Symphony of Ghosts
Five years, fifteen novels, and countless road trips in the making, Symphony of Ghosts is songwriter Dan MacCormack's album paying homage to the writing of novelist David Adams Richards.
Symphony of Ghosts
Five years, fifteen novels, and countless road trips in the making, Symphony of Ghosts is songwriter Dan MacCormack's album paying homage to the writing of novelist David Adams Richards.
Music inspired by the novels of David Adams Richards
"The water of our great river makes us disappear—we become at twilight in the babble of water a symphony of ghosts." - David Adams Richards
Singer/songwriter Dan MacCormack's debut solo album, Symphony of Ghosts, incorporates symphonic instruments with folk and Americana music in a musical interpretation of the writing of David Adams Richards.
David Adams Richards gives voice to the hopeless. — Quill & Quire
The album
The album
Symphony of Ghosts traces and strengthens the lines connecting music and literature. Inspired by the writing of David Adams Richards, each of the ten songs on the album focuses on a different Richards novel.
Incorporating themes, characters, imagery, and language from Richards’ books, and produced by Jason Michael MacIsaac (Heavy Blinkers, Jenn Grant), this is a rich, layered musical homage to one of the greatest writers to come from Canada.
"David Adams Richards does in his novels what the music traditions I love have always done—he finds beauty, peace, and meaning in the lives of ordinary, and often poor, people.
“I wanted to explore my deep connection to Richards’s novels. I recognize the careworn characters he creates, so much like the people I grew up around. I know their lives and their struggles, their difficulty in keeping pace with the changes wrought by progress and industrialization on their small communities and big families.
I recognize these characters' hope, their happiness, their love of family and their reliance on each other, their perseverance and ability to thrive despite the challenges they face."
—Dan MacCormack
Novelist David Adams Richards
“What should I get from books?” Alcide asked in French.
“That you are not alone — even along this broken tractor road. You need to know nothing else,” my father answered in French.
—David Adams Richards, Mercy Among the Children
Novelist David Adams Richards
“What should I get from books?” Alcide asked in French.
“That you are not alone — even along this broken tractor road. You need to know nothing else,” my father answered in French.
—David Adams Richards, Mercy Among the Children
Images: Random House
David Adams Richards’ novels comprise one of the most moving and incisive bodies of work by a Canadian author. He explores poverty, loss, loneliness, grief, and change against the backdrop of rural New Brunswick. From his first book, The Coming of Winter, in 1974, through his acclaimed Miramichi Trilogy (with the first volume, The Coming of Winter, winning the 1988 Governor General's Award), to his brilliant 2011 book Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul, Richards' fiction has won the hearts of readers worldwide.
“Overall – and I really believe this – my works are filled with joy. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be writing. Joy comes from tragedy, not in spite of it." —David Adams Richards in Quill & Quire
Musician Dan MacCormack
Musician Dan MacCormack
Dan MacCormack is a Halifax-based songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist performing in a variety of contexts on pedal steel, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle. His debut solo album, Symphony of Ghosts was released in October of 2014.
As a songwriter Dan has performed with Grassmarket, releasing three award-nominated albums. Dan is a multi-instrumentalist and producer, performing on film and television scores and producing music for himself and other artists.
