Created in 1989, this collaborative adaptation of Animal Farm was a truly interesting experience.
Locating and archiving material from the production has been a challenge. Someday, I will need to drag out my VCR player and try to transcribe the script, as well as the songs. To be honest, I love this kind of work. Stay tuned.
I recently re-recorded the seven songs. The original cassette tapes are still around so I used them as blueprints for the recordings. In cases where I did not have a complete set of lyrics, I either created new ones, or left the part as instrumental.
I appreciate your comments. Enjoy.
Script coming soon!
THE SONGS
Beasts Of England: Because this is about something totally British, I wrote an anthem. While I do not have the original lyrics, I did find the relevant text in Animal Farm: “Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland Beasts of land and sea and skies. Hear the hoofbeats of tomorrow! See the golden future rise! Now the day of the beasts is coming. Tyranny man shall lose his throne. And the shining fields of England shall be trod by beasts a-lone”
The Seven Commandments: The animals have decided on 7 commandments, which are all dismissed in time.
The song starts with an interesting organ part that uses a contrary motion of major and minor chords, something that I gleaned from my favorite composer, Béla Bartók. The song then goes into a simple 7-part polyphonic account of the commandments. The bridge is instrumental (I don’t have the lyrics!) so it seems a little out of place, but thank goodness, the 7-part commandments re-enter.
Napoleon and Squealer: Alright, we have a celebration here. These two are so excited about what they are doing that it demands a party.
Does this song have a little island feel, or is it hand-jive? It was a lot of fun to perform given the direction the story was about to take.
Snowball’s Lament: Poor Snowball, working tirelessly to keep the revolution going, only to have the vision corrupted by Napoleon and Squealer.
I wrote this song as if Whitney Houston was going to sing it (think Saving All My Love For You). I thought that was an interesting way to get Snowball’s feelings across. In fact, my wife and I did adapt the song and re-record it as “Tell Me What I’ve Got To Do.”
The Day Old Boxer Died: Boxer, totally dedicated to both hard work and Napoleon, eventually passes away. Squealer lies and says that Boxer has been taken to the veterinarian, but he actually was taken to the knacker.
I wanted to capture the emptiness of a great worker (soldier) being remembered, so, the sound of a trumpet, and a march.
Full Circle: There had to be something restorative in our play so we put together a final scene that had the characters back on stage.
The music is based on the sounds of a carousel. The chord pattern was definitely influenced by Procol Harum (A Rum Tale), a group I have loved since I first heard them in the late 60’s. The carousel image worked perfectly with the idea of history repeating itself. A very nice track indeed.
Sean Breen 