Renaissance

In 1969 , former members of The Yardbirds , Paul Samwell-Smith, guitarist and vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarthy formed a new band. Together with bassist Luis Senamo, pianist John Hawken, and also sister Relfa Jane as a second vocalist, they recorded a couple of albums, but pretty soon parted; McCarthy scored a new roster, but he soon left.

The new lineup became “gold” in the band’s history: Annie Haslam (vocals), Michael Dunford (Michael Dunford, acoustic guitar), John Tout (John Tout, piano), John Camp (John Camp, bass / bass) and Terry Sullivan (Terry Sullivan, drums). Together with Rob Hendry (guitar), this quintet released the Prologue album ("Prologue") in 1972 . The music was mostly written by Dunford and McCarthy, and the lyrics were from Cornwall poet Betty Thatcher (Jane Relf's girlfriend). After recording the Prologue album, Hendry left the band.

For the "Prologue" in 1973 - 1978 . followed by even more successful five studio albums and one live (recorded at Carnegie Hall ). The sound of the group during this period was an organic fusion of folk rock and classical music , on which poetic texts were superimposed. The group cited a lot of works by classical authors in their compositions - Bach , Chopin , Debussy , Tchaikovsky , Rakhmaninov , Rimsky-Korsakov , Prokofiev and others. The most "classic" album - Scheherazade and Other Stories (" Scheherezade and Other Stories") - contains 25- minute original composition of the group with a symphony orchestra, although not closely related to the Rimsky-Korsakov suite of Scheherazade , but quoting the Sultan’s motive from it. Many critics consider Scheherazade one of the best alloys of rock and classical music in the history of rock.

In general, the Renaissance of the 1970s was a commercial success, but the group played at concerts, rarely deviating from the sound of their studio recordings, and the fans of the group took it negatively.

In 1978, the group recorded a very successful single , including the composition Northern Lights (“Northern Lights”) from the album A Song for All Seasons (“ Song for All Seasons ”), but the next album Azure D'or (1979) was not successful, as fans didn't like the band’s turn to synthesizer sound. After this album, Taut and Sullivan left the band. Haslam, Dunford and Camp released two more albums in the early 1980s with sound completely different from the previous Renaissance, and split up.

In the late 1990s , Haslam and Dunford organized their own bands using the name Renaissance, and recorded several albums with different compositions, as well as solo albums. Previously unreleased recordings of the 1970s were issued.
Also, several unsuccessful attempts to reunite the group in the classical composition were made.

• The group's poetess Betty Thatcher, living in Cornwall, wrote the lyrics to the finished music that Michael Dunford sent to her from London in the form of notes and magnetic tapes, and sent the texts back.
• The song Mother Russia is dedicated to A. I. Solzhenitsyn and was written under the influence of his story “ One Day of Ivan Denisovich ”.
• The song Ocean Gypsy was later covered in the Blackmore's Night project by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Knight .
• Annie Haslam recalled how, when recording the song Carpet of the Sun ( Ashes Are Burning album), keyboardist John Taut, who was behind the orchestra’s conductor, cried out of complete hopelessness that the orchestra hired by Renaissance could not play what the band demanded of him .

Studio Albums

Live Albums

Other releases ^{[ clarify ]}

• Renaissance (1969)
• Illusion (1971)
• Prologue (1972)
• Ashes are Burning (1973)
• Turn of the Cards (1974)
• Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975) (based on the Thousand and One Nights and the Scheherazade Suite by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov )
• Live at Carnegie Hall (1976 live)
• Novella (1977)
• A Song For All Seasons (1978)
• Azure D'or (1979)
• Camera Camera (1981)
• Time-Line (1983)
• Tales of 1001 Nights (compilation)
• The Other Woman (1994) (Michael Dunford band)
• Blessing in Disguise (1994) (Annie Haslam group)
• Da Capo (1995) (Collector's Edition)
• Live at the Royal Albert Hall: King Biscuit Flower Hour (1997 concert)
• Songs from Renaissance Days (1997) (a collection of rare classical Renaissance recordings)
• Ocean Gypsy ((1997) (Michael Dunford Band)
• The BBC Sessions 1975–1978 (1999 concert)
• Day Of The Dreamer (2000) (compilation of live performances from around 1977)
• Unplugged Live at the Academy of Music (2000)
• Tuscany (2000) (Annie Haslam and Mike Dunford)
• In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2002 (2002 concert)
• Grandine il Vento (2013)

• The official website of the group
• Northern Lights - Fan Site
• Full discography of the band and solo projects of musicians at nlightsweb.com
• Official Annie Haslam website
• Terry Sullivan Official Website