David Wright Dissimilar Views 2 'The Korce Project' Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'Embarou Bay')

Klik hier voor de Nederlandstalige versie

The Korce Project originated in 1994 as a charity project in conjunction with The Body Shop and David Wright recorded an album's worth of material after 'Moments in Time' which was designed to be sold as a fund raising effort for the desperately poor children in Albania. The music was intended to reflect the experiences of a group of volunteers working with the children and was originally intended to feature alongside the poetry of Keith Bromley, the project originator, and be available from The Body Shop and selected outlets. Unfortunately, through no fault of the composer, the project fell through but a limited edition music cassette (AD8MC Ltd. Edition) was circulated. I was fortunate to get a copy and, in my view, the material was at least as good as other material from this period and an interesting progression from 'Moments in Time'. The cassette because of its limited availability became quite collectable and also contained the first Fox/Wright collaboration, 'Meeting at Trevalyn'. Some of the music from the Korce Project appeared on 'Dissimilar Views' in different versions (AD9CD) but new material was also included most notably the extended music which comprised the title piece. Hence this double CD set which includes 'Dissimilar Views', the main Korce Project suite in its entirety with 14 minutes of additional music, new extended, and alternative versions and other unreleased material digitally remastered.

Reassessing 'Dissimilar Views' it is clear that it represented a change of direction for David Wright a transition into different directions although retaining key elements from the early period romanticism. Sequences play an important role on tracks such as the longer version of 'Albania Part1' and 'Turning Tides' and the 2 versions of the excellent 'Rysheara' which remains a David Wright classic. 'Korce' with its restless, strident theme and rock percussion is a fine addition to the repertoire and 'Room of Dolphins' offers a perfectly chilled oasis of tranquility with some fine arpeggios and piano work. 'Benny's Theme' tugs at the heart strings with subtle instrumental work and delicate textures, whilst 'Embarou Bay' offers a more optimistic travelogue. The set concludes with 'Returning Tides' clocking in at just under the 10 minute mark it typifies the high quality of the unreleased material throughout.

This commendable release shows how prolific David Wright's output was at this time. Rest assured if you are unfamiliar with the Korce material and a fan of David Wright in general and 'Dissimilar Views' in particular this is a fine collection and fills a gap in the composer's musical curriculum vitae. (SR)

Nederlandstalige versie

Het Korce Project stamt uit 1994 en was voor liefdadigheid bedoeld in samenwerking met 'The Body Shop'. David nam hiervoor een album op na 'Moments of Time' hetwelk bedoeld was om geld in te zamelen voor de arme kinderen van Albanië. De muziek was geschreven om de ervaringen te weerspiegelen van een groep vrijwilligers die met de kinderen werkten, en deze moest ook nog samengaan met een gedicht van Keith Bromley, de projectontwikkelaar. Deze muziek zou dan verspreid worden door de Body shop en andere geselecteerde zaken. Spijtig genoeg, en zeker niet de schuld van de componist, werd het project afgeblazen en werd er enkel een gelimiteerde MC in omloop gebracht (AD8MC Ltd.).

Ik was één van de gelukkigen met een exemplaar en naar mijn mening is dit materiaal even goed als de rest uit dat tijdperk en zelfs een goede vooruitgang t.o.v. 'Moments in Time'. De cassette werd een collectors item en bevat ook de eerste Fox/Wright samenwerking "Meeting at Trevalyn". Een gedeelte van het Korce project verscheen eerder op 'Dissimilar Views' in andere versies (AD9CD) maar bij deze DCD zit ook nieuw materiaal bij waaronder de titeltrack. Buiten "Dissimilar Views" bevat deze DCD het complete Korce Project, alsook 14 minuten nieuwe muziek en alternatieve versies van onuitgegeven materiaal, alles digitaal geremastered.