Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross is a symphonic metal concept album by the English actor and singer Christopher Lee. It was released on 15 March 2010. This was Lee's first full-length album in the genre, having previously worked with such bands as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar.
It tells the story of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, to whom Lee can trace his ancestry. Geneticists have pointed out however that virtually everyone of European ancestry is directly descended from Charlemagne, and Scott Hershberger writing for Scientific American stated that Lee’s enthusiasm for his link to Charlemagne “may have been a tad excessive”.
The album's promotional MySpace page garnered over 20 million hits from around the world. The album features two bands and a number of guest vocalists playing the different roles in the story. Music was composed by Marco Sabiu. A music video for "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" was released in June 2012., 8 June 2012. A heavy metal follow-up album, titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, was released in 2013.
Track listing All lyrics written by Marie-Claire Calvet, all music composed by Marco Sabiu. "Overture" – 2:53 Act I: "Intro" – 1:34 "King of the Franks" – 7:14 Act II: "Intro" – 1:46 "The Iron Crown of Lombardy" – 8:12 Act III: "Intro" – 3:26 "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" – 6:16 Act IV: "Intro" – 2:31 "The Age of Oneness Out of Diversity" – 6:07 Act V: "Intro" – 2:09 Starlight – 4:40 "Finale" – 3:57 "Iberia" – 5:10 "The Bloody Verdict of Verden" (Instrumental) – 6:20
Personnel
Vocals Christopher Lee – Charlemagne (Ghost) Vincent Ricciardi – Charlemagne (Young) Lydia Salnikova – Hildegard Christina Lee – narration Phil SP – Pepin the Short Mauro Conti – Pope Hadrian Christi Ebenhoch – storytelling singer Dave "Grav" Cavill – additional vocals John Wistow – backing vocals European Cinematic Symphony Choir – choir
Musicians Tony Newton – bass Corrado Canonici – double bass Ollie Usiskin – drums Chris Jones – electric guitar Matt Pearce – electric guitar Raffaello Gentili – electric guitar Leigh Alexandra – keyboards European Cinematic Symphony Orchestra – orchestra
Production Juan Aneiros – production Monica Tong – assistant production Juan Ramirez – co-production Corrado Canonici – executive production Andy Jackson – engineering, mastering Marco Sabiu – orchestration, conducting Mauro Conti – management vocal consulting
References
External links