Words to Music
THE WORLDS OF WORDS AND MUSIC MERGE IN A NEW ERA OF AUDIOBOOKS
By Erin DeCelle // Photo by Konstantin Stanmeyer
The orchestra starts with a frantic marching beat that drifts into a melody, almost a lullaby. A variety of instruments carry Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 woodwinds, brass, strings, a large percussion section. The star of the show, though—a hammer created specifically for this piece—will not be heard for another hour. When it strikes, it will do so twice or, at the behest of the conductor, three times.
Inspired by those fateful strikes during a concert he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), Gerald “Jerry” Elias, author of the Daniel Jacobus mysteries, added another book to the series. Murder at the Royal Albert, starts during a performance of Mahler’s Sixth at the very venue where Elias played, with the murder occurring at the final fall of the hammer.
The Daniel Jacobus series follows the titular blind violinist and his companions as they solve crimes in the music world. Elias uses his experiences as a violinist in the BSO and as associate concertmaster for the Utah Symphony not only to create these stories, but also to bring its world to life in audiobook form. Jacobus is inspired by a combination of people: Elias himself; his musical mentor, Alexander “Sasha” Schneider; and close friend and blind violinist Myra Ross. The character Yumi Shinagawa was based on another of his mentors, a Japanese musician Elias has known for decades.
More recently, an amateur pianist with trouble reading print was the one who encouraged Elias to do Murder at the Royal Albert as an audiobook. Music is important to both the characters and the author of the books, and it’s also what makes the Daniel Jacobus audio-books special. In 2016, Elias met Alison Larkin, a local comedian and audiobook producer, at a combined book launch and musical performance for one of the Jacobus mysteries. Larkin was inspired by Elias’ connection of music and writing, so they worked together to produce the first two in the series as orchestral audiobooks, incorporating the music that, in writing, can only be imagined.
Larkin was more than willing to work on this project. She was, after all, the one to come up with it. As she listened to Elias’ performance at Shaker Mill Books in West Stockbridge, an idea started to form in her mind. “I thought, ‘What if we were to bring music into the book?’” says Larkin. “Played by Jerry, the music would be almost one of the other characters.”
Elias was intrigued. After discussing the project further, the orchestral audiobooks were born. There are now three on audio, with the latest released on October 30. The first two, Devil’s Trill and Danse Macabre, were produced by Larkin’s audiobook company, Alison Larkin Presents, with narration by Great Barrington Public Theater Artistic Director Jim Frangione.
The music for book one was done solely by Elias; for book two, the number of musicians increased dramatically. Elias was accompanied by the Lydian String Quartet from Brandeis University, BSO violinist Lucia Lin, pianist André-Michel Schub, and musicians from the Utah Symphony, including Jason Hardink and the Abramyan String Quartet. For Murder at the Royal Albert, audiobook enjoyers are blessed with narration by Larkin herself and music from the BSO, including the very performance of Mahler’s Sixth that inspired Elias. Other music in the audio-book performed by the BSO include works by Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, Schubert, and Beethoven.
Though Frangione was wonderful with the other recordings, Larkin felt her English accent featured better for Murder at the Royal Albert. Being raised in England was coincidentally the butterfly effect for the start of her audio career. After receiving a deal with Audible for her book inspired by her own childhood, The English American, one deal led to another, and then another. Narrating became producing, which became her company and home recording studio in Stockbridge.
What isn’t a coincidence, though, is that much of Larkin’s team is based in the Berkshires. In fact, it’s by design. Larkin’s goal is to build a community in the Berkshires for young creatives to find jobs that suit their interests without having to travel to more urban areas. Her studio, the narrators she works with, the sound production team, and many of the designers are Berkshire-based. Even some of the authors she works with have strong local ties. Elias is one of these—he now lives in Seattle but has owned a house in West Stockbridge since the 1970s that he also considers home.
Nearly every project Larkin works on has some taste of the Berkshires. Her one-woman play, Grief… A Comedy, officially premiered in Britain early this November, but the first-ever showing was on this side of the Atlantic, at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington. Murder at the Royal Albert is, of course, entirely a product of the Berkshires. Even the sound engineer, Jason Brown, is based out of Sheffield. Brown was crucial to the creation of the latest Jacobus novel, working alongside Elias to piece together the excerpts of music and Larkin’s narration, determining the timing down to the exact second.
Look out for Larkin’s most recent audio-book project, The Civil War: In Their Own Words, to be released on November 19—the 160th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe narrate the story of the Civil War, woven together with scenes from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as well as the speeches and writings of Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and others from that period. Adapted, written, and directed by Anna Lyse Erikson, the audiobook stars Scott Brick as Lincoln; Rif Hutton as Uncle Tom; Moira Quirk as Stowe; Matthew Wolf as Emerson; and others.
With America divided in so many ways, just as it was during the Civil War, says Larkin, she is incredibly passionate about connecting past and present issues through this audiobook. “It would be fascinating to get advice from people who were alive at that time.”
More Audiobooks for the Holidays
Curling up on the sofa with a hot cocoa and a book—or an audiobook—sounds like a perfect way to spend a wintry night. Lenox, Stockbridge, and Pittsfield librarians gave us their picks for the latest audiobook releases (in addition to the ones Alison Larkin has produced). AudioFile Magazine, the leading source for audiobook reviews and recommendations, also shared their favorites with us. (Did someone say “gift ideas”?) You can find audiobook CDs at most local bookstores, or show your support by buying an audio version from Libro.fm. Borrow an audiobo library near you, or check out an audio version via the Libby app. —Erin DeCelle
FOR ADULTS
Iron Flame: Empyrean, Book 2
By Rebecca Yarros; read by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton
Romantic fantasy
The Edge (6:20 Man, Book 2)
By David Baldacci; read by Zachary Webber, Erin Cottrell, Will Collyer, Erin Bennett, and Tiffany Smith
Thriller
Resurrection Walk
By Michael Connelly; read by Peter Giles, Titus Welliver, and Christine Lakin
Thriller
While Drowning in the Desert (Neal Carey Mysteries, Book 5)
30th Anniversary Edition
By Don Winslow; read by Joe Barrett
Mystery
The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder
By Douglas Preston; read by Will Collyer
To be released Dec. 5
True crime
Normal Rules Don’t Apply
By Kate Atkinson; read by Paterson Joseph
Literary fiction
Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier
By Arthur C Brooks and Oprah Winfrey; read by the authors
Self-improvement
Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune
By Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe; read by Anderson Cooper
Biography
Thicker Than Water: A Memoir
By Kerry Washington; read by the author
Autobiography
What Really Happens in Vegas
By James Patterson and Mark Seal; read by Phil Morris
To be released Dec. 4
Autobiography
Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning
By Liz Cheney; read by the author
To be released Dec. 5
Autobiography
Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post
By Martin Baron; read by Liev Schreiber
Nonfiction
Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible
By Mike Massimino; read by the author
To be released Dec. 5
Nonfiction
Lessons in Chemistry
By Bonnie Garmus; read by Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes, and Miranda Raison
Historical fiction, comedy
Let Us Descend
By Jesmyn Ward; read by Jesmyn Ward
Historical fiction
Cold Victory
By Karl Marlantes; read by Bronson Pinchot
To be released Jan. 9, 2024
Historical fiction
FOR TEENS/YOUNG ADULTS
A Thousand Heartbeats
By Kiera Cass; read by Karissa Vacker, Gary Tiedemann, and Hillary Huber
Romance
The Godhead Complex (Maze Cutter, Book 2)
By James Dashner; read by Mark Deakins
Dystopian Fiction
Defiant: The Skyward, Book 4 (final book)
By Brandon Sanderson; read by Sophie Aldred
Science fiction
FOR CHILDREN
The Wild Robot Protects (third book in the Wild Robot series)
By Peter Brown; read by Kathleen McInerney
Science fiction
Vanderbeekers Ever After (seventh and final book in the Vanderbeekers series)
By Karina Yan Glaser; read by Robin Miles
Realistic fiction
Top Story (fifth book in the Front Desk series)
By Kelly Yang; read by Sunny Lu
Realistic fiction
Mercy Watson is Missing (seventh book in Tales from Deckawoo Drive series)
By Kate DiCamillo
To be released Dec. 5
humorous fiction
Legend of the Star Dragon (book 25 in the Dragon Masters series)
By Tracey Wes
To be released Dec. 5
Adventure fiction
AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR ADULTS
Holly: Holly Gibney, Book 3
By Stephen King; read by Justine Lupe, Stephen King
Horror
The Stolen Coast
By Dwyer Murphy; read by Robert Petkoff
Mystery
The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, Book 4)
By Richard Osman; read by Fiona Shaw
Mystery
Crook Manifesto (Ray Carney, Book 2)
By Colson Whitehead; read by Dion Graham
Fiction
Tom Lake
By Ann Patchett; read by Meryl Streep
Fiction
Making it So: A Memoir
By Patrick Stewart; read by Patrick Stewart
Memoir
Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers
By Mary Rodgers, Jesse Green; read by Christine Baranski and Jesse Green
Memoir
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
By James McBride; read by Dominic Hoffman
Historical fiction
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
By David Grann; read by Dion Graham
History
Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America
By Steve Inskeep; read by Steve Inskeep
History
FOR TEENS
Sunshine
By Jarrett J. Krosoczka; read by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jaiden Meltzer, Xavier Krosoczka, Noah Rico, and a Full Cast
Memoir, ages 12+
The Grimoire of Grave Fates
By Hanna Alkaf, Margaret Owen [Eds.]; read by January LaVoy, Nicky Endres
Fantasy, ages 12+
Warrior Girl Unearthed
By Angeline Boulley; read by Isabella Star LaBlanc
Fiction, ages 14+
Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling
By Elise Bryant; read by Preston Butler III, Shayna Small
Romance, ages 12+
You: The Story: A Writer's Guide to Craft Through Memory
By Ruta Sepetys; read by Ruta Sepetys
Nonfiction, ages 12+
FOR CHILDREN
Remember Us
By Jacqueline Woodso; read by Jacqueline Woodson
Fiction, ages 10+
Stuntboy, In-Between Time (Stuntboy, Book 2)
By Jason Reynolds; read by Guy Lockard, Nile Bullock, Angel Pean, James Fouhey, and a Full Cast
Fiction, ages 8+
Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods
By Grace Lin; read by Lisa Ling
Nonfiction, ages 8+
Elf Dog and Owl Head
By M.T. Anderson; read by Pete Cross
Fantasy, ages 8+
Wrecker
By Carl Hiaasen; read by Ron Butler
Thriller, ages 10+