MAGENTA’S NINTH IS A SYMPHONY!
The Welsh band get orchestral on The White Witch – A Symphonic Trilogy.
Magenta’s ninth studio album will be unveiled on October 31 via Tigermoth Records. Over a year in the making, The White Witch – A Symphonic Trilogy is a three-part orchestral suite and, as such, it’s a departure for the Welsh band.
“I do so much music for TV,” band linchpin Robert Reed tells Prog, “that when I had [orchestral] players working on a TV session I got them to play some parts for me too. So it’s a mixture of real players and top-of-the-range orchestral samples. It’s all orchestrated, with Tina [Booth] singing and Chris [Fry] playing classical guitar. It was a challenge – I’ve done shorter classical pieces before, but never a 50-minute symphonic work.”
Reed drew inspiration from his movie composer heroes John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Ennio Morricone. The album opener, Sacrifice is an orchestral reworking of the tune The White Witch, from Magenta’s 2001 debut LP Revolutions, while Retribution is based on Lust, from their 2004 album Seven. Featuring narration from Les Penning and lyrics from regular collaborator, Reed’s brother (and fellow horror film fan) Steve, the third piece is Survival, a new work that closes the record’s story arc.
“It’s about how witches once lived among villagers,” Reed explains, “healing, and being treated as good people, then witchfinders went around burning them, and Survival brings it up to date. The people we see as healers these days are nurses and doctors, especially after Covid.”
The band are looking into performing the album live, with full orchestra. For orders go to www.tigermothshop.co.uk.