Search - Tania Opland, Mike Freeman Anne McCaffrey :: The Masterharper of Pern

Tania Opland, Mike Freeman & Anne McCaffrey create the music of Pern, the setting of many of McCaffrey's best-selling books. Anne McCaffrey contacted Opland and Freeman when she began writing Masterharper Robinton's life story. She wanted to include some of his music in the book, and asked if they would write it. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the book was published without the music. But meanwhile, the concept had grown from a handful of tunes to a full 50 minute CD of songs and instrumentals, using Anne's lyrics from the original Pern books, plus some expanded lyrics that she wrote specially for this project. The musical interpretation draws on many cultures and eras, and features a wide range of stringed, wind and percussion instruments, vocals, and beautiful production. The music is performed by multi-instrumentalists Tania Opland and Mike Freeman, with guest appearances from William Pint, Hilary Spencer, Brian Bedford and Alicia Healey on vocals, and Madeleine Doherty on harp. Cover art by Gerald Brom. They've revisited Pern for another CD, "Sunset's Gold" (Menolly's music from the Harperhall Trilogy), with guest vocals from Alicia Healey, William Pint, Felicia Dale, Toni Wood, Joe Prater, and Emily Groff, and instrumental contributions from Philip Boulding (folk harp and valiha), Harper Tasche (folk harp and bray harp), Madeleine Doherty (concert harp) and Felicia Dale (hurdy gurdy), in addition to Opland and Freeman's vocals, guitars, violin/viola, recorders, hammered dulcimer, cittern, mandola, djembe, congas, frame drums, bells, bones, glasses, pan lids...