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The Vale of Linden

from Barkston Ash by Ian Neal

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Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
Sven B. Schreiber (sbs) thumbnail
Sven B. Schreiber (sbs) I knew that "Genesis" and "The Flower Kings" have a lot in common... but how close they really are couldn't have been demonstrated better than with this track, where Ian Neal succeeded in a symphonic rock cocktail that reminds me of both bands simultaneously. The keyboard-laden wall of sound is a pleasure for fans of vintage instruments, like Hammond, mellotron - and the unparalleled Yamaha CP-70, of course.
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about

The narration is based around a poem by Lionel Johnson.
Thanks to the guys at GForce Software for producing the "Isolation choir" mellotron tapes for the M-Tron. Their free choir tape banks were created during the Covid-19 Lockdown of 2020 and distributed free to M-Tron users. There's touch of a couple of 'isololation' choir patches in the background, along with some mellotron 'classical choir.'

lyrics

Behold, what fires august, what lights eternal! Hark,
What passionate music poured in passionate love's defence!
Could we but face unshamed the look of this pure light,
Could we but win earth's heart, and give desire release:
Then were we all divine, and then were ours by right
These stars, these nightingales, these scents: then shame would cease.

Could we but win earth's heart, and give desire release:

The night is full of stars, full of magnificence;
These stars, these nightingales, these scents:

[So long, lovely day, we'll just follow, on our way.]

Only to feel this night's great heart, only to mark
The splendours and the glooms, brings back the patriarch,
Who on Chaldean wastes found God through reverence.

Could we but live at will upon this perfect height,
Could we but always keep the passion of this peace

Behold, what fires august, what lights eternal! Hark,
What passionate music poured in passionate love's defence!

credits

from Barkston Ash, track released February 8, 2020
Evgenia Papamikrouli: Backing vocals and narration.

Thanks to GForce for their "Isolation Choir" mellotron tape banks provided to help inspire musicians during Covid-19 Lockdown, Spring 2020.

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Ian Neal England, UK

"What we need today, more than anything else, is to invest in beauty" (Vangelis).

Ian Neal blends prog rock alongside other genres. His projects fashion lustrous instrumental productions, mixing lyricism and complexity. The fourth album "Barkston Ash" draws inspiration from classical composers such as Holst, to mid-'70s progressive rock acts such as Yes, Camel, Genesis and Tony Banks. ... more

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