King Henry VIII: “Pastime with Good Company”

King Henry VII’s cameo in “The Wobble Effect” music video

Boy, talk about a person who "wobbled!" It’s true, as the old poem says, that

King Henry VIII,

To six wives he was wedded.

One died, one survived,

Two divorced, two beheaded.

He’s also the guy who had William Tyndale (one of my heroes) captured, imprisoned, publicly strangled and burned at the stake. I felt a surge of satisfaction as I gave him that “poke in the eye” on the last cliff-side scene of "The Wobble Effect." And yes, I actually custom-designed and printed that Henry VIII canvas just so I could poke my finger into his eye!

But hey, “everybody wobbles!”

DID YOU KNOW that in addition to being a killer-of-decent-people, Henry VIII was also a composer?! Go figure.

His most famous composition, “Pastime with Good Company,” composed in about 1513, can be seen in its original manuscript in the photo below (photo courtesy the British Library).

Sure, you can hear plenty of choral recordings of the song by searching YouTube or Spotify. BUT, you can also hear it in “The Wobble Effect!” Right after Henry chops off his second wife Anne Boleyn’s head (around the 6:08 mark), his court musicians appear and play a new instrumental arrangement of the song’s opening line, “Pastime with Good Company,” while he lords over them, sword at the ready. I’ve added my own lively countermelody and reharmonized it a bit, and recorded myself playing various instruments that sound similar to those you might have heard in Henry & Anne’s royal court were you to pay them a lovely visit.

Anyways, just a quick and quirky behind-the-scenes peek at the making of my latest piece. Carry on.

P.S. I’ll be posting a bit more about the making of “The Wobble Effect” in the future for those who’d like to read and see it. If there’s something you’d like to learn more about, feel free to ask. I’m happy to share anything about my music, lyrics, story, recording, mixing, visuals, creative process, etc.