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Harrison's Chronometer

from The Glass Cathedral by Philip Sheppard

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I wrote Harrison’s Chronometer in 1999. It was released as the B-side (if there can be such a thing) and companion piece to The Glass Cathedral.
Unlike the Cathedral piece, this uses electric cello as well as acoustic, and was my first experiment with the (then) new instrument that I’d had made in Seattle. It seems a naive piece in some ways, but it was the first time I’d played with the idea of making films for the radio.
The escapist in me loves the thought of drawing impossible spaces & creating utopian places through sound alone – and, of course, it’s impossible to get near to such a thing… But, it always gives me a kick to have a go…
Original Sleeve notes
Harrison’s Chronometer is a soundscape depicting a voyage to Lisbon which carried H-1 on its test voyage. Lines of Longitude enmesh the creaking ship and its mechanical cargo locked in the cabin below.
The piece was recorded entirely with an electric cello conceived, designed and built by Eric Jensen in Seattle.
In 1737, John Harrison, a self-trained clockmaker, completed the construction of ‘H-1′, a chronometer designed for sea voyages to determine accurate longitude. Previous attempts to win the £20,000 prize for a foolproof system had attracted inventors, con artists and lunatics. Hogarth portrayed such an obsessive in The Rakes Progress scribbling a solution on the asylum wall.
Hogarth described the timekeeper as ‘one of the most exquisite movements ever made’. Harrison’s timepieces are beautifully displayed at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

credits

from The Glass Cathedral, released July 5, 1999
Philip Sheppard; Cellos, electric cello

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Philip Sheppard London, UK

Philip Sheppard is an accomplished film composer and virtuoso cellist.
His film soundtracks include In the Shadow of the Moon (winner of the Sundance Film Festival), The Tillman Story, Sergio, Bobby Fischer Against the World amongst many other award-winning films.
He has written for many major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic.
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