South West Shakespeare Festival scores with original music
There’s a lot going on at the inaugural South West Shakespeare Festival (22-26 April) and it’s easy to miss the quieter but equally impactful contributions. One of those will be original music for the performance of “The Merchant of Venice”.
Prof Anthony Musson composed new music for the play and will also perform live throughout the performance. Audiences can look forward to the soundscape of 16th-century Venice, enhancing the experience of a script-in-hand show.
Festival Director Judith Morgane says: “It’s so important to offer platforms for new compositions and new writing. We have created one with this festival and plan to champion this even more in the coming years.”
Anthony Musson is a cultural historian, heritage consultant and freelance musician. He was a chorister at Westminster Abbey and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, where he studied as an undergraduate and also gained his doctorate. As Head of Research for Historic Royal Palaces, he has been leading an Arts and Humanities Research Council project Henry VIII on Tour: Landscapes, Communities and Performance exploring the purposes, logistics and spectacle of Tudor royal progresses.
With Lightbear Lane, Anthony ran a city-wide heritage enactment event “Henry VIII at Exeter”.
Find tickets for the festival here.
Photo by @sarahspencer_photography
