It’s not often that I would write following on from having performed at a funeral. Perhaps a wedding, given that the occasion might be somewhat happier.
However, yesterday - Monday 2nd December - saw myself and my writing partner in crime - lyricist Lesley Creasser Guymer - bidding a very important character in our lives his final farewell at Birches Crematorium in Northwich.
For those who need a little background, myself and Lesley have been working on a musical adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story ‘Morella’ - and have been for well over a decade.
Having staged a successful condensed production (that in additional to having been fleshed out, has been rewritten several times!) back in 2014 at King Edward Street Chapel as part of Macclesfield’s Barnaby Arts Festival, we decided that the way to go ‘fully fledged’ was actually to record the entire concept album! No mean feat.
Thanks to some people who we already knew as well as the Internet, we managed to cast almost all of the parts, calling once again on the services of Micheal Daws as our male lead and welcoming back Eddie Melling, Tom Blackwell, Rosie Carlisle and Patsy Phillips to the cast. The Internet was on our side too, as we welcomed Rosanne Priest and Alex Allison.
A name familiar to me yet unfamiliar to ‘Morella’ - Nicky Evans - was gladly welcomed, whereas Lesley had her own similar input; a friend of hers who she didn’t realise had such as good baritone. Warwick Nixon.
Of course, back then we were recording at the Old Saw Mill in Congleton and we leaped at the chance to bring Warwick down and try him out in the role of Lead Sailor - a very important part as - whilst only small - sings perhaps one of Lesley’s most personal works: “Song o’ the Sea”.
He already did justice as not only was he cast, but we demoed all of his parts. He appears in just five songs - one of which is a mere cameo line! Yet he was enthusiastic about it right through.
Towards the end of 2023 we were glad to welcome Warwick back to put down his final recordings, though evidently as a result of his then newfound enthusiasm to sing (courtesy of us, I am led to believe!) his much more recent experience at singing in a choir plus singing lessons surprised both of us at how much his voice had come on. Much more confident and altogether richer.
Whilst it’s fair to say that Warwick himself was keen to do them all again as he wasn’t 100% happy - Lesley and I felt a similar way (though we felt much more of it was usable than he did!).
And that was the last time I personally saw him, however his mark was very much left.
Cycling back round to yesterday, I was called upon to accompany the Biddulph Male Voice Choir - with whom he sang - to perform two pieces: “Mansions of the Lord” (from ‘We Were Soldiers’, I believe) and “African Prayer”. Whilst the first piece is much more inkeeping with what you may expect at a typical funeral - even a non-religious one such as Warwick’s, “African Prayer” brought a tremendous energy to the room that was contrasting and brilliant in its own right. The choir did him proud, and I can only imagine the sense of completion that they would have found had Warwick been there with them delivering his low - but very powerful - tones.
As I have been sat over the last couple of weeks listening and re listening to the songs that were recorded by Warwick for ‘Morella’, it is clear that he cannot be replaced. His voice will be used on the final album and will be cherished by us and all those who loved him.
Thank you Warwick for all you did for us, and thank you for believing in the project.
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