Experimental

Biography
Neil Ardley was a British composer and author. He was the former leader of the New Jazz Orchestra and the composer of several well-known works for jazz orchestra, notably Kaleidoscope of Rainbows, dating from the 1970s. Later compositions were choral works, the most notable being a large choral work called Creation Mass. Neil Ardley has also written a hundred information books, mainly for children, on science and technology and also on music. https://www.neilardley.com

Album & Cover
Neil Ardley based this  album released in 1979 on the ancient idea of the Harmony of the Spheres, the idea that each planet produces a musical note related to its orbit. It was reasoned that, as everything in the heavens is perfect, the notes must sound together to produce a perfect harmony. Neil Ardley synthesized the actual harmony of the spheres, deriving the frequencies of the notes from the orbital periods of the planets. It can be heard in the all-synthesizer track Soft Stillness and the Night, and it is appropriately mysterious and dramatic. https://www.neilardley.com/harmony-of-the-spheres/

Cover Location:
Who Did What: Retouching – R. Manning. Photography – A.  Henderson. Art Direction – S. Thorgerson.
Label: Decca TXS-R133
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell

Tracklist

Credits
Bass – Bill Kristian
Clarinet – Tony Coe
Drums – Richard Burgess
Electric Piano, Synthesizer [Minimoog] – Geoff Castle
Engineer – Martin Levan
Engineer [Assistant] – Mark Freegard
Flugelhorn – Ian Carr
Flute – Barbara Thompson
Percussion – Richard Burgess, Trevor Tomkins
Piano – Geoff Castle
Producer – Martin Levan, Neil Ardley
Rhythm Guitar [Electric], Lead Guitar [Electric] – John Martyn
Soprano Saxophone – Barbara Thompson, Tony Coe
Synthesizer [Arp Odyssey, Omni] – Neil Ardley
Trumpet – Ian Carr
Vocals – Norma Winstone, Pepi Lemer
Written-By – Neil Ardley