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  Within each of GGK's books there are songs played and sung, and verse composed and read. From Kevin's song for Rachel which becomes Paul's song for Kevin, to the Garden Song of Arbonne which brings Lisseut fame, to the title song of A Song for Arbonne itself. Songs that represent love, loss; even battle. Considering how much of GGK's work relates to the various forms of art, this isn't surprising. This section of the site is related to songs, music and poetry written by other people who have been inspired by GGK's books. There are also recorded instrumental versions of some of the songs in GGK's books. (Use of the lyrics in a recording would be a copyright breach, of course.) Martin Springett has promised an instrumental treatment of 'Rachel's Song' making use of a cellist (!). Others are invited to submit their instrumental workings of the songs in the novels. "Painted Feet (On Ochre Sand)"This is an instrumental piece composed by Martin Springett. Martin relates: "Painted Feet is most definitely Kay inspired, firstly by The Lions of Al-Rassan, and then I suppose a "subtext" from Sarantium, the idea of life being a fleeting thing, sometimes captured through art. The dancers dance becomes a memory, beautiful but transient, the sands she dances on shift and change. I started working on it while reading Lions, and as these things normally go, I didn't do a good recording of it till I was reading Sarantium, so they merged in my head." In this composition, Martin plays the twelve string guitar, and sings, William Penner Mackay is on percussion, Ron Allen on Bansuri (flute) Peter Smith on flute, and Rahlen Sullaphen/Fretless Bass. DianoraThis is a new instrumental piece composed by Martin Springett. He writes: "Dianora has touched me more than any other character in Guy's novels, I must confess. Her character is defined by war and loss and tempered by love. Her anguish as a woman in a male world, her love of the man who placed the knife in her soul, and the vengful act that she knows will finally extinguish her soul if she acts upon it. ( All these thoughts were with me when I felt I had to write something. I knew it should definitely not be a song with lyrics, it had to be something for the listener to wander through, nothing pinned down.) I always knew that I had to have a cello as the main melodic voice, and I was very lucky to meet Allyssa Wright, who because she has played many different kinds of music, didn't just play "the dots", but allowed the melody to breathe with a human ebb and flow. For those who are interested, I recorded the guitar in one take, and apart from the harmonies, Allyssa also captured her cello part on the first take. This is rare." Martin is bringing out a CD called 'Bright Weaving' that will include the above two pieces as well as eight other Kay inspired pieces. The CD will be available on March 17 2004. Click here to see the cover of the CD, the music listing, and more details. Click here for a review of the CD, and here for an essay by Martin himself on the genesis of the music. Come Lay Me Down - Tanyss NixiCanadian Tanyss Nixi has been a professional performing musician since she was 17 years old, and is planning to release an album this year. She wrote and recorded 'Come Lay Me Down' which was inspired by The Lions of Al-Rassan. She has very kindly agreed to me adding an mp3 of the song to the site. You can hear more of her music and find out more info about her at her page at http://www.tanyssnixiweb.comCeinwen's Bow - Talis KimberleyTalis Kimberley is another talented singer/songwriter who regularly tours Europe and America doing gigs, and has released a successful album 'Archetype Cafe'. She describes her sound as 'urban wardrobe.' Her song 'Ceinwen's Bow' is inspired by the goddess Ceinwen of Fionavar. It has been recorded in the past, but we don't have a recording available at the moment to put on the site. Talis does have plans to record it again soon, though, at which point we'll get a copy here! To find out more about Talis Kimberley and her music, visit her site Talis.net.A Song for Arbonne by Merav HoffmanThis song is inspired by Bertran and Lisseut, mostly. It has musical notation to go with the lyrics.Fionavar filks by Joy GreenThese don't yet have associated tunes, but when/if they do, I'll add the notation here. To see other filks by Joy Green, visit her site here.Brightly-Woven Prince Song of the Baelrath Darien's Song Defiance (Jennifer's Song) Beacon (Kevin's Song) Tigana (Instrumental) - Alex HancockAlex writes: "I have read Tigana several times, the first when I was just 16. I read it at our summer house on the beach in Spain and can remember forsaking the beautiful sands, laying on the bed and drinking in what would become my favourite book. The song as a whole was not written for a certain part of the book but more as a direct expression of the experience imparted by it. The writing began shortly after I read the prologue again, which reawakened the memory of the story. No tune was in my head when I started, but the main melody was quick to shape itself as I let my digits wander. The middle part of the song was as much as possible a direct reference to the tragic and bitter love between Dianora and the Ygrathen. Not being a composer, I had to develop it from past song playing experiences. I believe my musical inspirations for the song came mainly from these sources: Asturias by Albeniz, Paddington's Pound - an Elizabethan tune for the lute, and a previous song I had made for my girlfriend, Nickie."The Summer Tree - Jes PerryJes Perry is a singer/songwriter from Boston whose first full length cd of original music is due out this autumn. One of the tunes on the cd is entitled 'The Summer Tree' and is based on some of the images in The Summer Tree and and also Marian Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. Most of the images in the tune relate to Paul and Kevin's trials from The Summer Tree and the myths of the stag and the old pagan/celtic rituals that were invoked. Jes has her own website at http://www.jesperry.com with more information about her work and more samples of her music, but she has very generously said that she'd like this to be the exclusive place on the web where you can hear 'The Summer Tree.' So enjoy folks, because this is one talented musician we've got here!'Silvenes''Silvenes' is a poem sent in by William A. Bazzell, inspired, as will be clear, by The Lions of Al-Rassan and the beautiful cities that existed for a time, before their destruction in the fall of the khalifate.'Ode to Fionavar''Ode to Fionavar' was penned by a regular denizen of the Bright Weavings forums, our very own Simon Fraser. He writes: "Upon completing my nth re-read of the Tapestry (lost count so long ago), I became unexpectedly caught in an upwelling of emotion when, near to the very end, I again read the description of the song given by Ra-Tenniel, Lord of the lios alfar, where he gave voice to "...the long tale of the war just past." I would love to have been able to hear such a stirring summary of the tale I had just read. Not being able to, I decided to pen a few words of my own in an attempt to express my appreciation of how the story still moves me after so long a time. "'In Fionavar'A poem on the beauties of Fionavar, sent in by Emma Melville.'The Troubadour'Sent in by Krissy Hunter, who writes: "I am an avid reader of Guy Gavriel Kay's works. My mother has had his books on our shelves for sometime now, and just this past summer I picked up Sailing To Sarantium, and from then on I was completely hooked. In a matter of weeks I had read every book that we owned (which is all of them). Inspired by A Song For Arbonne and an impending trip to France, I wrote a poem called "The Troubadour". |
   
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