The Lady Of Shalott
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Music & Lyrics by Pigni This was inspired by the painting of the same name by John William Waterhouse and partially by the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson…so how to kill two birds with a stone ! I am a Pre-Raphaelite enthusiast….how could a man not be, with all those long haired pretty gorgeous models ! Actually the lyrics are my interpretation of the painting and are about the so called sacred feminine. The Lady is also the Pistis Sophia (from the Gnostic gospel) who "exploring" the world of men descending from the upper spiritual realms is deceived and falls down through the inferior eons of creation into matter. The verses then move simultaneously the action in a sort of Jungian synchronicity to the Tate Gallery (where the painting belongs) and we find a mortal human being who by simply looking into the picture gets in touch with the other world and can feel and see the whole story and ultimately wants to save the unlucky girl—or perhaps wants to save his own soul..or is he affected by Stendhal syndrome ? Have your own idea please…. but it is not about earthly love ! Musically the first part is narrative while the second instrumental part aims to convey the Lady's cry for her entrapment. Since I trusted it was quite a romantic subject both lyrically and musically, I thought about the great talent of Nick Magnus whom I remembered especially for his great contribution on such great early Steve Hackett's albums, so I sent him the track asking if he would be interested and he enthusiastically accepted and so here we are…you can hear yourself the superb result of his contribution…the first live show I ever attended was a Steve Hackett's concert from the Defector tour I assume and Nick was there on the stage of course, therefore gone full circle now; thanks Nick I am honoured to have you here on the album ! Last but not least much credit must be given to Luca's input on this track with his arrangement and he also suggested a few chords, especially a couple of minor chords somewhere in the first part to counterbalance my ever major seventh chords mood ! and to Filippo for his lovely violin part ! |
