Jessica Victoria is a classically trained singer who has won numerous competitions and given recitals at the famed Lincoln Center and sung for Pope John Paull II at the Vatican. She holds a doctorate degree in music and composes using Braille. For her debut classical crossover album, Jessica turned to the legends of Arthur for inspiration.
The album, featuring 2 bonus tracks, is available today from her official website the standard album will be available on streaming sites on May 15th.
NB: Your debut album “Songs of the Summer Realm” is very fascinating in that it tells the legend of King Arthur. Where did the inspiration come from or have you always been attracted to history and literature about Arthur?
Jessica Victoria: For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to Arthurian tales and history, but the impetus to make an album around these themes was my reading of Stephen Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle. This set of five books tells the story of Arthur from a perspective that was fresh and fascinating for me. As I thought about it, I realized that many of my favorite authors — J.R.R. Tolkien, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and G.K. Chesterton to name a few — had all written about Arthur in some way or another. For me, storytelling through song has always been at the center of my music-making, so having such a rich tapestry of tales from which to draw was like being a little girl in a candy shop.
NB: Did you write all the songs on the album? If so did you compose them in order at around the same, or individually over a course of years/months?
Jessica Victoria: The whole writing process took several months. I wrote many of the songs on the album — for some of which I wrote both the music and lyrics and for some of which I wrote just the music. For the latter, the lyrics come from Arthurian literature. Once I knew what story I wanted to tell, the songs started coming, one after another. Some took longer than others to come together in their final form, but I wrote some of them within days. Mr. Lawhead graciously gave me permission to use texts from his Pendragon Cycle as lyrics for several of the songs.
NB: Are there any other artists that inspired you with creating this style?
Jessica Victoria: Loreena McKennitt is the artist that inspired me the most. Instead of being penned in by one musical genre, she lets the genre serve the story, while elements of Celtic music unify her work. Like her, I swirl genres together, sometimes within the same song, sometimes within a bigger project, to tell stories. Other artists who inspired this project include Jeff Wayne, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, and Iron Maiden (especially “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”).
NB: In this lockdown, it’s exciting to get new music. Will you be performing any of it live on Facebook etc?
Jessica Victoria: I plan to perform music from Songs of the Summer Realm via live stream, and I’ll be posting announcements about it on my social media channels and on my website. Also, people can sign up for my newsletter to hear about these live events and other fun news.
NB: In the future are there any other stories you would like to bring to life musically?
Jessica Victoria: When life gets back to normal, I would like to record a project on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It is likely that some of my roots lie in Galicia, a region of Spain associated with the Celts, and I would love to make the pilgrimage and to record and write songs along the way that share my experiences.
Follow Jessica Victoria on Spotify
