Mongrel Jazz, an imprint
of Black Pepper, launched Summer
Symphony: A Novel
In Four Movements, by Colin Duckworth on 8 August 2005 at
The
Stork Hotel, Melbourne, with a speech from Dr
David
Kram, Associate of the Royal College of Music, composer, librettist,
conductor and Head of Opera, Victorian College
of the Arts.
Colin Duckworth’s
third novel tells of the power of love to encourage and inspire, and
music’s power to move and heal. But music can also be
immensely
destructive. A battle between good and evil is fought, with music as
the weapon.
1971. In
London’s Festival Hall Alan Scott’s
Symphony of Universal Healing
is first performed. Its mystic harmonics have extraordinary effects on
the audience: an elderly woman stands up, exclaiming she has not been
able to do that for years. Another, younger, woman, admits without
embarrassment that the performance gave her an orgasm. In this
predominantly English middle-class audience the unthinkable has
happened. People start to talk openly about an unusual feeling of
wellbeing. After the concert a stranger introduces himself to Alan and
his wife as an old school friend, Keith Maxtel. From that point on, the
disquieting past intrudes.The chequered love story of Alan and his wife
Bella begins when they are fifteen and Hitler’s bombs are
raining
down onEngland. Their musical quest (mystical to Alan, scientific to
neuropsychologist Bella) is sparked by their experience of an
inexplicable healing phenomenon in a Norman château duringthe
Liberation. It extends to the past and the future, from Paris in the
1890s to California in the early 21st century. Alan is determined to
find out why he, a musically gifted but nondescript boy from a suburban
background, became guardian of such powerful mystical harmonies.
Harmonies which others might seek for their dark and destructive
aspects. Alan and Bella’s decisions will prove crucial.
Duckworth’s pace and
timing are just about perfect.
The Weekend Australian
ISBN 1876044993
Published 2005
334 pgs
$28.95
Summer Symphony
book
sample
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First Movement
‘I
sigh the lack of many a thing I sought.’
WHITE: C major > RED: G
minor
TEMPO 1: Duo - Trio
TEMPO 2: ALLEMANDE: barbaro
- tragico - amoroso - marziale
Second Movement
Mysteries
PURPLE:
B flat major
TEMPO 1: misterioso
TEMPO 2: ALLEGRO: volando
- mistico - spirituoso
Third Movement
Revelations
GREEN:
F minor
TEMPO 1: alto ma più profondo
TEMPO 2: ANDANTE: lagrimoso
- FUGUE: con dolore
Fourth
Movement
Resolutions
BLUE:
E major
TEMPO 1: precipitoso, minaccevole
TEMPO 2: FINALE: scherzo
vivace
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Reviews
The Latest Word
Summer Symphon
William Brown
Wet Ink,
Issue 3, Winter 2006
Summer Symphony
chronicles the
lives of Alan Scott, composer, and Bella Cassell, neuropsychologist and
their efforts to transcribe and understand the seven harmonies (which
exist only in Alan’s mind). The seven harmonies are an
immensely
powerful combination of musical frequencies that have great effect on
the human mind and body for good or possibly ill. Told mostly from the
perspective of Alan, this fascinating tale takes the reader from
wartime Birmingham and London, England, through post-war France and up
to present-day California, with focus on 1970’s London.
Though the section headings, comprised of music terminology and
quotations, may seem daunting at first, it is not necessary to be
familiar with either to appreciate this tale. It is not necessary,
either, to be able to read French, which appears frequently in the
early sections of the story.
Summer
Symphony is written so that anyone,
regardless of linguistic or musical experience, can enjoy and
understand it.
Though I admire the creativity, structuring and loads of research that
were utilised in constructing this book, the narrative voice detracted
from the experience for me. Though this voice is disembodied, it is at
times too strong - especially when jumping across character
perspectives, revealing the thought processes of those characters, and
foreshadowing events to come. If the characters are allowed to show the
tale through their own actions and dialogue, the illusion is stronger,
and the story more gripping and real.
The real strength of this story comes out in the early sections of
Alan’s life - when he meets Bella, comes to grips with the
music
in his head, and experiences all those firsts we all went through
growing up. Alan, and thus the story, experiences more conflict not
just because of the Battle of Britain, but because he is growing up,
discovering his family history, finding his path and leaving home. Not
to say that a strong story is solely based on conflict and firsts, but
in these early sections the narrator allows the story to express itself
more, and is stronger for it.
Summer Symphony
is an
ambitious work, a rich read. I would have liked to read the story to
its natural conclusion - it is a shame that this book is a
‘novel
in four movements’ instead of an epic in four books.
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