Quill -

Quill was an American symphonic-rock trio from Santa Barbara that recorded the two-movement suite Sursum Corda for a 1977 private test pressing. Syn-phonic issued the album on CD in 1993; Quill then appeared at Progfest in UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Members: Keith Christian (vocals, bass, classical guitar), Ken DeLoria (Hammond organ, Moog, Mellotron, electric harpsichord, grand piano, ARP Solina string synthesizer, keyboards), Jim Sides (vocals, drums, bells, tubular bells, timpani)

Background

Keyboardist Ken DeLoria and singer–guitarist Keith Christian formed Quill in 1975 in Santa Barbara. DeLoria met Christian at a local coffeehouse, where Christian performed on slide guitar, and persuaded him to take up bass. Drummer Jim Sides completed the trio after a road stint with a club band; he and DeLoria previously worked together in several club groups.

Christian came from local acoustic coffeehouse work; Sides and DeLoria brought longer club-band experience. Quill restricted live sets to original material and avoided dance-club engagements. All three kept day jobs as the group sought studio time. DeLoria then assumed full-time duties as bandleader and business manager when Quill secured a professional studio agreement.

Sursum Corda

Quill issued their singular album, Sursum Corda, in 1977 as a privately circulated test pressing.

The album presents two side-long movements as an eighteen-section fantasy sequence. DeLoria commands an arsenal of Hammond B3 organ, Steinert grand piano, dual custom Moog, ARP String Ensemble, Baldwin electric harpsichord, and the RMI keyboard computer. Christian and Sides share the vocal parts. The title translates from Latin as “Lift up your heart.”

“First Movement” unfurls from birdsong and pastoral piano into measured singing, then pivots through ceremonial fanfares, stop-start intervals, abrupt turns, and a frenetic organ surge. “Second Movement” ascends from faint Mellotron choir and stately Moog phrases into calm singing, glides across quiet chimes and a hushed bass figure, then swells through quick-changing themes toward a forceful finale.

A1. “First Movement” (19:58)
— a. “Floating”
— b. “Interlude”
— c. “The March of Dreams”
— d. “The March of Kings”
— e. “Storming the Mountain”
— f. “Princess of the Mountain”
— g. “Storming the Mountain (Part II) — Lift Up Your Heart”

B1. “Second Movement” (15:32)
— a. “The Call”
— b. “Timedrift”
— c. “Earthsplit”
— d. “The Black Wizard”
— e. “Counterspell”
— f. “The White Wizard”
— g. “The Hunt”
— h. “Rising”
— i. “The Spell”
— j. “Sumnation”
— k. “Finale”

DeLoria produced the album at Condor Ridge Studios in Santa Barbara with engineer Ralph Ursolco. The private test pressing came in a plain white sleeve.

Sursum Corda attained cult status after its 1993 reissue on Greg Walker’s Syn-phonic label, presented in a twelve-inch gatefold package under art director Mike Iannone (Yezda Urfa, Cathedral, Mirthrandir, Stray Dog, Tear Gas, Touch). Santa Barbara poster artist Rick Sharp created the bordered cosmic illustration, which places the Quill logo over airborne figures and a mountain landscape. Sharp also illustrated covers for 1976/77 albums by Andraé Crouch and the Disciples (This Is Another Day) and John Michael Talbot (The New Earth).

Syn-phonic repackaged the title in a standard jewel case with a sixteen-page booklet for a 2004 edition. Universal Digital Enterprises placed the two movements on streaming services under a 2018 digital copyright.

Postlude

Quill began a second long-form composition in late 1977 and completed the suite across the following twelve months. Three professionally recorded excerpts received local radio play, while a warehouse tape preserved the full work. The trio disbanded before completion of a studio master. DeLoria later worked in front-of-house mixing and system support on tours by Heart and Pat Benatar.

Soon after Syn-phonic issued Sursum Corda, Quill returned for Progfest ’93 at UCLA’s Royce Hall with IQ, Änglagård, and Citadel. Christian could not join the concert, so Quill hired a replacement bassist.

In 2016, The Samurai of Prog recorded DeLoria’s 57-minute suite as “The Demise” for the Seacrest double album Lost and Found, with Christian on vocals. Seacrest presented a new mix under the title The Demise of the Third King’s Empire for a 2020 release.

Discography: