A Mother's Voice

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

The Plays 

 
 
 
 
 

 Music

The music used in A Mother's Voice should reflect the culture in which it was set. As written, it is set against a South American background. The play uses a good deal of music and this was integral to the original aims of the production. In the published text I mention a number of pieces and make various recommendations. In this section I have expanded this information; included links to extracts of the music and given details of how to purchase the music on cd.

Andean music is readily available. Do try to use authentic music and beware of CDs with the words "Pan Pipes" in the title - these are frequently cheap synthesised versions that lack heart, soul and musical taste! I highly recommend the work of the group Incantation which only use genuine instruments. There are however numerous groups of native musicians available through World Music suppliers.

Remember, listing music here does not constitute a licence for its use. All pieces used should be recorded on the PRS licence of the venue in which the performance takes place.

The extracts listed here are in mp3 format. Some of these files are quite large so be patient if you are using a slow connection. Remember these are only extracts of the full songs. To play the songs click on PLAY and then Open

Incantation - Doina Cestriana  PLAY

This piece was used at the beginning of the play and underscored the whole of the opening scene. It is a tremendously atmospheric piece that really sets the tone for the play. The piece runs (entirely accidentally as it happens) to the perfect length and is also a good guide to the pace needed. It really adds to the drama extremely effectively.

Incantation - Sikuriadas   PLAY

This is the piece used for the major dance at the festival. Again this seems a perfect choice. It begins very slowly becoming wilder and wilder until its conclusion

Incantation - Reunion   PLAY

This music was used to underscore the bringing in of the father's body. Again it is tremendously atmospheric and powerful, changing the mood instantly from the previous piece

Incantation - Dolencias   PLAY

We used this music for the final dance of the play, when the women dance alone. It is a traditional courtship dance and its lilting melody and haunting vocal were tremendously effective for this final moment.

Incantation - Dawn at Vilcabamba   PLAY

This is another amazingly atmospheric piece that we used to underscore speeches by the ghosts (other than the opening). This added considerably to their "other worldliness".

For other music in the piece we used a mixture of traditional Andean music and some wonderful Argentinian guitar music.

Purchasing

NB there is another band called Incantation who play a very different brand of music - don't confuse the two!