Marillion With Friends From The Orchestra

Earlier this year, Marillion entered the studio with the intention to record selected songs from their rich catalogue along with friends from the orchestra. Recorded at The Racket Club and Peter Gabriel‘s Real World Studios, and with a running time of almost 80 minutes, “With Friends From The Orchestra” features nine classic Marillion tracks re-imagined and accompanied by the In Praise Of Folly String Quartet with Sam Morris (French Horn) and Emma Halnan (Flute).

This is a live 2CD recording of the concert at St David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales on the 16th November 2019 during the Friends From The Orchestra Tour.

his is the Blu-Ray version of the concert film recorded at St David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales on the 16th November 2019 during the Friends From The Orchestra Tour.

Inspired by performing with their Friends from the Orchestra and the reaction
that the live collaboration had created, the band, along with producer Michael
Hunter, reimagined a collection of songs from their extensive back catalogue.
The resulting music welcomed the rich, textural soundscapes of strings, flute
and French horn into the mix.
At the end of 2019 the ensemble, eleven musicians in total including the string
quartet In Praise of Folly, flautist Emma Halnan and French Horn player Sam Morris,
took the music on a tour that would play to sold out venues across Europe, concluding
with another two amazing nights at the Royal Albert Hall.

An Hour Before It's Dark is the 20th studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released on 4 March 2022 by Intact and earMUSIC. On 3 August 2021, Marillion announced the launch of their new pre-order campaign for the recording and release of a new studio album, their first since With Friends from the Orchestra (2019). Frontman Steve Hogarth said "the overall feeling" of the album "is surprisingly upbeat", with the Choir Noir adding "new soul" and "colour" to the music. On the midweek UK Albums Chart dated 7 March 2022, An Hour Before It's Dark entered at No. 2, their highest chart position since Clutching at Straws in 1987.