Spirits of the Dark Muse is the latest of Maurice Cope's music crossover/world music projects

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This new recording is being written around poems and lyrical settings by poet Jody Allen. The vocal lines are being sung by vocalist Helen Penfold along with the monks choir of St Benet's and the heavy metal band Leaden all of which are mixed into a soundscape of original electronic sounds.

The music features serene monk chants with ambient sounds, trance percussion and hard driving metal.The album also features arrangements of beautiful dreamy songs based on celtic imagery and compositions featuring dark, Ambient Music.

'Spirits of the Dark Muse' is due to be released in December 2009 by RVR Records. There are also plans to stage the work as a contemporary ballet production in 2010.

Maurice's previous crossover music compostitions and arrangements have been seen and heard at many Arts and Music Festivals. The music has also been danced to by several contemporary ballet companies and has been featured on BBC Radio and other broadcasting stations.

What the critics have said about Maurice Cope's crossover/world music..............

"Inspired by ideas from a wide spectrum of traditions and cultures, the arrangements and compositions by Maurice Cope create an exciting synthesis of ancient rhythms, classical themes and folk/jazz imagery becoming a fascinating style of contemporary music".....Peter Van Dyke

"The music is performed by four session musicians amid a soundscape of programmed music created by classical musician Maurice Cope. In a live context the music emerges as a powerful landscape of musical poetry which is led by a group of classically trained dancers, a very stunning performance"......Adrian Bose, Future Music Magazine.

Radio.

'What fantasic music!! Such a wide mix of many styles.....The late John Peel BBC Radio 1, 1998.

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