The Music of Filippo Testa
from the album
I Have No Office. My Office is the Sky!
These recordings were inspired by my life in the countryside. Each piece is an improvisation – a flow of feeling, my love for nature and its spectacular shifts and daily rhythms. The background sounds – water, birds, wind, the reeds on the lake – were recorded in and around my vineyards. These are the sounds I hear every day, the sounds that you will also hear if you visit us.
I would like to thank the voice artists for giving their time so generously and for interpreting my poetry with such sensitivity and skill.
Susannah Elliott is co-author and translator of Filippo Testa's book The Vine Whisperer and translated the poems voiced on this CD. She trained at Bristol University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She worked as an actress for ten years before moving on to a career in the heritage sector. She now researches, writes scripts and produces interpretation for exhibitions and historic houses.
Brìd Brennan is a Northern Irish actress who is known for her theatre work, she originated the role of Agnes in the Brian Friel play Dancing at Lughnasa, for which she won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She is also a three-time Olivier Award nominee; for Rutherford and Son (1995), The Little Foxes (2002) and The Ferryman (2018). Brennan reprised her role of Agnes in the 1998 film version of Dancing at Lughnasa, starring alongside Meryl Streep.
Sophie Thompson is an English actress who has worked in television, film and theatre. Five-times an Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the London revival of Into the Woods. Her other nominations were for Wildest Dreams (1994), Company (1996), Clybourne Park (2011) and Guys and Dolls (2016). Thompson's film appearances include Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Persuasion (1995), Emma (1996), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Gosford Park (2001) and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010).
© 2019 Filippo Testa