By Archa Wachowicz
AudioFile
01-Sep-2009

English lutenist Peter Claire performs in the royal orchestra of King Christian IV’s seventeenth-century Danish court, stirring the hearts of the principal women in this novel. Royal family dynamics are interwoven with love and lust as Claire catches the eye of the king and achieves a far-flung influence on a number of fronts—his political clout reaches from a widowed Irish countess of Spanish origins to the workers in the Scandinavian silver mines. Chapters are interspersed with delicate lute chords, and the alternating voices of the readers animate the narrative of each of the main characters. Feminine and breathy, Alison Dowling and Clare Wille give velvety, expressive voices to the female characters’ tales. Michael Praed’s strong, unaffected speech depicts the intensity and desperation of the characters he portrays. Mortal danger and the prospect of tragedy build as the narrators deliver their spirited array of voices.

By Shannon Maughan
Publishers Weekly
06-Jul-2009

According to Naxos, Tremain agreed to abridgments of two of her most popular novels, Music and Silence and Restoration, because the audio publisher offered to present them with music of the period, in this case 17th-century viol, lute and ensemble music. “Music and Silence is all about music,” said executive producer Nicolas Soames. “It tells the story of lutenist Peter Claire, who visits the court of [Danish] King Christian IV…and Naxos can provide the exact music Rose had in mind when writing it. And music is closely interwoven with the story of Merivell and the court of King Charles II.” The contract between author and publisher stipulated that the author had approval rights on the music. “There was only agreement, I am glad to say,” said Soames.