The Salmon’s Tail
An epic orchestral work following the life cycle of the Salmon, with Phil Bancroft delivering an extraordinary improvised solo performance playing the spirit of the Salmon from birth to death on whistle, soprano and tenor saxophones. It has an immersive cinematic quality featuring binaural field recordings of the actual locations described in the story, The Salmon's Tail follows the journey from the hatching of the Ova in Rock Pool, as a Parr then Smolt moving down the River Tay, past the noise of Dundee to the pollution of the North Sea and the glory of the Atlantic, before the return journey back to the very pool where their life began.
Conceived and composed by Dundonian composer and musician Kevin Murray, there is a narrated version and an instrumental-only version. Bancroft’s solo part was recorded over 20 years ago in multiple sessions, and the arrangement features contributions from many leading musicians including Colin Steele, Mario Caribe, Brian Kellock, John Rae.
The result has been painstakingly arranged, remixed and transferred to new digital orchestral samples- a true epic labour of love by Murray- and a candidate for Scotland’s answer to Peter and The Wolf- with a message ideally suited to our times.
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| Ova | 05:23 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Parr | 05:52 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Smolt- from The Salmon's Tail | 05:44 | × The Salmon's Tail follows the life cycle of the Salmon from Birth to Death in an epic musical journey conceived and realised by Dundonian composer, musician and fisherman Kevin Murray. Phil's solo part, recorded over 20 years ago while Phil was in his early thirties, is almost entirely improvised following closely the written text of the story. The story is performed on the narrated version- available on bandcamp soon, but in this instrumental-only version, the story is told through Murray's cinematic orchestration and evocative melody, and through Phil's instrumental voice as the spirit of the salmon from it's earliest moments in 'Ova' on tin whistle. to soprano saxophone as the young salmon grows from Parr to Smolt. In this track the Smolt moves down the Tummel to the Tay, swimming past the city of Dundee, ending at the North Sea. Kevin has painstakingly composed, orchestrated, recorded and mixed this unique work, collecting field recordings from the actual locations on the river where the story is set, creating a monumental and moving reminder of the need for us to engage with the natural world and protect our environment. The album will be released next year on Myriad Streams. Contributors: Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; Mandolin: Kevin Murray; Composer: Kevin Murray; | |
| The North Sea- from The Salmon's Tail | 03:06 | × The Salmon's Tail follows the life cycle of the Salmon from Birth to Death in an epic musical journey conceived and realised by Dundonian composer, musician and fisherman Kevin Murray. Phil's solo part, recorded over 20 years ago while Phil was in his early thirties, is almost entirely improvised following closely the written text of the story. In this instrumental-only version, the story is told through Murray's cinematic orchestration and evocative melodies, and through Phil's instrumental voice as the spirit of the salmon from it's earliest moments in 'Ova' on tin whistle. to the soprano saxophone as the young salmon grows from Parr to Smolt. In this track the Smolt leaves the Tay, and moves out into the much larger scale of the North Sea, with its industrial noise and pollution, ending in the moment when the smolt swims off the edge of the continental shelf to see for the first time the majestic depth of the North Atlantic. Murray has painstakingly composed, orchestrated, recorded and mixed this unique work, creating a monumental and moving reminder of the need for us to engage with the natural world and protect our environment. The album will be released next year on Myriad Streams. Contributors: Soprano Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; Mandolin: Kevin Murray; Composer: Kevin Murray; | |
| The North Atlantic | 04:35 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| The Run Home | 03:03 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Drift Net | 02:07 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| The Estuary | 02:39 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Friaarton Net | 01:28 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Perth to Dunkeld | 01:18 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| Rockpool | 04:35 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
| The Fight and Finale | 06:46 | × Contributors: Composer: Kevin Murray; Tenor Saxophone: Phil Bancroft; | |
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