I spent only two days in Barcelona on Sunday and Monday of this week just gone.  It wasn’t enough time.  Other than seeing the inspiring architecture of Gaudi, my wife and I visited the Museu de la Música with its permananent collection of musical instruments from antiquity to the present day – although I must say that I don’t think that an mp3 player should count!

The collection of instruments from The Americas was most informative especially for the guitar and wooden flute collection.  So how many of these instruments can you picture:  Charango, Requinto, Chillador, Poro, Antara, Kamhu purru, Flauta de bec doble, Pinquillo, Chirimia and Tarque?  Well, I knew two (the first two) but the rest remain a mystery to me as to when they are used, by whom and for what musics?  Oh well, this is the front-end of research when trying to absorb new knowledge about music from different cultures.

The other place that we visited in Barcelona – purely for enjoyment – was the Palau de la Música Catalana.  This is the concert hall originally built for the Orfeo Choir at the turn of the 20th-Century.  I think this is the most beautiful performance space I have ever seen.  I will post some photos of both of the places mentioned in the near future.

Anyway, I’m back in Australia and will start work on some musical sketches for the new show this coming week when I get down to Hobart and back to work after the Summer vacation.  More soon.

Kevin

Welcome to The Mapmaker’s Opera – The Musical.  Well, finally, the site has gone live after many months of preparation.  A big thanks to Chris Stevens without whom none of this would be possible.

I assume that if you are visiting here, that you have at least a passing knowledge of the novel of the same name by Ms. Gonzalez, on which this musical adaptation is based.  If not, then you have the joy of discovering this novel all ahead of you!

My blog page on this web site has been created to allow interested individuals to communicate with me whilst the process of writing music to Victor Kazan’s lyrics for The Mapmaker’s Opera – The Musical proceeds over the next twelve months.  Right now, I’m in Spain doing research on Flamenco which will inform some of the music in the score.  During my visit, I have come to realise that Flamenco is not only a highly sophisticated and virtuosic artform, but it is also an emotional experience that is difficult to put into words.  The traditional Flamenco concerts that I have seen in Seville during this trip (not the ones designed for tourists) have been both eye-opening and a privilege to experience.  If only my own guitar playing could be that good!

Also, I thought I would share share my experience of writing the score for this new stage work because, like all interesting projects, it offers new opportunities and challenges from a compositional and orchestration perspective in musical idioms – Flamenco and certain Latin-American musical styles associated with South America – that are not entirely common to The Musical as a genre.  Apropos, on the way to Spain, I stopped over in London for a few days.  During the Christmas/New-Year period I saw Zorro, a new Musical with music by the Gyspsy Kings and John Cameron at the Garrick near Leicester Square.  It’s really a lot of fun with excellent design and direction.  If you’re in London, it’s worth the effort to go and see.

Finally, Victor and I are going to record each of the songs as we get them done and post them here on the site to listen to for your comment.  We’ll be interested in your views (both encouraging and critical) and it will help us to know what people think of the project as it develops.

Please take some time to visit all the pages on this web site (at least those that have content on them at the moment) to get a feel for what Victor and I are setting out to achieve in this new work.

Regards from Seville.

Kevin