Music Davood A. Tabrizi

Music Research Clare Shanks

Music Recorded at EMI Studio 301Music Recorded by Richard LushMusic Mixed by Davood A Tabrizi

Richard LushLyrics Davood A TabriziSolo Voices Mara Kiek

Martin Doherty

The film’s score was released on LP and CD by Jarra Hill in 1989.

JHR 2010; CD Jarra Hill JHR 2010 1989

The composer had this to say about the music on the back cover of the LP release:

About the Record: Most existing medieval music reflects the life of the rich - usually the court and the nobles - so a search began to create a music that would suggest the earthiness of the daily life of a 14th-century miner in a bleak Cumbrian village. I was inspired by Celtic folk music, Gregorian chant or plainsong, mining songs from the 19th century, naive peasant music and Scottish military music, which were fused with the Eastern sounds brought back to the West by the Crusaders. The Music of The Navigator has travelled like the film itself.

Solo Voices:Mara KiekMartin Doherty

Instrumentalists:Paul Koerbin on Gaita (Spanish bagpipes), Gaida (Macedonian bagpipes), Shawm, Crumhorn, Psaltry and OudBill O’Toole on Wooden Flute and Medieval BagpipeJusto Diaz on Quena and Quenacho (flutes of the Andes)Olympia Karanges on Zampoñia (panflute of the Andes)Davood A Tabrizi on Bombo (Argentinian base drum)Tempo, Dohol (Persian drums, Saz (Turkish string instrument) and Abek Flute

Orchestras:Northern Chamber OrchestraSydney University Chamber Choir

Produced by Davood A TabriziEngineered and mixed by Richard LushRecorded at EMI Studio (Sydney)Research by Alison Carter.Cover by Sherman, Sherman & Bolt P/L

Side One:Forging the CrossVisionThe AscentPlainsongQueenfishMacedonian PipesPaean: The DanceRefugeesConnor’s ReturnStormWork SongEscapeThe FallCeltic Refrain

Side Two:RequiemThe KnellPanpipes and Drums: Loading the HorseSeeing the Celestial CityThe PilgrimageBrotherhoodCantusThe ChaseFalcon CallThunder Dream

Azan - The Caller from the EastThe DeathThe QuestAsunderTrumpet CallCeltic Refrain

The CD seems to have had several covers:

The press booklet for the film contained these notes on the music:

Composer:

Davood A. Tabrizi is presented on the Move label, currently on line here, with these details for the Russian-born, Iranian-trained composer provided:

Davood A. Tabrizi is an accomplished composer and performer from Iran. Trained in Western Classical and Persian Classical music, he has written music extensively in Australia, Iran, Canada and USA for film, theatre, television, radio and special events.

Davood has established a reputation as being an innovative, multi-talented and diverse composer, producer and performer. He has won several awards for films including an Australian and New Zealand Film and Television Award for his score for The Navigator (dir. Vincent Ward) in 1988, while his score for Clara Law's Floating Life (1996) won the Golden Horse Award at the 1997 Taiwan Film Festival, as well as the Asian and Pacific Film Festival Award 1997.

His other film credits include Business Behind the Bars (2000), Cinema, Cinema (1996), Resistance (1991),For All The World To See (1991), Australia Daze (1988), The Surfer (1986), Rocking the Foundations (1984), Hostage (1983) and Sleeping Lion (1977).

His work was also represented on a Facebook page (link no longer working) in relation to a Sydney Festival performance:

Davood A. Tabrizi – A multi-award winning composer, one of the most exciting and innovative performers on the world music scene today – brings together a dynamic collaboration between culturally diverse artists to present this musical celebration of Persian & Spanish flamenco fusion. He also performs with his band ‘The Far Seas’, with some amazing special performers. Trained in Western and Persian Classical music, Davood has written, recorded and performed music throughout Australia, Iran, Canada and USA. He has been a pioneer of world fusion music on the Australian scene since 1980.

Tabrizi came to Australia after the Iranian hostage crisis. A number of his works can be found on YouTube by googling his name, while there are many other references to work by him and his band The Far Sea, ranging from Music Viva to world music sites. In terms of film music, he is perhaps best known for composing the score to Vincent Ward's The Navigator.

(Below Davood Tabrizi)

(Below: Tabrizi winning an award for his music for Vincent Ward's The Navigator - presumably the New Zealand Film and Television award for best film score, though the awards aren’t identified on the YouTube video showreel)

(Below: Tabrizi and his band)