Owain Phyfe

Owain Phyfe (April 9, 1949 – September 5, 2012) was an American vocalist, instrumentalist, composer, and the founder of Nightwatch Recording, which concentrates on Renaissance and Medieval music. He lived in Berkley, Michigan, United States, often playing at O'Mara's Restaurant when he wasn't traveling the Renaissance circuit. He died from pancreatic cancer on September 5, 2012. In 1992, however, nourished by his grandparents' appreciation for song, Phyfe's study of languages in college and his travels abroad to England, France, Mexico, and Spain as well as his experience later as a musician in New York City's Greenwich Village, he sold the company and turned to music as a full-time profession.

Beginnings In the mid-1980s, Phyfe and his wife Paula became festival performers at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Spellbound by early music, Phyfe decided to develop a "singer of songs" persona. While researching late medieval and renaissance music, he found himself favoring faire life over the automotive engineering company he had started in 1983. "It became my dream to present the beauty of Renaissance music," Phyfe explained, "not as a documentary, but as a living expression." He played many traditional instruments including his favored instrument, the chitarra battente, as well as recorders, viola, cello, fiddle, and harp. He performed across the U.S., and his music has aired worldwide and on over 250 radio stations across North America. He performed and offered workshops at folk festivals, medieval recreationist, musical and Neo-Pagan events including the S.C.A.'s Pennsic War, The SCA's "Gulf Wars" event, where he performed solo and also with Wolgemut at the Green Dragon Tavern the Michigan Renaissance Festival, Sirius Rising, Pagan Spirit Gathering and the Starwood Festival, both as a soloist and with the New World Renaissance Band. He also contributed to the soundtrack of the Wim Wenders film Pina

Critical reception Live the Legend made the year-end bestseller list for classical releases at a number of retail chains across the midwest, including Streetside Records and Harmony House, and ranked #13 nationwide on Public Radio Music Source's classical best-seller list.

Awards 1997 Cessez Mortels de Soupirer (Sigh no More, Mortals) - Best Music Video: Ohio's National Telly Awards 1997 Cessez Mortels de Soupirer (Sigh no More, Mortals) - Best Music Video: International Communicator Awards 2003 Texas Renaissance Festival: The Phillip Hafer (King Henry) Memorial MVP Award

Performance reviews Revue Magazine June 1995 Detroit Monthly March 1996 WKBD-TV News Spotlight May 26, 1996

Album reviews Sunday Oakland Press March 3, 1996 Shakespeare Oxford Newsletter Sept. 1997 Magical Blend 1998 Issue #62 Detroit Free Press Sept. 19th, 1999 The Mists of Avalon - WDVR-FM Review of Owain Phyfe's Poets, Bards and Singers of Song by Willa, At The Fair Staff Writer (June 20, 2001)

Partial discography

Owain Phyfe 1995 - Sweet Was the Song (with L'Ensemble Josquin) (Nightwatch Recording) 1999 - Poets, Bards, & Singers of Song (Nightwatch Recording) 2006 - Lágrimas de Sangría (Tears of Sangria) (Nightwatch Recording)

New World Renaissance Band 1992 - Live the Legend (Nightwatch Recording) 1995 - Where Beauty Moves and Wit Delights (Nightwatch Recording) 1996 - Odyssey (Nightwatch Recording) 2002 - Tales From the Vineyard (Nightwatch Recording)

Soundtrack 2011 - Pina, Director: Wim Wenders, song: