried deep beneath the works of the great musical masters in the SCO Library!
Blog posts:
• 12 April 2009 – Composer’s blog: episode 3 – setting up
• 13 April 2009 – Composer’s blog – large brushstrokes
• 14 April 2009 – Composer’s blog – changes
• 23 June 2009 – Composer’s blog – a good ‘standalone’ trio
• 24 June 2009 – Composer’s blog – Otto’s theme
• 25 June 2009 – Composer’s blog – Mickey Mousing
• 26 June 2009 – Composer’s blog – recording
One minute interview: Michael Ferguson
Occupation
Orchestra Librarian at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Composer
Where were you born?
Beverley, East Yorkshire (but my accent gives away the fact that I spent most of my time growing up in Northern Ireland).
Where do you live now?
Edinburgh
How many books are there on your shelves? (Approx.)
50 or so
What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Listening to world-class musicians bringing my scores to life – what could be better?!
Do you think that constraints are creative?
I think constraints are essential to creativity. The creative process, for me, is a constant stream of decisions and compromises – constraints just make it easier to make those decisions.
Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
The Librarian (never trust ‘em…)
Which book would you most hate to lose?
It’s rather geeky of me, but I’m quite attached to the set of thick black user manuals that come with Logic Pro (the main program I use in my music studio). It’s great to dive into them when I want to do something new with the software and can’t quite figure out how to do it myself! In my job as Orchestra Librarian I’m constantly referring to a book called Orchestral Music: A Handbook by David Daniels, which gives all manner of useful bits of information about orchestral repertoire, such as scorings and publishers. My job would certainly be more difficult without it (…and I would also hate to loose it as it officially belongs to SCO Concerts Director, Judith Colman – my boss!).
Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby from Midsomer Murders
Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
I was a big fan of the Spot books in my childhood, featuring a dog of the same name.
Which book has affected you the most?
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
When and where do you read the most?
On the train
Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
When I first moved to Edinburgh, I lived a stone’s throw away from Blackwell’s bookshop on South Bridge. Needless to say I spent a lot of time there, and I still can’t resist popping in for a quick browse whenever I’m up that end of town.
What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
The fact that you can take it anywhere.
For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Narration by Stephen Fry
Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
1) No – but (shamefully) I’m currently using 4 carefully positioned volumes of the Harry Potter series to lift my speakers to the correct height above my desk in my studio. (Sacrilege I know, but they’re just the right thickness…) 2) Probably 3) Washing up?
Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
When I was young I once persuaded my parents to buy me a supposedly factual book about alien abductions. It freaked me out so much that I ended up throwing in our wheelie-bin just before the bins were emptied!
The Lost Book is an animated web series where you wrote the plot.
