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Music Of The Spheres
As of 2007, Oldfield was still with Universal Music, stating in numerous promotional interviews that he was working on an instrumental album "in the old style," divided into sections and featuring real instruments, instead of the samplers used in his recent works. The project was called Music of the Spheres and was a classically inspired work, featuring the collaboration of Karl Jenkins, with Oldfield playing Spanish guitar, acoustic guitar, and piano. The album was recorded at the prestigious Abbey Road Studios in London.
Initially, the album was scheduled for release in November 2007; however, personal matters delayed the date to January 2008, and then again to March of the same year. The reason for the further delay was to allow for proper promotion of the album, something Oldfield didn't want to do until some time had passed since the birth of his new son. Even with the release date still somewhat distant, the album was already available on various file-sharing networks by September 2007. In 2007, Virgin Books published Changeling: The Autobiography, the official autobiography written by Oldfield himself.
Finally, in March 2008, Oldfield premiered Music of the Spheres in the atrium of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This concert, in which he played alongside the Basque National Orchestra and the Bilbao Choral Society, served as the world premiere of his latest album, Music of the Spheres. The concert, closed to the public, was recorded and made available online the week after its premiere via iTunes. Along with Oldfield's guitar, 112 musicians and an all-female choir performed in the atrium.
The album, like other purely instrumental works such as Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn, consisted of two parts, each over 20 minutes long. It was written for a symphony orchestra, accompanied by a grand piano, a choir, a soprano, and classical guitar played by Oldfield himself. The work is firmly rooted in musical Romanticism, very much in line with earlier works such as Hergest Ridge and Incantations. Classic Oldfield sounds abound: minimalist melodies, shifts in harmonic textures, and a melodic tone. It is a harmonious and very pleasing work, with a distinctly ancient feel. It was nominated for Best Classical Album at the 2009 Classic BRIT Awards. It reached number 7 on the Spanish music charts and achieved gold status, selling 50,000 copies.
As of 2007, Oldfield was still with Universal Music, stating in numerous promotional interviews that he was working on an instrumental album "in the old style," divided into sections and featuring real instruments, instead of the samplers used in his recent works. The project was called Music of the Spheres and was a classically inspired work, featuring the collaboration of Karl Jenkins, with Oldfield playing Spanish guitar, acoustic guitar, and piano. The album was recorded at the prestigious Abbey Road Studios in London.
Initially, the album was scheduled for release in November 2007; however, personal matters delayed the date to January 2008, and then again to March of the same year. The reason for the further delay was to allow for proper promotion of the album, something Oldfield didn't want to do until some time had passed since the birth of his new son. Even with the release date still somewhat distant, the album was already available on various file-sharing networks by September 2007. In 2007, Virgin Books published Changeling: The Autobiography, the official autobiography written by Oldfield himself.
Finally, in March 2008, Oldfield premiered Music of the Spheres in the atrium of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This concert, in which he played alongside the Basque National Orchestra and the Bilbao Choral Society, served as the world premiere of his latest album, Music of the Spheres. The concert, closed to the public, was recorded and made available online the week after its premiere via iTunes. Along with Oldfield's guitar, 112 musicians and an all-female choir performed in the atrium.
The album, like other purely instrumental works such as Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn, consisted of two parts, each over 20 minutes long. It was written for a symphony orchestra, accompanied by a grand piano, a choir, a soprano, and classical guitar played by Oldfield himself. The work is firmly rooted in musical Romanticism, very much in line with earlier works such as Hergest Ridge and Incantations. Classic Oldfield sounds abound: minimalist melodies, shifts in harmonic textures, and a melodic tone. It is a harmonious and very pleasing work, with a distinctly ancient feel. It was nominated for Best Classical Album at the 2009 Classic BRIT Awards. It reached number 7 on the Spanish music charts and achieved gold status, selling 50,000 copies.
wikipedia