Composer/Producer John Manchester has logged over 25,000 Needledrops since he began creating Library Music in 1980. His unique style, incorporating everything from live orchestration to loops and funky downhome players has been heard in every medium worldwide including Network TV programs, National Radio and TV Commercials and Promos, Corporate presentations, Message-On-Hold and Mulitmedia.

Manchester Music consists of 3 series: The Manchester Library (30 CDs) Manchester Special Edition (7 cds) and Essential Music (2 CDs). In addtion to composer John Manchester you will find the work of many composers. The library has a unique sound and format, including Theme Suites and many Underscores.

DIGGING DEEP



By John Manchester



When potential customers ask why our library costs more than some other libraries, we explain that the music is performed live by the top NY musicians; I am sure it makes sense that the music might cost more to produce and therefore sound better, thus giving it a higher value which justifies the higher price. We also talk about the quality of the compositions, which is not so easily quantified. I spend the better part of a year producing 2 Volumes of the Manchester Library. This is far more time than most composers spend, who are usually paid a buy-out fee. Aside from the production, which I will discuss later, what am I doing with all of that time?

When I start a new music project I like to do a lot of research both musically and technically. This allows me to offer CDs which are both fresh and full of musical and sonic content.

My latest project was 2 CDs with contrasting moods, "Dark Drama" and "From the Heart and New Age. " In preparation I found myself listening to recent music as well as classics from the near and far past. I combined old technologies (traditional orchestral scoring and live recording) with the latest digital audio techniques and sample CD resources to make a unique sound.

For "Dark Drama" I began my listening with the father of dramatic scoring Richard Wagner (a huge influence on all of the great film composers up to John Williams) and moved on to Bernard Hermann and Erich Korngold. For "From the Heart" I listened to a lot of classical music; I found the slow movements from Mozart's Piano Concerti, slow movements from Beetoven Piano Sonatas and String Quartets and works of Brahms particularly inspiring. For both projects I auditioned many contemporary film scores on-line, ordering the best on CD. "Dark Drama" required me to stretch my understanding of dissonance. Rather than subscribe to some formal system such as serialism, I consulted with some fellow composers for some tricks of the dissonant trade, and then experimenting at the piano began to come up with my own "system" of dissonance, which gave me the understanding I needed to proceed.

I purchased an EMU Ultra 6400 sampler, and a large orchestral library as well as a disc with a great harp on it. These were most useful for various percussion instruments, as I was using live orchestral players. I also got a CD-ROM with unusual loops (it took some searching to find the right one) to use on "Dark Drama." I had been using sampled pianos for a long time, but decided to try a live player. I found a well known classical performer who happened to be interested in doing something which was not strictly classical. We had a good time working together to bring his great chops to bear on my music , which tends to be somewhere in the chasm between Classical and Pop. The results, recorded at a local studio, added particularly to "From the Heart."