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The
following article was published in May 2003 on Sting.com, Sting's
official website. The author was Sophia Dilberakis.
Shaping
Up: Dominic Miller takes us on a voyage of discovery...
Dominic Miller describes the making of his first classical CD,
'Shapes', as having been a voyage of discovery. However, the truth of
the matter is that it is the listener that is treated to the real
voyage of discovery. Within a few minutes of dropping the CD into the
changer, one begins to view "Dominic Miller the guitarist" in a
different light. As the 12-track journey meanders through compositions
created as early as the 17th century and as recently as the last
decade, one cannot help but feel mesmerized.
You are taken through a historic retrospective of partitas, adagios,
sonatas and the like all interpreted through the technical virtuosity
of a 21st century guitarist.
"Coming from a more pop or contemporary world, it was important for me
to approach these works in a way that I could relate to. This started
off by deconstructing the pieces purely for the sake of understanding
their workings and nature and then rebuilding them. I have had two
main rules: firstly, the need to try and make a sincere connection
with the composer and secondly, the need to be as sincere as I could
to [the listener]."
The message that Dominic wants to leave behind is that these
compositions are as modern as anything he's ever heard, despite the
fact that many were created centuries ago. "They've got fantastic
chords, they've got emotion."
Above all, Miller hopes that 'Shapes' is an album about breaking down
barriers. "I'd like to take people who are afraid of the classics on a
voyage of discovery," he says. "It's not difficult music. They are
just great tunes which I've tried to interpret in an enjoyable and
genuinely new way."
Sometimes a course of action is planned from the outset and sometimes
one stumbles into creative destiny by simple happenstance. The latter
turned out to be the case for Dominic Miller.
Finding it difficult to write music while on the road, he began to do
so almost immediately after the two-year 'Brand New Day' tour ended
late in 2001. As Dominic explains, the goal was to write "the third
'whatever'" in keeping with the naming convention established by his
two previous solo works - 'First Touch' (1997) and 'Second Nature'
(2000).
"I set to it right away and I came up with five tunes that I was
really happy with," he begins the tale.
Then in May 2002, acclaimed producer and friend Nick Patrick rang
Dominic and asked if he had been working on anything new. A meeting
resulted.
"I played him the songs and he really liked them. Then I played him
one of the Bach partitas which I had recorded and he was really blown
away by it," Dominic says.
"It sounded fresh and new and I immediately felt he should do an
entire album of that," says Patrick, who has worked with everyone from
Roy Orbison to Russell Watson. "As a guitarist, Dominic's got a unique
touch and although he's very disciplined, he's an instinctive and
soulful musician with an entirely free spirit."
Admitting to being somewhat obsessed with J.S. Bach, the new musical
love affair began at the beginning of the 'Brand New Day' tour when
Sting gifted Dominic with a book of Bach partitas and sonatas. Sting's
message was, "This should keep you occupied." Little did he know how
prophetic his statement would end up being.
Time on the road during the 'Brand New Day' tour also marked a time of
personal transition for Dominic. Instead of spending his free time in
rock and roll fashion, he frequently stayed in his room working out
how to play Bach's violin partitas on guitar. At first it began as a
technical exercise, working out guitar fingering. From there, he began
to explore the meaning and soul of the music.
With Nick Patrick encouraging him, Dominic put his original
compositions, which were originally slated for the third album, aside
and began to explore other classical options. But not without a bit of
resistance at the outset.
"I didn't want to compete with classical guitarists," he humbly
explains. "But I finally agreed to try as long as I could do it my own
way."
Patrick encouraged him to try Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata next and
"basically that's what got the whole ball rolling."
But it wasn't until Dominic attempted Bach's 'Ciaconna' that real
momentum started to build. "I had set myself on the Isle of Wight and
thought I'm going to try 'Ciaconna'. I'm just going to put a drum beat
onto it; nothing to do with classical."
The interpretation turned out to be a crossover treatment as opposed
to being purely classical. It had just the right touch of "weirdness",
according to Dominic, to get the attention of several record labels
interested in the project.
Dominic signed with BBC Worldwide and then entered into "the fun part
of choosing a repertoire. We didn't have a lot of time to go through
every single tune and demo them… especially when you are recording
with an orchestra. We spent about a week going through the tracks. The
A&R guy and musical director Jane Carter at BBC picked some tunes that
I would have never picked," Dominic says.
As such, one of the important learning curves, Dominic admits, was
learning to delegate and trust the decisions of others. His prior two
solo releases were largely independent efforts, which he totally
controlled. This would be the first time that he would be going with a
major label as a solo artist.
"I was apprehensive about control. There are a lot of people involved.
It's a new venture for me. In a way, I am forfeiting my solidarity,
which is against my political principals," he notes.
On the other hand, he acknowledges that it was "a joy to play with
grownups!" And also to "allow other people to have a say as to how I
am presented. Normally I would argue a certain point musically. Now I
give my producer benefit of the doubt."
As one goes through the track listing and notices the names of
venerable composers Franz Schubert and Edward Elgar alongside Johann
Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, one can't help but stop on
the more contemporary and familiar names of Miller and Sting.
Their collaborative composition, Shape of My Heart which originally
made its appearance on 'Ten Summoner's Tales' and most recently found
its way on the live September 11, 2001 recording of 'All This Time',
also occupies a spot on 'Shapes'.
'Shape of My Heart' began many years ago when Sting phoned Dominic to
ask if it would be okay to write a song around a Miller guitar riff.
"It wasn't difficult to answer. The opportunity to co-write a song
with someone who is not only a good friend, but also one of the
greatest songwriters of all time wasn't to be missed. It seemed
fitting to invite him to rerecord this song with me in a way that
would blend in with the rest of the album."
In addition to the new luscious, string-laden interpretation overlaid
with Sting's distinctive vocals, there was also a deeply personal
twist. Dominic invited his eldest son, 17-year old Rufus to play
harmony guitar. The reasons are simple and driven by the purest form
of unconditional love. "He is a really good guitarist and he is my
son. I hope he always remembers the experience. I know that I will."
Shape of My Heart is the first of three vocal tracks on 'Shapes'. In
arithmetic balance, the vocal tracks occupy spots three, six and nine.
Noteworthy is that each of them has a distinct personal connection to
Dominic.
Aside from the Miller/Sting composition (track three) the two other
vocal tracks are 'Ave Maria' (track six) and 'Misa Criolla' (track
nine).
'Misa Criolla', a well-known piece of church music, occupies a special
place in Dominic's heart and "sends shivers up my spine every time I
hear it." The tune was written in 1963 by Argentine composer Ariel
Ramirez. (In Argentinean Spanish, Criolla is pronounced Kree-OH-zsha;
traditional Spanish pronunciation is Kree-OH-ya.)
Dominic, who was born in Buenos Aires in 1960 and remained there until
the age of 10, grew up listening to 'Misa Criolla', which means Lord
Have Mercy. It is considered a folkloric piece, reflecting various
textures of Argentine music.
"It is arguably the most beautiful Argentine work ever written,"
Dominic says.
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