Between myself and Claire (my better half and singer from U. Kay Hytz) we are covering the vocal phrases of the words by Goethe that Strauss originally intended to put to the tunes of Metamorphosen. Of course I am terrified of letting this piece down, so taking things very slowly. We are over 4 minutes in now though.

I received the score of my Tone Poem Kingley Vale back from the printers this week. It looks amazing. Beautifully engraved by Graham Hall at ghmusic.prep.com and printed on heavy grade A3 paper so no bleed through from the other side of the pages.

I have started remixing 'Culmination' from Digitiphony 3 final movement in Dolby Atmos surround. I think this format may be about to become more mainstream as an immersive music format, though of course, in the history of music formats there have been many casualties along the road so no-one can predict which ones will stay the course. But I think music has been itching for a new format for decades - the gradual creeping, pervasive compression of music files on the internet to stream them has had a numbing effect on music quality, though it is understandable how and why it has happened. But Dolby Atmos has been around in cinemas and theatres for a while now, and the technology is spreading to people's homes and, more importantly, AI and software developments have meant that it can be translated into headphones listening. Our two ears make 3 dimensional sense of sound surrounding us, after all, so why shouldn't that be possible with artificial intelligence and computer software?

Also I am back working on my Digitiphonic version of R Strauss' Metamorphosen, again, after gaps and distractions. I need to accept that this is a long term project and pace myself. I am terrified I will make a poor rendition of a much admired, aesthetically profound and inspired piece of music, so I am taking my time and being careful and meticulous. I am working on the second phrase of the words by Goethe that Strauss was originally going to use for the music, before it became a string piece. These words of Goethe's are deeply moving, and are one reason why I can't let this project go.

I went down to Kingley Vale in the South Downs, UK, to check my memories of it were correct while I was writing the Tone Poem of the same name. I took lots of photographs, retracing the steps of my childhood walks in that magical, mystical and inspiring place. I have assembled them into a video and put it on Youtube, accompanied by the music I wrote.

Kingley Vale, my modern day Symphonic/Tone Poem, is now released at Apple, Spotify, Tidal and all good internet music stores. I am gradually moving my psyche back to working on my Digitiphonic version of R. Strauss' Metamorphosen, which the above Tone Poem distracted me from. More on that soon.

I have finished my modern day Tone Poem/Symphonic Poem 'Kingley Vale' a challenge I accepted from my friend Richard Howard and inspired by a magical place in the South Downs, UK. Kingley Vale is a mixture of ancient Yew Forests, Steep Hills and antiquated burial mounds. the Yew Trees are believed to be up to two thousand years old, the burial mounds even older.

A Tone Poem was a descriptive, orchestral, programmatic piece inspired by a certain place or situation. I walked up Kingley Vale many times as a young child, then as an adult. This music was based on the first of those journeys that I can remember - I would have been about seven. When I was three quarters of the way through writing the music, I decided to take a trip down there, as lockdown was easing. it's only 10 miles away from where I live. It all seemed amazingly familiar, despite the fact that I haven't been there for many years..