Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra
Images and a few words about the Halloween Spooktacular! Alan Dearling
Courtesy of The Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra and Choir.
As they loudly proclaim, they are: “An accessible musical community group based in Todmorden.
We are an eclectic bunch, with a varied range of musical experience, playing an equally eclectic mix of tunes, and having a great time doing it!”
Halloween night! And they had a whole load of new tunes to offer the crowd of ghouls, witches and many others from the realms of the undead, including songs by Bjork, Buffalo Springfield, Ennio Morricone, Iggy Pop, and more… They also treated the audience with an opportunity to experience their vocal and instrumental warm-up routines which feature lots of improvisations and sonic experiments. I really enjoyed this pre-concert feature.
The Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra is a vibrant, kaleidoscopic community project comprising over 50 professional and amateur musicians. Renowned for their colourful and eccentric costumes and inclusive spirit, they bring massive energy to contemporary arrangements. Plenty of opportunities for a magical blend of voices and sounds from a rich array of musical instruments.
Particularly successful and memorable was Anna Meredith’s ‘Nautilus’. Great percussion and an ethereal exuberance, weirdness and charm. ‘Nautilus’ is a powerful and haunting, pulsating maximalist instrumental piece originally composed by Scottish electronic and acoustic composer Anna Meredith.
While it has been recorded and performed globally by prestigious traditional ensembles like the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, it is also famously a staple repertoire choice for The Fantasy Orchestra community.
I have learned about the Song: “ ‘Nautilus’ acts as a sweeping brass fanfare characterized by its relentless, overlapping polyrhythms and dramatic ‘beat drops’. It first appeared on Meredith’s debut EP Black Prince Fury and her album Varmints before being officially expanded into a full symphonic orchestration. Beyond community orchestras, its dramatic composition has seen heavy use in pop culture, including Prada fashion campaigns, movie soundtracks, and Netflix’s Lady Gaga documentary Gaga: ‘Five Foot Two’.
Anna Meredith’s iconic fanfare, ‘Nautilus’, premiered in new orchestral version by Lahti SO & Dalia Stasevska.” It’s a favourite in the Fantasy Orchestra’s repertoire.
Here is Tom Winstanley’s atmospheric video of ‘Nautilus’ on the Halloween night: https://youtu.be/wRcoy7UEwKQ
I found out online that the concept for: “The Fantasy Orchestra was developed by Chef D’orchestre, Jesse D Vernon, based in Bristol and also now in Paris, Kent and coming soon to Melbourne Australia. Each Fantasy Orchestra (motto: ‘more is more’) brings together 40+ musicians, professional and amateur, to create a kaleidoscopic symphonic brigade.
Their eclectic repertoire covers film soundtracks (Morricone, Barry, RD Burman), rock and pop favourites (Hendrix, Beatles, Bowie), and some more obscure treasures. Think psychedelic loveliness, rousing choral noise, and some choice costumes.” They brought out their first album, ‘The Bear and other stories’ in 2020.
The Calderdale Fantasy Orchestra is following their example with their own new vinyl ep, released in November on Golden Lion Sounds.
It features Alexis Taylor and Hot Chip as well as songs by Terry Logan and John Armstrong, along with Claire Broxup and an excellent soprano sax solo by Atholl Ransome. It has been produced by David Insua-cao and Sam Greenwood. The Choir is directed by Stanislava Chalova and the album artwork is an original oil painting by India Bird.
As you can see, I joined in the mayhem and spooky strangeness as the mad, trans-witch! (image from Mick Raven – thanks!) All in all, an exhilarating night of organised musical anarchy! Luv ‘n Respect.