Music

sound projects

 

half a crown

A spellbinding journey through the sonnets of William Shakespeare, reimagined in the haunting, twining sonic world of American string music. With Matthew Battles on guitar and voice and Michael James on fiddle and mandolin, the work braids Elizabethan verse with the sounds that flowed from the confluence of peoples moving through the Appalachian hills. Born from a lifetime of reading, writing, and song, the result is music that feels ancient and modern at once. In this intimate, moving performance, sonnets are not just sung but inhabited, unsettled, and set loose to take wing.

Sonnet 29
music by MB+MJ/words by WS
Sonnet 97
music by MB/words by WS
Sonnet 32 + 73
music by MB+MJ/words by WS

We’re beginning to book performances of HALF A CROWN with bookstores, libraries, literary festivals, living rooms, and music venues. Reach out via the contact form or email matthew.battles@gmail.com with interest.