When I was in the process of final production of my compact disc recording Le Monde Du Serpent which features my playing the ancient musical instrument, the serpent, I gave some thought to ways to market the disc. Since print advertising in journals and magazines have not proven, by experience, to be very cost effective, my attention naturally turned to having a special floaty pen created to celebrate the release of the album. The success of my first two pens was nothing short of stunning as they created interest among musicians as well as floaty pen collectors.
While on the subject of floaty pens, I should once again mention the fine work of Diana Andra who is most likely the world's leading authority on the floaty pen phenomenen. For comprehensive (and fun) information about floating pens, visit the website of Diana Andra whose company, Float About, is the leading source for learning about this hobby. On her website, you can learn about floating pens, their history and the people who collect them, read her periodic newsletter "Float About" which tells about pens and collectors, purchase pens and pen displays, and much more. Diana is THE source for the novice or die-hard floating pen collector. And a lovely person as well.
The Douglas Yeo "Le Monde du Serpent" Classic Style floaty pen.
A floating pen has many components, and perhaps the best way to explain my new "Le Monde du Serpent" pen is to talk through the actual design proof which the Eskesen Company made based on the design Nancy Nerenberg and I came up with.
The front panel of the pen , shown below, contains many components, all of which can be seen on the Eskesen design image above. The background has two images of Gregorian chant; on the left is a bit of an "Alleluia" which begins very much like "Alleluia" which is the first track on my "Le Monde du Serpent" CD. On the right is the beginning of the chant, "Dies Irae" which is heard in Clifford Bevan's "Les Mots de Berlioz" and his "Variations on the Pesky Sarpent," both of which appear on "Le Monde du Serpent."
In the center of the text panel is the foreground image, consisting of the logo for Berlioz Historical Brass which provided valuable support for the entire "Le Monde du Serpent" recording project and which provided some fine historical brass players to perform on the album (including Ben Peck, buccin; Phil Humphries, serpent and ophicleide; Craig Kridel, serpent).
The "floater" is the part of the pen which passes behind the foreground image. As you can see above, the floater on this new pen consists of two images. The floater on the left consists of the names of all of the composers whose works appear on the CD. This was a way for me to thank all of them again for their contribution to the album, for without gifted composers and arrangers, there would have been no music to record. As the pen is tilted to the right, the composer's names disappear behind the Berlioz Historical Brass logo - as it were, their music is "filtered" through the work of BHB, and on the right side of the logo, three instruments which were used on the CD - serpent, ophicleide and buccin - appear.
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