2 Musical Questions

[Marc_du_Temple]

One: Your favorite genre
Two: How you would soundtrack your favorite KK novel

One: classically inspired metal
Two: The Temple and The Stone/Crown would vacillate between historical chants, hymns and reconstructed pagan music, and the occasional rock song. If I could get Gregorian to write original pieces for them, I would.

I'm asking this not only because I'm always curious about new music from people I hold in high regard, but also to sort of get a glimpse at the world of Deryni while I'm finishing the Templar books.

[DoctorM]

One: Your favorite genre
Two: How you would soundtrack your favorite KK novel

One: classically inspired metal
Two: The Temple and The Stone/Crown would vacillate between historical chants, hymns and reconstructed pagan music, and the occasional rock song. If I could get Gregorian to write original pieces for them, I would.

I'm asking this not only because I'm always curious about new music from people I hold in high regard, but also to sort of get a glimpse at the world of Deryni while I'm finishing the Templar books.

1. My favorite musical genre... Hmmm... Let's call it darkwave, or a mix of 80s New Wave, 80s industrial-dance, trip-hop/ethereal, ambient, synth-driven dark-dance, some danceable goth, and electronica.

2. How would I soundtrack my favourite KK novels? The first thing that comes to mind is John Renbourne's classic "The Lady & the Unicorn" album. Something by This Ascension. And something by Azam Ali-- her music mixes Breton, Catalan, Persian, and Punjabi music. And at some point I'd have to find a place to use Fairport Convention's version of "Tam Lin"...and (of course) Sisters of Mercy doing "Dominion". Always and ever "Dominion".

I hope that makes sense...

[DerynifanK]

I love chants and medieval music. I would like more music that would be played at court by visiting troubadours as well as dance music played for the entertainment of the king and queen and their court. I particularly like music by terpsichore, music that Kelson and members of his court would have enjoyed.

[Marc_du_Temple]

I love chants and medieval music. I would like more music that would be played at court by visiting troubadours as well as dance music played for the entertainment of the king and queen and their court. I particularly like music by terpsichore, music that Kelson and members of his court would have enjoyed.

Maybe you're more than just a Deryni fan; maybe you are one!

[Marc_du_Temple]

One: Your favorite genre
Two: How you would soundtrack your favorite KK novel

One: classically inspired metal
Two: The Temple and The Stone/Crown would vacillate between historical chants, hymns and reconstructed pagan music, and the occasional rock song. If I could get Gregorian to write original pieces for them, I would.

I'm asking this not only because I'm always curious about new music from people I hold in high regard, but also to sort of get a glimpse at the world of Deryni while I'm finishing the Templar books.

1. My favorite musical genre... Hmmm... Let's call it darkwave, or a mix of 80s New Wave, 80s industrial-dance, trip-hop/ethereal, ambient, synth-driven dark-dance, some danceable goth, and electronica.

2. How would I soundtrack my favourite KK novels? The first thing that comes to mind is John Renbourne's classic "The Lady & the Unicorn" album. Something by This Ascension. And something by Azam Ali-- her music mixes Breton, Catalan, Persian, and Punjabi music. And at some point I'd have to find a place to use Fairport Convention's version of "Tam Lin"...and (of course) Sisters of Mercy doing "Dominion". Always and ever "Dominion".

I hope that makes sense...

I love that "wave" stuff too. These seem like good things to look into! In my Templar playlist, there are a couple of old Ashkenazi songs like El Adon & The Lord's Prayer by Karen Davis (one of the Templar Tales is about the culture clash between a Parisian Jew and a Templar who was Jewish) and actual medieval Catholic works as well, some of which were directly mentioned in the Templar books, like the Phos Hilarion , in case you're looking for more cultural crossovers.

[DoctorM]

Marc-- thank you for the music suggestions! Merci!

[Shiral]

Interesting question, Marc. I have two albums called Sacred Treasures 1 and 3 which consist of Russian Choral music. I find this music beautiful in it's own right, but when I listen to it and read the Deryni books, I feel like it would be heard at the Hagios Iob in Torenth. (Possibly a bit on the modern side for the 12th century, but I'm not inclined to be fussy. My father was very interested in Baroque and medieval music, but honestly, I get  enough of listening to that pretty soon. It's appeal is limited for me.)

   Celtic music, anything including the Celtic harp makes a "good Deryni soundtrack" for me. I also enjoy the film soundtracks for the Lord of the Rings movies. One piece I associate with the Deryni books that you might not suspect is Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Not sure why. Mostly the "Procession" which is a recurring theme. And "The Hut on Fowl's Legs" and "The Great Gate of Kiev."
 

[Marc_du_Temple]

Interesting question, Marc. I have two albums called Sacred Treasures 1 and 3 which consist of Russian Choral music. I find this music beautiful in it's own right, but when I listen to it and read the Deryni books, I feel like it would be heard at the Hagios Iob in Torenth. (Possibly a bit on the modern side for the 12th century, but I'm not inclined to be fussy. My father was very interested in Baroque and medieval music, but honestly, I get  enough of listening to that pretty soon. It's appeal is limited for me.)

   Celtic music, anything including the Celtic harp makes a "good Deryni soundtrack" for me. I also enjoy the film soundtracks for the Lord of the Rings movies. One piece I associate with the Deryni books that you might not suspect is Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Not sure why. Mostly the "Procession" which is a recurring theme. And "The Hut on Fowl's Legs" and "The Great Gate of Kiev."
 

Very sophisticated selection. Thank you for reminding me what "Procession" is called, and I hope to see what you mean about these songs when I get to those books. 

[DoctorM]

Interesting question, Marc. I have two albums called Sacred Treasures 1 and 3 which consist of Russian Choral music. I find this music beautiful in it's own right, but when I listen to it and read the Deryni books, I feel like it would be heard at the Hagios Iob in Torenth. (Possibly a bit on the modern side for the 12th century, but I'm not inclined to be fussy. My father was very interested in Baroque and medieval music, but honestly, I get  enough of listening to that pretty soon. It's appeal is limited for me.)

   Celtic music, anything including the Celtic harp makes a "good Deryni soundtrack" for me. I also enjoy the film soundtracks for the Lord of the Rings movies. One piece I associate with the Deryni books that you might not suspect is Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Not sure why. Mostly the "Procession" which is a recurring theme. And "The Hut on Fowl's Legs" and "The Great Gate of Kiev."
 

Very sophisticated selection. Thank you for reminding me what "Procession" is called, and I hope to see what you mean about these songs when I get to those books. 

You might also like the album "Le mystere des voix bulgares"...Very lovely Slavic choral music.

[DesertRose]

I don't have a single favorite genre, LOL.  I like music out of all sorts of genres, including what used to be in the "World Music" sections in record stores.  I like everything, except what I don't like.       Right now I'm on a symphonic metal kick, because intentional bombast with neither apology nor self-deprecation is the Uniform of the Day, apparently.

To soundtrack the Deryni novels, I'd go for something like Thomas Tallis or Palestrina, with some Celtic harp-dominant instrumentals and Rachmaninoff's Vespers for the Hagios Iob section of KKB.  A bit modern, but honestly not much music from 10th-12th C. Europe is extant.  I would try to insert "Sumer is Icumen In" somewhere in there, though.

When I work on Deryni fanfic, I usually turn on my Early Music Consort of London Pandora station.  If I feel like putting a little more effort into it, I'll make a VLC playiist of my Thomas Tallis double-CD set with my Newbery Consort "Music for a Medieval Banquet" and the Mediaeval Baebes, seasoned with some Bach, bits from various soundtracks (the 1993 film "Shadowlands" has a lovely recording of the Oxford College Choir singing "Sumer is Icumen In"), and a few selections from Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

[Marc_du_Temple]

I don't have a single favorite genre, LOL.  I like music out of all sorts of genres, including what used to be in the "World Music" sections in record stores.  I like everything, except what I don't like.       Right now I'm on a symphonic metal kick, because intentional bombast with neither apology nor self-deprecation is the Uniform of the Day, apparently.

To soundtrack the Deryni novels, I'd go for something like Thomas Tallis or Palestrina, with some Celtic harp-dominant instrumentals and Rachmaninoff's Vespers for the Hagios Iob section of KKB.  A bit modern, but honestly not much music from 10th-12th C. Europe is extant.  I would try to insert "Sumer is Icumen In" somewhere in there, though.

When I work on Deryni fanfic, I usually turn on my Early Music Consort of London Pandora station.  If I feel like putting a little more effort into it, I'll make a VLC playiist of my Thomas Tallis double-CD set with my Newbery Consort "Music for a Medieval Banquet" and the Mediaeval Baebes, seasoned with some Bach, bits from various soundtracks (the 1993 film "Shadowlands" has a lovely recording of the Oxford College Choir singing "Sumer is Icumen In"), and a few selections from Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Symphonic metal, you say? If you read the Templar short story trilogy beginning with Thierry de Challon in City of Brass, I must recommend imagining the scenes set to something like Nightwish's Sahara. The incredible woman's singing of love and, frankly, scandalous lust overshadowed by mystical intrigue and peril may seem strange in contrast to the Templar Rule against such attachments, but Thierry does not quite internalize The Rule at any point.

And I have got to make a list of all these recommendations! I really like the vibe of the Deryni novels already, despite having read none of them yet. 

[duck]

I don't particularly like the Templar books, although some of the stories in the anthologies are interesting and I did enjoy the William of Occam Stories.  But the Templar books leave me very cold (Sorry, Marc du Temple) I did recently re-read "Temple and the Stone" which mostly reinforced my distaste for the series. 

However, the soundtrack to "La Reine Margot" potentially makes a good match to the Templar stores (although the events of the film occur in the late 16th century).  The soundtrack features the incredible vocals of Ofra Haza (Z""l) singing "Elo Hi". A truly amazing singer.

Era's "Ameno" (sung in pseudo-Latin) also has a very Templar / Knightly feel to it as well.  The original version of this song first appeared in the French comedy film "Les Visiteurs" which involved a 12th century knight time-travelling to the late 20th Century. Like the band Enigma, Era haveincorporated Gregorian chants in their music.

There is an ensemble called "The York Waits" who released an album called "Music from the Time of Richard III"  It has been ages since I listened to it, but my housemate at the time I acquired it, described it as "music that makes you want to put on tights and dance" Also dating to after the Templar period.

Other music that might fit within a Templar soundtrack could include stuff by Heilung (whose music apparently appears in the Vikings series soundtrack) and Eivor (whose music appears in the soundtrack to The Last Kingdom soundtrack).  They comprise more northern Germanic / Scandinavian neo-folk music but would possibly work well with the parts of the Temple and the Stone dealing with the pre-Christian practices of the Comyns.  Heilung certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea but they have done a rather interesting interpretation of the Hurrian Hymn to Nikal.

And I'd give a shout out to the Tallis Scholars and Tenebrae (their rendition of 'Versa est in Luctum' is marvellous).  But the repertoire of both ensembles tends to be from the Renaissance period onwards.   

In terms of a deryni themed soundtrack. Why not throw caution to the wind and follow movie directors Baz Luhrmann and Sophia Coppola and run with a list of classic pop songs?  Imagine Charissa singing "these boots are gonna walk all over you ..." (from "These boots are made for Walking") during the Duel Arcane.

Morgan sitting in the library with "In the air tonight" playing in the background – what happens when you get to that drum solo?  A bit of George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" to accompany Morgan's return to Rhemuth? "Derry B Goode" by Chuck Derry?  Tricky to figure out which band encapsulates Nigel and Arilan.  I'm leaning towards Nigel being a Rolling Stones fan or maybe Led Zeppelin and Arilan a Dire Straits fan "Brother in Alms"

Throw in the Bee Gees and ABBA and you have a truly horrific yet totally catchy soundtrack. Which character would make "Stayin Alive" their theme song?  It could be Rhys Thuryn walking / dancing through Valoret at the start of CofC. "Dancing Queen" and "the Winner takes it all" for Kelson.

Oh you want me to be serious? ... Yeah, nah! 😊

[Jerusha]

I have always been partial to INXS's "Devil Inside" for Morgan and Derry's return to Rhemuth. Picture them cresting a hill riding hell bent for leather with the music pulsing in the background.   

[duck]

Brilliant!

I had thought that INX might be just a bit too obscure for the North American DD contingent.  I should have also made a shout out to Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue "Where the wild roses grow" (perhaps for Rimmell in DC)
 

[Marc_du_Temple]

I don't particularly like the Templar books, although some of the stories in the anthologies are interesting and I did enjoy the William of Occam Stories.  But the Templar books leave me very cold (Sorry, Marc du Temple) I did recently re-read "Temple and the Stone" which mostly reinforced my distaste for the series. 

However, the soundtrack to "La Reine Margot" potentially makes a good match to the Templar stores (although the events of the film occur in the late 16th century).  The soundtrack features the incredible vocals of Ofra Haza (Z""l) singing "Elo Hi". A truly amazing singer.

Era's "Ameno" (sung in pseudo-Latin) also has a very Templar / Knightly feel to it as well.  The original version of this song first appeared in the French comedy film "Les Visiteurs" which involved a 12th century knight time-travelling to the late 20th Century. Like the band Enigma, Era haveincorporated Gregorian chants in their music.

There is an ensemble called "The York Waits" who released an album called "Music from the Time of Richard III"  It has been ages since I listened to it, but my housemate at the time I acquired it, described it as "music that makes you want to put on tights and dance" Also dating to after the Templar period.

Other music that might fit within a Templar soundtrack could include stuff by Heilung (whose music apparently appears in the Vikings series soundtrack) and Eivor (whose music appears in the soundtrack to The Last Kingdom soundtrack).  They comprise more northern Germanic / Scandinavian neo-folk music but would possibly work well with the parts of the Temple and the Stone dealing with the pre-Christian practices of the Comyns.  Heilung certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea but they have done a rather interesting interpretation of the Hurrian Hymn to Nikal.

And I'd give a shout out to the Tallis Scholars and Tenebrae (their rendition of 'Versa est in Luctum' is marvellous).  But the repertoire of both ensembles tends to be from the Renaissance period onwards.   

In terms of a deryni themed soundtrack. Why not throw caution to the wind and follow movie directors Baz Luhrmann and Sophia Coppola and run with a list of classic pop songs?  Imagine Charissa singing "these boots are gonna walk all over you ..." (from "These boots are made for Walking") during the Duel Arcane.

Morgan sitting in the library with "In the air tonight" playing in the background – what happens when you get to that drum solo?  A bit of George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" to accompany Morgan's return to Rhemuth? "Derry B Goode" by Chuck Derry?  Tricky to figure out which band encapsulates Nigel and Arilan.  I'm leaning towards Nigel being a Rolling Stones fan or maybe Led Zeppelin and Arilan a Dire Straits fan "Brother in Alms"

Throw in the Bee Gees and ABBA and you have a truly horrific yet totally catchy soundtrack. Which character would make "Stayin Alive" their theme song?  It could be Rhys Thuryn walking / dancing through Valoret at the start of CofC. "Dancing Queen" and "the Winner takes it all" for Kelson.

Oh you want me to be serious? ... Yeah, nah! 😊

Very kind of you to put so much thought into this. Not everyone has to have the same favorite books, of course. My ranking of KK's work may very well change once I get to reading the Deryni novels. I think you can soundtrack these very well!