Worlds Within Worlds
Given that composer Richard Hill has worked with great English poetry throughout his career, it is hardly surprising that he would eventually come to explore his own creativity in the genre. From Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, from Shakespeare sonnets to the works of T S Eliot, Hill has brought his own personal interpretation of poetry framed in music - and has earned some wonderful reviews for his settings, both in the UK and in the United States of America.
Created as two digital download albums for Academy Recordings, Volumes 1 and 2 of Worlds Within Worlds are an anthology of Hill's poetic output over a two year period from 2009 to 2011. In a production partnership with son Paul, who also provided some of the soundscape material, these poems, narrated by Richard Hill, are all framed within musical tapestries specially created by Hill to enrich the appreciation of each poem for the listener. The result is a uniquely focused combination of poetic and musical thought, a creative experience in the melding of two art forms born of the same imagination - a singular aural and verbal delight. The influence of Hill's lifelong interest in Jungian psychology is much in evidence here, as is the spirit of the composer's poetic hero, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from whose notebooks the album series title Worlds Within Worlds has been borrowed.
Enjoy these comprehensive sound clips from Volumes 1 and 2 of Worlds Within Worlds and if you like what you hear, follow the link to the iTunes point-of sale Worlds Within Worlds where you can buy either or both Volumes and also download the digital booklets, which give more information, including the full text of all the poems.
Volume 1 Volume 2
