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That Shakespeare’s dramatic language ranks amongst the most musical ever penned is scarcely surprising. His works, more tham drama, are woven into the very rhythm, melody and harmony of English. The intention of the homage is to blend that a great literary tradition with the aesthetic variety of jazz. The compositions begin with the musicality of the text, extend into song melody. Different styles are then applied so as to view the beauty of the words from different angles: the singers’ dalliance wit melody, the actors; expressiveness, the improvisers’ inventiveness. Old recordings and vocalised excerpts from the speeches provide additional aural fragments. The hope is to explore the timeless sounds for the Bard, To hear that history afresh.
– David A. James (PhD)