Film music and more besides

The Magic of Christmas, at Cadogan Hall (Sun 4 Dec 2011)

2011-12-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

It has been another busy year for Debbie Wiseman, what with Channel Four’s The Promise, a third series of Land Girls, not to mention a top ten album in the shape of ‘Piano Stories’. My part in the latter has certainly made 2011 a year to remember; it’s always such a pleasure to work with Debbie, so when she called early in the Summer to ask if I’d put some programme notes and a script together for ‘The Magic of Christmas’ at Cadogan Hall, I of course said yes.

The concert, in aid of the brilliant Breast Cancer Campaign, was a sequel of sorts to ‘The Pink Ribbon Gala’ which Debbie presided over in November 2009. Once again Cadogan Hall and the RPO played host to Debbie, who called in support from wonderfully talented artists, and friends, to make music, a little magic and raise vital funds for a very worthy cause.

Smooth Radio’s Simon Bates brought his legendary voice and easy charm to the proceedings, introducing the afternoon’s festive programme. Magic and Sparkle was the order of the day, with Leroy Anderson’s ‘Sleigh Ride’ the perfect opening, followed by the likes of selections from Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ – including the twinkling ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, somehow so suited to the season.

Stories really were the order of the day though and the audience was urged to step back into their childhoods, snuggle down in their seats and listen intently. The first half was dominated then by Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Selfish Giant’, which was read by Cheri Lunghi. It was a captivating performance, helped along beautifully by Debbie’s own original music. The tears of the lady in the row behind me said it all, not to mention the reaction of one small child half way through which put the orchestra of its stroke somewhat…

With part two came another fine actor, Robert Powell, who delivered the deliciously grizzly poem ‘Jim’ by Hilaire Beloc. The poem, about a little boy who leaves his nanny’s care only to be gobbled up by a Lion, was given suitably plucky accompaniment by Debbie and RPO, who performed Benjamin Britten’s ‘Playful Pizzicato’ beneath Powell’s perfectly pitched delivery.

The afternoon also saw a couple of firsts. Debbie herself made her Cadogan Hall debut as a soloist performing a solo piano piece. ‘Isolation’, written for the film The Hide, is the opening track of the ‘Piano Stories’ album and made a great opening to the second half. Though hidden away over to the right of the stage, the pianist’s debut went off really rather well and the piece itself never fails to cast a spell.

Perhaps even more spellbinding was the second ‘premiere’, George Layton’s ‘The Fib’. The story itself is one I remember from school – indeed it cemented my own fear of the football that was to come in ‘big school’ – and it’s a real treasure. Wearing both his actor and writer hats, George himself read to us his tale about a young lad whose embarrassment at a hand-me-down football kit leads to a cracker of a playground fib. George delivered his prose with warmth and humour and Debbie Wiseman and the RPO underscored with an arrangement of music by the composer, largely made up of selections from her score for Tom’s Midnight Garden. It was a good fit and the highlight of the afternoon, made even more special for everyone concerned as the story’s hero, Bobby Charlton, was in the audience. Now ‘Sir’ Bobby, the legendary footballer travelled down from Manchester especially and made it onto the stage to thank George and Debbie and say a few words. Magical.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a song or two and providing the necessary vocals was the velvet-voiced James Loynes, who is certainly one to watch. ‘Nothing Grows on Gold’, an original song by Debbie Wiseman and Don Black, was premiered at ‘The Pink Ribbon Gala’ in 2009 and is a real winner. Don himself flew in from New York to be at the event and hear his song; it would certainly have been worth it as James truly did them proud.

Rounding off the generous concert was the quintessential Christmas song, Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’. James Loynes did the honours once again, helped along (I think) by the audience; a fittingly festive and uplifting end to a very successful event.

I was honoured to be able to play a small part in ‘The Magic of Christmas’ and Debbie and Friends can rest in the knowledge that they pulled off a cracker of a show and through ticket sales, book and CD sales on the day, added much needed funds to Breast Cancer Campaign’s piggy bank.

The concert was the icing on the cake this year for Debbie Wiseman, though there’s more to come. The cherry on top? Lost Christmas, which premieres on BBC One on Christmas Eve… Don’t miss it!

If you’d like to know more about Breast Cancer Campaign go to breastcancercampaign.org

Debbie Wiseman’s Piano Stories is available on CD, or to Download, now courtesy of Warner Classics. Go to Amazon.co.uk for more information!

On the Desk: Let's hear it for the girls...

2011-09-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

This week I’m all about the girls (first time for everything I suppose…) and the pile of albums on my desk features a selection of strong women, both characters and composers, who are worth a mention.

Firstly, and admirably doing their bit for the War effort, are the Land Girls. The BBC’s Sunday teatime drama is just the perfect accompaniment to that time on that day. Warm, cosy, lightly dramatic, slightly comic and with a dollop of romance that makes it too hard to resist. With a third series in the works, it’s obvious it’s going down well and is just the sort of thing the BBC should be making time – and saving money – for. The BBC have teamed up with Rhino Records to release a pleasing soundtrack selection that takes in many of the period classics that litter the show’s own soundscape, alongside Debbie Wiseman’s heartwarming original scores. Packaged in an attractive, though possibly pointless, cardboard sleeve, the album is a little treasure trove of 1940s hits. Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood’ is a must-have in such a collection and the likes of Vera Lynn’s ‘It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow’ seal the deal. Throughout the disc we’re treated to cuts by The Geoff Pearce Little Big Band,Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, The Andrews Sisters, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra and the wonderful Connie Carter. The Chelsea Pensioners offer a Military Medley, while The Soldiers open the selection with Debbie Wiseman’s own title song ‘While We’re Away’ (written with Don Black no less). Debbie’s original music peppers the period tunes and the selections of score rely heavily on her winning main theme – itself lilting, wistful and suitably misty-eyed. Obviously I’m always up for plenty more Debbie Wiseman on a soundtrack album, but this package is very fitting and nice product that captures the feel and energy of the much-loved drama.

Debbie’s theme from Land Girls also features on ‘Piano Stories’, the composer’s new solo piano album which hits the shops tomorrow (Monday 19 September)! Now while I may have had more than a little to do with its inception, I can’t tell you enough just how wonderful the album is. The piano has featured prominently throughout Debbie’s scores for film and television and it is the instrument she turns to for inspiration when she’s composing. With that in mind the music selected for ‘Piano Stories’ is Debbie Wiseman’s music as it was originally conceived – just on piano. Something of a look over her shoulder, it features new recordings of themes from Wilde, The Upper Hand, Children’s Hospital, Haunted, Tom & Viv, Lesbian Vampire Killers, Stephen Fry in America and Joanna Lumley’s Nile. It also features a couple of exclusives, including her soulful, spine-tingling theme from The Hide and the plaintively evocative theme from The Throne. There’s even more than that – indeed we were quite generous! – so much so if you go to iTunes there are even a couple of bonus tracks not on the CD. It’s a beautiful document of a career and a personality in music; I can guarantee you won’t regret buying it… Promise.

From rural England to Ancient China now and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Wayne Wang’s film of Lisa See’s novel about two girls who form a deep bond and create a unique way of communicating at a time when women were to be seen and not heard. The film looks gorgeous and its score, by Rachel Portman, is characteristically gossamer and pleasing to the ear. It feels as if Rachel has been quiet of late, so its great to have a major score release in this not unfamiliar vain. Twinkling, tinkling piano and fluttering orchestral shades are the order of the day here, together bringing about a quiet sense of beauty and sumptuous colour. I do enjoy Rachel Portman’s music – indeed her ‘Soundtracks’ compilation album features regularly on my playlist at home and while she isn’t perhaps the most inventive of composers these days, her trusted palette continues to captivate with its delightful turns of phrase and emotive undercurrents.

Jane Eyre is the target of yet another big screen adaptation this month as Cary Fukunaga’s vision of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel hits multiplexes in the UK. Dario Marienelli joins the ranks of Bernard Herrmann, John Williams and Claudio Capponi, to underscore this latest outing and does so with stunning effect. With his score for Pride & Prejudice in mind, Dario is perhaps the perfect choice to score Jane Eyre and he yet again creates a score full of scintillating romance, passion and high drama. The piano features of course here, but takes something of a back seat to the violin which forms the beating heart of the work. Jack Liebeck provides the performance here and it’s a match made in heaven as the young virtuoso breathes a fiery elegance into the gorgeous lines gifted to him by the composer. I’m a sucker for a great violin score and the union of the brilliant Liebeck with the talented Marianelli means Jane Eyre is up there with the likes of The Red Violin, Schindler’s List, Cinema Paradiso and Ladies in Lavender. Liebeck is himself no stranger to film scoring having provided intense and exciting playing on Debbie Wiseman’s Middletown back in 2006 (as well as her popular Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales album before that). Jane Eyre though is a triumph and a favourite score of the year so far for me personally; surely another Oscar nomination is in the bag for Dario…

The violin takes centre stage on Tadlow Music’s latest album, which puts the spotlight on the talented young woman behind pretty much all of the violin solos you will have heard on City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra recordings in recent years. ‘Lucie Švehlová: The Lark Ascending’ finds the leader of the CPPO headline for the first time in a collection of ‘Classical and Film Music Violin Romances’. Two of the scores I mentioned above feature here, with John Williams’ Schindler’s List taking dominating the middle section with three selections (the two obvious ones, alongside the always-hair-raising ‘Jewish Town’). Nigel Hess’ Ladies in Lavender never fails to uplift and Lucie carries it beautifully, while the likes of Rozsa’s gorgeous ‘Gabrielle’ from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and his love theme from El Cid complete the well known film titles. Andre Previn’s ‘Romance’ from The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a surprising, but not unwelcome addition, when you consider all the other great violin pieces that could have been included. An original composition by Nic Raine called ‘Renacuajo’ is another surprise, but why not, and the classical staples ‘The Lark Ascending’ and ‘Greensleeves’ complete the set on a legitimate note. The latter is actually arranged as a ‘Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra’ (by Paul Hart) and is a premiere recording… Great stuff and lovely playing, as ever, from Lucie – the darling of the City of Prague Phil…

Finally we look to Miss Red Riding Hood, the cover star of The Weinstein Company’s Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil. While the first film tried and failed to equal the popularity of DreamWorks’ Shrek canon, that didn’t stop the producers whipping out a second colourful instalment. The fact that it was shelved for a year or two shouldn’t put you off – ours is not to reason why the wherefores of the Hollywood legal system. For me it was a real shame because I’d known all along that the brilliant and insanely talented Murray Gold had done the music. Not content with supplying hundreds of minutes of sparkling, rambunctious and powerfully emotional music for the BBC’s Doctor Who, the British-born-now-based-in-the-US composer is doing wonderful things for other shows, dramas and – here – big, glossy animated features! Hoodwinked finds Murray pretty much going all out create the feistiest, flashiest collection of cues you could ask for in a fast-paced, hopefully-laugh-a-minute comedy. Mickey-mousing this may be (in part) but with team Who doing the biz, it’s anything but paint-by-numbers. Madcap, heroic, sometimes beautiful, it’s everything Doctor Who is celebrated for, but with a few extra whams and whizzes to keep you on your toes. The score is as smart as it is fun and quite honestly exhausting if you’re not in the mood. But what a piece of work it is… He came, he scored… he outdid himself frankly.

Piano Stories, released on Warner Classics, is available from 19 September from Amazon.co.uk, with Rhino’s Land Girls, Sony’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Jane Eyre, not to mention Lakeshore’s Hoodwinked Too! already on sale. Tadlow’s lovely violin disc can be ordered from Silvascreenmusic.com…

Thanks to Sony Music, Tadlow Music, Warner Classics, Debbie Wiseman and Murray Gold.

Hooray for Hollywood: John Wilson does it again..

2011-08-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

I’m literally still buzzing... What a night! John Wilson has become one of the BBC Proms’ most popular participants, recreating the magic of music from a bygone age before our ears. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend each of the young conductor’s triumphant turns on the podium at the Albert Hall – beginning with ‘The British Film Music Prom’ in 2007. The ‘Hooray for Hollywood Prom’ was unsurprisingly a sell-out, much like last year’s glorious ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein Prom’ and the one that started the buzz, ‘The MGM Film Musicals Prom’ in 2009...

The conductor/arranger’s hand-picked band – The John Wilson Orchestra - features some of Europe’s top front bench orchestral musicians and together they breathed life into a selection of music that remains truly Golden.
One thing that always strikes me about these shows is the love that so obviously goes into them; John is passionate about this music and in bringing in the talent he does, he makes sure it’s delivered in note perfect form. The only other way to experience this particular music in this way would be to physically go back in time and sit in the Hollywood scoring stages of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
Quite an era to take in, but one which saw the rise and demise of the golden age of the motion picture musical, from 42nd Street to Hello Dolly. With MGM Musicals previously covered in their own right and the work of Rodgers & Hammerstein duly noted, this Prom allowed a wider reach in terms of the variety of the material and took in music from studios like RKO, Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and of course MGM. The all-encompassing ‘Overture’ took in music from many of the film titles referenced throughout the following programme and it was enough to fill any heart with pure joy as the orchestra bounced their way through the selection, assembled by Wilson. What a fine achievement it was, and that was just the first piece!
Split into a further nine sections, the programme took us through history, beginning in the early glory days of Warner Bros. and the aforementioned 42nd Street, released in 1933 – about the same time as the birth of film music itself – and moving through the thirties song and dance classics of Fred & Ginger and the heady forties, when the movie musical was an escapist shot in the arm and much needed boost during the war years. From there we witnessed ‘Fred’s Swansong’ and ‘Judy’s Comeback’ with the likes of music from Ziegfeld Follies and A Star is Born, before moving into later classics like Gypsy, West Side Story and Guys and Dolls. The final curtain for the genres glittering golden age came in the form of films like Disney’s Mary Poppins, Fox’s Doctor Dolittle and the final bow that was Hello Dolly.
These musical numbers of course needed voice and the John Wilson Orchestra were not left without. The Maida Vale Singers lent fine vocal support, adding some emotional and uplifting weight to the likes of ‘Strike Up The Band’ and the searingly emotive ‘Serenade’ from The Student Prince. The lead vocal came from tenor Charles Castronovo, whose passionate performance was quite literally heart stopping. He was just one of six vocal soloists to join in the fun, and the likes of soprano Sarah Fox, tenor Matthew Ford and Annalene Beechey were in fine voice throughout. It was, however the efforts of Caroline O’Connor and Clare Teal that shone through. O’Connor is perhaps most recognised as Nini Legs in the Air in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! but she is also a much-lauded star of the stage in her native Australia and has performed regularly in London’s West End and on Broadway. Perfectly cast in the Judy Garland role for the set from A Star is Born, O’Connor was simply outstanding – not surprising given she starred as Garland in the world premiere of the hit show End of the Rainbow. She truly is a little firecracker of a performer and her various turns – notably ‘Strike Up The Band’, ‘Gotta Have Me Go With You’ and ‘Triplets’ – were exacted with a confidence, prowess and zeal lacking in some of the others. That latter song, from MGM’s The Band Wagon (1953) saw her joined by Ford and Fox, each of them bedecked in romper suits, hats and clutching teddybears... A comic highlight for sure.
Clare Teal brought with her the delightfully infectious personality and crystal clear jazz vocals that have made her a star. She absolutely nailed the likes of ‘You’ll Never Know’ (from Fox’s Four Jills in a Jeep) and ‘Secret Love’ (from Warner Bros. Calamity Jane). Constantly smiling and quite noticeably just having a wonderful time, Teal’s natural warmth and good humour was a perfect fit for this show.
Rounding off the endlessly entertaining concert was ‘Put On Your Sunday Clothes’ from Fox’s Hello Dolly. With all the vocalists, choir and orchestra united it served to raise not just smiles across the auditorium, but hairs on the back of our necks too. The encore of ‘There’s No Business Like Show Buisness’ saw a final belting turn from O’Connor, who took on the Ethel Merman persona with ease (again a character she has played before, this time on film in De Lovely). Though we stamped our feet and clapped our hands until they were raw, Wilson and Co. were understandably tired and after a third walk to the front of the stage they disappeared from view. Not from our memory though, as this show will live on for a long time; such was the impact and generous spirit of those involved. Congratulations to John Wilson once again for making such magic, and with the colourful, heart-warming rendition of ‘Jolly Holiday’ from Mary Poppins in mind, perhaps next year he might consider taking us back to the Golden Age of Disney? Pretty please?

With thanks to BBC Proms, Rosanna Chianta, John Wilson and The Royal Albert Hall. You can watch The Hooray for Hollywood Prom on BBC 2 at 21:15GMT on Saturday 3 September. Tune in, you won’t regret it... If you can’t wait, then why not LISTEN to the BBC Radio 3 broadcast on BBC iPlayer – click here

A Night at the Movies... At The Proms: The Film Music Prom - Fri 12 Aug 2011

2011-08-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

Never presume a concert is going to start at 7.30pm... Lesson learned. I didn’t actually miss any of Friday’s Film Music Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, but I did unwittingly sit in my seat just five minutes before conductor Keith Lockhart struck up the band.

The band in question was of course the always-wonderful and dexterous BBC Concert Orchestra, who launched full pelt into Bernard Herrmann’s ‘Prelude’ from The Man Who Knew Too Much. It was a fine start to an all too brief tribute to the composer, who of course would have been 100 this year, and with the film’s finale location in mind – not to mention Herrmann’s cameo on that very stage – it was all rather delicious. The exuberant ‘Overture’ from Citizen Kane went down well, as it always does, before Lockhart and Co. delivered Herrmann’s engrossing ‘Narrative’ of Psycho. Lovely to have a Herrmann presence at the Proms, however fleeting. The Moby Dick Cantata next year perhaps?

Chloe Hanslip was warmly received for her first half performance of Morricone’s oh-so-captivating theme from Cinema Paradiso. What an achievement that score is... So beautiful; and in the hands of the talented Hanslip it really did soar around that vast space and into our souls.
William Walton’s Henry V is highly revered, and rightly so. The lengthy ‘Suite’ presented at the Prom, rounding off the first half was perhaps a bridge too far for some. While the music rang out, jewel-like, intense and buoyant, it was interspersed with a live recital of parts from Shakespeare’s play by actor Rory Kinnear. This is no slight on Mr Kinnear’s talent, indeed it was a great performance of a selection of speeches; but for the uninitiated and – in my case – the unprepared, it was just a bit long. Minds wandered to the interval drink, the upcoming James Bond suite, or whether the Celeste player would nail the parts in Harry Potter... Still, a noble job and ably done.

Part two saw the ensemble bring out the big guns, opening with a selection of pieces by John Williams. Not a massive surprise for a seasoned film music concertgoer, but wonderful to hear the likes of Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Schindler’s List at the Proms. The fanfares of the former rang out and tingled spines, while Potter’s dizzying spectacle, replete with perfect Celeste I might add, was suitably magic. Chloe Hanslip returned to take on Schindler’s List and proved yet again what a talent she is. The piece never fails to haunt and uplift in equal measure.

Jonny Greenwood is a talented chap isn’t he? I was so impressed by his score for There Will Be Blood and I couldn’t wait to hear his ‘Suite’ from Norwegian Woods at the Prom. I wasn’t disappointed. The orchestra was put through its paces to deliver some hair-raising avant garde devices, led by a simple repeated motif in the strings which finds itself bleeding out into the rest of the orchestra. Riveting is probably the best word to describe this music. I always imagine that for a ‘rock star’ composer, being given an orchestra to play with is just like having the most exciting toy in the world; hearing what Greenwood came up with cemented that thought. Very effective and a lot of fun.

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett celebrates his 75th birthday this year. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago and he really is a proper gentleman. While his birthday has been noted by a whole Prom this season, the Film Music Prom wouldn’t have been right without a tip of the hat to him and his music. Murder on the Orient Express is probably one of his highest profile film scores and the selection of cues performed at the concert were just fantastic. It made me wonder why I haven’t sought out more of RRB’s stuff. Murder is just such a thrill; a bit camp, lavish and colourful with a period hue. It reminded me of a story about Bernard Herrmann, who at the time said RRB had got it all wrong “What was he thinking?!” he said “This is supposed to be a train of death...”. Classic. It’s true to say the venerable British composer didn’t go down a dark route for the killer thriller, but his tongue in cheek, romping and melodic music is some of his best and the concert performance was a standout of the evening, truly.

Finishing things off, and in tribute to the late John Barry, was a lovingly performed Out of Africa and a barnstorming suite of music from a variety of James Bond films. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Goldfinger and ‘The James Bond Theme’ were arranged together and played with bags of panache and enthusiasm. The twirling cellos in David Arnold’s ‘You Know My Name’ were a great touch and said much for the overall concert. Keith Lockhart is a real showman and he brought a great energy, wit and enthusiasm to the evening.

Up next? The Hooray for Hollywood Prom on 29 August! John Wilson and his fine orchestra whisk us back to Hollywood's Golden Age again, hot on the heels of the MGM Film Musicals Prom in 2009 and last year's glorious Rodgers & Hammerstein Prom. I can't wait! Full report coming soon...

With thanks to BBC Proms and Royal Albert Hall

Oh it's that man off the telly...

2011-07-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Films have been a source of inspiration to many music artists, so much so it may be something of a cliché for a solo classical musician to take on such a programme for an album release… Did I say that out loud?

Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s actually a sometimes successful way of bridging the chasm that exists critically between ‘real’ classical music and that funny stuff we call ‘film music’. I think what makes Rolando Villazón’s new CD ‘La Strada: Songs from the Movies’ most grating is the horrible sticker featuring an ITV1 logo and the words ‘As featured on Popstar to Operastar’ *shudder*

Yes, Rolando is the bouffant-haired, Catapillar-browed Tenor who is – sadly – most recognised by the man on the street as ‘that bloke who critiques ‘celebrities’ trying to sing opera on the telly’. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not a fan of the programme… Drivel is not the word.

With that feeling in mind it’s really no wonder I gulped slightly when I was informed I could expect a copy of Villazón’s album. Joy, I thought.

The first surprise for me was that it was not a typical glossy ‘Decca Records’ tie-in release; in fact the disc is released by Decca’s serious Classical arm ‘Deutsche Grammophon’. The second came with the sight of the rather large set of media quotes on the back cover, including the one from Opera News that Villazón is in fact ‘the most talked about and sought after lyric tenor in the world’. Gosh. Thirdly I gave the disc a couple of spins and yes, you guessed it, he’s really rather good, though the selection is questionable including a few howlers.

Somehow the non-English language tracks work best with the Tenor’s broad Italian brogue in mind, so the likes of ‘Al otro lado del rio’ from The Motorcycle Diaries, ‘Gelsomina’ from La Strada and ‘Non, je ne regretted rien’ from La Vie en rose are particular highlights. The Michel Legrand standards ‘A Piece of Sky’ (from Yentl), ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ (from The Thomas Crown Affair) and ‘The Summer Knows’ (from Summer of ’42) go some way to heal the accent issues, but mainly because the songs are just so damned good.

The howlers? ‘She’ from Notting Hill just doesn’t work, sadly, and is more than irritating, while the kiddy-friendly ditties ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ (from Pinocchio) and ‘Rainbow Connection’ (from The Muppet Movie… yes The Muppet Movie) are very sweet, but a little too sweet for my liking; making for something of a cheeseboard of an album when all is said and done.

So, peaks and troughs then really and somewhat jarring considering how seriously it is presented by the label.

A noble concept at bringing the talented singer a wider audience, but I do think he should probably stick to what he does best.

Summer heroes...

2011-07-30T06:48:00.001-07:00

With July ebbing away and August cresting just beyond the weekend I can’t believe that I haven’t had chance to sit down and take stock of some of the big blockbuster soundtrack albums of 2011. Obviously summer is by no means over and there is the promise of brilliance to come in the shape of Michael Giacchino’s Super 8 and Alan Silvestri’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Having heard a teeny-weeny preview of both efforts I can confirm that I am excited beyond reason. More on those when they grace my ears fully…

In the meantime I have had a chance to process some of Sony Classical’s offerings; a trio in fact taking in both superheroes and wizards. Yes, I’m talking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II of course, and preceding that X-Men: First Class and The Green Lantern.

Henry Jackman was responsible for Matthew Vaughn’s fitting prequel to Fox’s X-Men trilogy. I was impressed by Jackman’s exuberant accompaniment to Gullivers Travels and when I saw he’d taken on First Class I wasn’t too worried. His music is robust enough, performed by some of Hollywood’s best and delivering suitable doses of thrust, action and drama. Ubiquitous electric guitars and drums throb and bang away, but not incessantly and the brass really rocks. Jackman knows how to tick all the boxes and I appreciate his old-school approach; the orchestra is largely at the forefront with the rumbles, hums and trickery present but playing a supporting role.

The same cannot be said for James Newton Howard’s The Green Lantern, which the weighty Hollywood Studio Symphony who are sadly lost beneath a barrage of drum and bass patches and rock guitar. Maybe I shouldn’t say sadly… After all this is a glossy, youthful, high action, effects-laden picture and such things attract scores in the mould I speak of. It does seem a shame to use an orchestra of this calibre though, credit them with a whole page in the booklet and yet drown them out. I expect it took a lot of work… but it isn’t particularly memorable, unlike JNH’s wonderful Water for Elephants. You couldn’t get more of a Jekyll & Hyde musical scenario frankly… That latter effort is a luscious, melodic, glistening treat and Green Lantern much like the composer’s Green Hornet will likely remain on the shelf and not listened to again. I guess it comes down to a matter of taste; maybe I’m just getting old (heck I’m not even thirty!)

My blockbuster Sony Classical trilogy is completed by the boy wizard, Alexandre Desplat. Ha. He is something of a wizard though isn’t he? I mean he must be the most prolific composer on the beat right now, other than Giacchino. His star has risen and risen since Girl With a Pearl Earring impressed and after taking on The Golden Compass a few years back, he proved he could flex his blockbuster muscle (even if the film didn’t bust any blocks). Taking the reigns from Nicholas Hooper, Desplat joined a small band of composers who have given musical life to Harry Potter and ably supported final chapters of the franchise with his orchestra of choice, The London Symphony Orchestra.

So a score of two halves then, written and recorded separately but together forming a whole. Let’s get something straight, I would have loved John Williams to have returned for The Deathly Hallows but he didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t… whatever. I am however pleased that a composer of Desplat’s skill, artistry and dexterity was hired. Am I happy with the end result? Well the jury’s still out I’m afraid. There are moments of beauty here, moments of drama and some excitement. I think Part II pales a little compared to Part I, which is strange when you think that the second part ought to be more action-packed. Scoring a second half of something you’ve already started must be a little tricky too, after all Desplat was able to set out his stall in Part I and I think he did a fine job. In Part II he really has to just keep some momentum and pick up the pieces and end the thing.

I’ve listened to Part II a handful of times now and I’m still trying to think of a track I would go back to and listen to on its own because it’s a standout. ‘Lily’s Theme’ is haunting yes, continuing the vocal line he began in Part I. There are no great swathes of orchestral power though, no mighty chorus singing out in jubilation or terror. ‘Voldemort’s End’ is little more than a wailing woman when it should surely be a legion of voices uniting to bring the bastard down. To be frank there is no momentum, which is vital to such a film.

A friend of mine made a good point… Maybe it’s the director’s fault? Now, David Yates has taken on four of these films and brought them in admirably, completing for Warner Bros. what was becoming a director of the week affair. Having one director isn’t a bad thing at all, but it does seem this particular director doesn’t have particularly grand views about the role of music in his films. With that in mind can we blame Nicholas Hooper for delivering a pair of, let’s face it, unchallenging, largely unmemorable (save for 'Fireworks' and 'Professor Umbridge'), by-the-numbers scores. Desplat does have a stronger voice than Hooper and what he has crafted for Potter is full of pathos, mystery, brevity and some scintillation, but when the most exciting smile-inducing moments are courtesy of John Williams, there has to be something wrong?

I'm all about Herrmann right now...

2011-07-30T05:42:00.001-07:00

Goodness where has the time gone? It’s almost August and I haven’t written a blog for some time. I blame Bernard Herrmann entirely. You see, Mr Herrmann would have been 100 years old on 29 June and with that in mind there has been a flurry of concerts and events taking place to mark the grand occasion. Not least of all a fantastic month long film season at Bristol’s Watershed Media Centre, with whom I worked a little on beefing up their fine festival micro-site -www.watershed.co.uk/herrmann

It seemed all I did throughout May and June was live, breathe and muse on the life and music of Bernard Herrmann, which isn’t a bad thing I suppose. My iPod was – and still is – chock full of the best of Benny. I went to the RPO’s brilliant Film Music Gala, which had a special tribute to BH (that was in fact my last blog entry) and later that month I penned some programme notes for a very special concert at St George’s Bristol, where the Tippett Quartet showcased Herrmann’s captivating ‘Echoes’ String Quartet, alongside a specially commissioned Quartet suite from Psycho. Making the event even more special was the presence of Mrs Norma Herrmann. Having Norma present really added a seal of approval to the concert (a highlight of the Watershed’s festival). I spoke with her a little and she delighted in sharing stories of her time with Benny… ‘He was a terrible pianist…’ being just one of the engrossing anecdotes she came out with.

The event itself was a fine launch as well for my campaign ‘A Blue Plaque for Bernard Herrmann’. Concertgoers at St George’s, Norma Herrmann and the Tippett Quartet themselves were some of the first names to be added in support of having an English Heritage Blue Plaque erected at one of Herrmann’s former London homes.

I’m a couple of weeks away from finally submitting the application document – which I’m assembling with fine assistance from Bernard Herrmann Society scribe Gunether Kogebehn – which will be supported by the petition of names. The list of supporters is still growing and I’m overwhelmed and chuffed to pieces that so many people have gotten in touch to lend their names. This week alone has seen an abundance of support from across the Atlantic with Intrada Records, La La La Land Records, Perseverance Records and Film Score Monthly all adding their stamp to the list. They join the likes of Mark Isham, Debbie Wiseman, Christopher Gunning, Conrad Pope, John Williams, the RPO, the LSO and the Halle Orchestra who have all expressed their support so far. Those are just the big names and there are of course many many of Herrmann’s fans across the world and I thank each and every one of them for supporting the campaign too.

If you’d like to add your name in support then email me now – michael@michaelbeek.co.uk and I’ll add you to the petition. If you’d like more information on the campaign then take a look at my original article here on the Watershed’s Herrmann micro-site: http://www.watershed.co.uk/herrmann/blue-plaque.html

Film Music Gala 2011

2011-06-03T03:57:00.001-07:00

A month later than usual and a change of title didn’t stop the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from laying on another delectable feast of fine film music classics. Their annual film music concert, now known as 'Film Music Gala', is always a popular event, featuring performances of some of the best in blockbusting film music and a sprinkling of new treats.

The packed house at the Royal Albert Hall were in fine mood – possibly thanks to the balmy weather outside – and that mood was lifted further with the RPO’s characteristically sturdy renditions of main themes from Gladiator, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Mission: Impossible, Out of Africa, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Star Wars.

Those crowd-pleasers aside – though Clio Gould’s performance of Williams’ Schindler’s List was top-notch, not to mention the always hair-raising Jurassic Park – the highlights for me came from other programme selections…

It is of course Bernard Herrmann’s centenary year, indeed his big 100 is on 29 June, and as such film and film music fans are being treated to all kinds of tributes and celebrations the world over. Last night was no exception as the RPO performed music from four of the esteemed composer’s greatest film scores; his first, Citizen Kane; his last, Taxi Driver and his two biggest Hitchcock classics: Vertigo and Psycho. Hearing Herrmann’s music live is always a thrill for me and as always the selection from Taxi Driver raised hairs and blood-pressure with its violent throws and delicious Saxophone lines. Psycho was afforded the usual giggles when it came to ‘The Murder’, not least of all because conductor Paul Bateman, baton clenched in his fist, ‘stabbed’ the orchestra through the cue… inspired. The tribute to Herrmann was made all the more special by the presence of his widow Norma, who waved and gave a hearty thumbs-up from her seat in the stalls.

The event is always blessed with special guest conductors and this year was no exception as in the first half we were treated to two suites of music by the great John Scott, who was on hand to direct the orchestra. On paper the selections may not have inspired too much excitement from the layman, but the performances of music from Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan and The Final Countdown proved to be some of the biggest and most exciting of the entire evening. It was a special moment for Bristol-born Scott who recorded the latter score with the orchestra at CTS-Wembley back in 1980, so it was something of a reunion and the band did him proud. When briefly interviewed by presenter Tommy Pearson about his music and the influence of Bernard Herrmann on composers in general, Scott was enthusiastic and went on to make something of a faux-pas as he exclaimed he was always impressed and blown away by Herrmann’s music for Hitchcock’s Rope… The film was of course some seven years before Herrmann and Hitchcock first worked together (on The Trouble With Harry) and what little music was in the film was by the uncredited David Buttolph. Of course only a complete film music nut and Herrmann aficionado like myself would croak and sputter at such a mistake and it likely went over the heads of the majority of the gathered mass.

Part Two saw the RPO joined by one of its very special friends and ‘Film Music Gala’ regular, Debbie Wiseman. Debbie is a popular figure at the event and she always has something new up her sleeve (whether she has any or not, in this case it was a sleeveless, off the shoulder number) and for her 2011 stint she brought with her a new concert arrangement of her gloriously perky 1999 score for Tom’s Midnight Garden and the premiere of music from The Promise, which she scored this year for Peter Kosminsky and Channel 4. It goes without saying both pieces went down well, the latter fizzing with high drama…

So another RPO Film Music Frenzy (perhaps next year’s title?) ticked off the calendar and a highly enjoyable evening, as ever. It’s just smashing to see so many people beaming with delight as classics of the silver screen play out and not just us mere mortals. I spotted an Oscar-winner in the crowd, not to mention Christopher Gunning, and Hi De Hi's Su Pollard! It takes all sorts it seems.

Till next time!

With thanks to Doran Harding, Royal Albert Hall and Debbie Wiseman.

On The Desk IX

2011-05-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

You don’t get more classy than Holly Golightly, or more classic a film than Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Blake Edwards’ sassy, comically romantic and ultimately moving film created an icon in Audrey Hepburn and in the process confirmed that the director’s creative partnership with composer Henry Mancini would go on to be one of the most colourful and listenable in Hollywood history. The score for Tiffany’s came a few years before the quintessential Pink Panther scores and in a way put the composer more firmly on the Hollywood map, thanks in no small part to the title song ‘Moon River’ which Manicini composed with Johnny Mercer. Both won Oscars for their work on the swooning little number and the composer took home a second statue for his dramatic score.

I say ‘dramatic’, when really it’s more of a glittering, toe-tapping underscore representative of the period and most of it coming out of Holly’s record player. So the majority of the music on this new ‘50th Anniversary’ release of the music from the film, by Harkit Records, is source music, but what a fabulous selection of ditties it is. The real drama comes from the ‘Moon River’ melody which appears in the opening ‘Choral’ version and Hepburn’s vocal rendition – itself full of sultry emotion. The likes of ‘Something for Cat’ and ‘The Big Blow Out’ make perfect 60s party music – as they did in the film – and the quasi striptease music of ‘Hub Caps and Tail Lights’ raises a smile for sure.

The title track is a romantic, misty-eyed number with light percussion, cool piano and strings, not to mention the ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ choir. Mancini’s trademark swooping strings, brass vibraphone add a touch of 60s glamour. There’s something utterly wonderful about this style of music, so of its time, full of warmth, romance all played out with a wink and smile I expect.

‘Holly’ is another breezy walk in the park, with trumpet, percussion and guitar playing out a lazy melody. Those swooping strings again whisk you up off your feet and carry you away with them, while ‘The Big Heist’ pre-empts the mould that Mancini would turn to for The Pink Panther in a few years time… Priceless.

A final rendition or two of ‘Moon River’, including a very camp ‘Cha Cha’ version brings this glittering little album to a close. I can quite honestly say it’s a bit of a joy and it makes me want to seek out more music of this period… I’ve a load of Williams’ music from similar ‘screwball’ romances, comedies and alike, so I think I’ll dust them off. Time to re-embrace my copy of The Pink Panther as well I think… Kudos to Harkit Records though for making this music available; notes by Randall Larson are, as always, informative and expertly written, while the packaging – replete with faux crystals in the spine casing – is creatively considered.

Now to Silva’s release of Gustavo Santaolalla’s Biutiful, his latest collaboration with visionary director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Following on from the likes of Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, Biutiful stars Javier Bardem as a dying man with a shady past who wishes to redeem himself before death claims him.

Music appears to be of great importance to Inarritu and like their previous films, Santaolalla was involved from an early stage. Indeed for Biutiful the composer researched the styles of music that might work and went so far as to record tracks before the film’s production was complete. According to the director, some 150 tracks were created, not all ending up in the finished film as you’d imagine. In fact some of the early ideas thought to be what they needed, ended up not working at all with the film and a whole different approach was undertaken. As a result the two discs of the soundtrack album represent both the original soundtrack of cues heard in the film, with the second disc (called ‘Almost Biutiful’) carrying a selection of the otherwise worthy pieces that didn’t make it. A nice touch.

The music then, like all of the Inarritu/Santaolalla productions is a diverse collection really, with the composer’s original music – as usual based on guitars and ethnic instrumentation. This composer looks to eastern and African music for some of his inspiration, as well as his latin roots. Some of the early selection isn’t easy listening, the cues being quite stark and imposing, contrasting greatly to later cues of some beauty. The finale of the first disc is a gorgeous rendering of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G (aka 2 Adagio Assai) performed by Zoltan Kocsis, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orhestra; truly ‘Biutiful’.

The second disc, with its ponderous pre-production musings intact offer again a variety of ideas. ‘Seedz’ has an overtly African flavour, while the likes of ‘Maler’ and ‘Davis’ are hypnotic and engaging, the former arranged by Osvaldo Golijov. ‘Tin Can Gitar’ is certainly the most unusual entry, with its oddly entrancing repetitive metallic sound, while ‘Elegaic’ – the closing track - is a piece for piano, reverberating and pensive.

Another Silva album to land on my desk in recent weeks was something of a surprise. ‘The Symphonic Celtic Album’ should probably be called ‘The Symphonic Celtic Film Music Album’ given that that is exactly what it is, bar one track… A gathering then of some of film’s quintessential Celtic musical motifs, some obvious, others spurious… It is though a pleasant listening experience, with Carter Burwell’s Miller’s Crossing opening the selection and Sean O’Riada’s ‘Women of Ireland’, used in Barry Lyndon, one of the truly Celtic offerings. The likes of Horner’s Braveheart and Titanic, Williams’ Far And Away and Burwell’s Rob Roy are the meat of the piece, while two selections from Shore’s Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring are given an Emerald glow thanks to the presence of Enya’s ‘May It Be’ in the first instance and the Celtic-flavour of the Hobbiton music I suppose.

I may be missing something, but Trevor Jones’ The Last of the Mohicans and Newman’s The Shawshank Redemption, are only faintly Celtic in their general hue, while the inclusion of ‘Now We Are Free’ from Gladiator is just filler surely… It was set in Rome, he was a ‘Spaniard’ and… need I go on? Anyway, it’s still a fine piece of music.

Victor Young’s The Quiet Man and Michael Kamen’s Highlander complete the package, though the likes of Jarre’s Ryan’s Daughter might have been a welcome addition, not to mention Horner’s The Devil’s Own. Obviously these things depend very much on what’s in the Silva catalogue to begin with and to be fair to them they haven’t done badly at all with this album. It’s all listenable stuff… Not sure I can forgive the glaring mistake in the sleeve note though, where Howard Shore is credited with Braveheart… Woops. Oh and the album ends with Bill Whelan’s ‘Riverdance’… not in a film, as far as I know? But it’s a cracking piece an anthem if you like to all things Celtic. And why not.

Finally James Horner’s Testament was a welcome release from Film Score Monthly recently and while it’s a short album – just a little over half an hour – it’s worth it. His take on the morbid, but dramatic family tale of life after a nuclear holocaust is quite simply moving and beautifully achieved. With a small ensemble, Horner weaves emotive lines of music for solo, duo and trio, including woodwinds and an imposing French horn. The brief vignettes on the album, plus a couple of pieces by Mozart make for a short but wholly satisfying experience, proving Horner’s ability to move with the simplest of means. This is a must have CD for any Horner collector.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is available from Harkit Records – www.harkitrecords.com – while both Biutiful and The Symphonic Celtic album are available on CD or to download from www.silvascreenmusic.com. Testament can be found at www.screenarchives.com, along with all the other fine releases from FSM and more besides. As ever.

On The Desk VIII

2011-04-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Busy times in the real world have kept me from the desk, so it’s been a little while since my last blog. I think the last one was more of a rant actually… Apologies for that. So back to it, refreshed-ish and a pile of albums amassing atop the table. But where to begin? I might begin with a little self promotion as Silva Screen’s wonderful ‘Francis Lai: The Essential Film Music Collection’ is with us at last. What sets this release apart from their traditional ‘Essential’ series entries is that this selection is conducted by the composer himself with his orchestra. So something of a seal of approval from a composer who is oft-overlooked. The album is a re-issue of a Japanese release and with liner notes by yours truly it’s a neat little package that gathers together the best of Lai’s entrancing and unendingly charming music. Silva have been busy of late what with their latest Debbie Wiseman release The Promise (a typically emotive and thought-provoking piece of work from the First Lady of Film Music, with cracking cover-art) and more besides. Not least of all yet another release from the pen of Mr. Murray Gold for Doctor Who The 2010 Christmas Special - 'A Christmas Carol' - saw Welsh wonder Katherine Jenkins take on her first acting role, so it was a given that she’d end up singing at some point. Murray crafted ‘Abigail’s Song’ for her and it is of course the standout track of the album - the first entire episode soundtrack to be released after four albums of Series highlights. With additional vocal accompaniment from the usual bods of The Crouch End Festival Chorus, the song – although cunningly simplistic – manages to raise the hairs on the back of your neck when Jenkins and the Chorus are in full force. The larger score is essentially what we’ve come to expect, love – nay crave – from the Time Lord’s adventures. With that in mind this is nothing short of a musical spectacular, a full throttle orchestral score with bags of charm, moments of magic and a few punchy little numbers along the way. With Series 6 not far away, appetites are certainly whetted… more to come of course, not least of all the release on CD of Murray’s utterly brilliant score for the Weinstein Company’s animated sequel Hoodwinked Too. The soundtrack is coming – finally – from Lakeshore Records in the US, so perhaps Silva will be able to pick it up here? Here’s hoping, it’s tops. Another BBC series that has gotten people all fired up in the UK is Being Human. I was certainly in on the ground floor when Series 1 aired in 2009 and have been hooked ever since. The premise is fairly straightforward… a Ghost, a Vampire and a Werewolf live together in contemporary Britain, trying to fit in and live as human a life as possible. While its obvious overtones of fantasy, horror and indeed comedy were duly noted, I was surprised at just how damned moving the ongoing series’ have been. Series 3 has just finished here and what a series that was… Just brilliant. The music for the show is composed by Richard Wells, who until then was known to me thanks to his rather good score for The Mutant Chronicles. For Being Human Wells applies smaller scale music, often solo instrumentalists/groups amongst a wealth of well conceived programming. That said the music seemed to me to play quite a back seat as nothing particularly memorable ever stayed with me, bar the metallic/percussive end credits piece. This does of course mean the music is doing its job… With that in mind though I was intrigued to discover Silva Screen were to release an album and I hungrily took it in. What a discovery it was too! It’s a disc full of fire, emotion and humour and of course returning to watch the remaining episodes of the third series, those melodies jumped right out with a bit of familiarity. Highlights include the entrancing ‘Beautiful Chaos’ and ‘Annie’s Theme’, but the whole selection has a lot to offer. This is quite simply just great contemporary TV music with a fine mix of live performances and programmed hues to make you shiver, swoon and giggle, much like the series itself. Roll on Series Four! Finally from Silva is The Eagle, which comes from Atli Örvarsson. I admit to being a little narrow minded when I saw the release, what with the obvious connections and homages to Gladiator in the trailer etc, not to mention the fact that Örvarsson himself worked with the great Zimmer too. A cursory glance at the score credits though revealed a wealth of live performers, soloists and interesting instrumentation and I have to say it’s quite a colourful score. Sure there are some echoes of the omniscient Zimmer here, plus a few strains of Newman (Thomas) and Horner. There’s a lot of Celtic colour throughout the score, which shouldn’t have been such a surprise given the locale of the story (Old Britain and its borderland with Scotland) and the use of traditional folk melodies and such like. Percussion, dulcimer, cimbalom, pipes and vocals make up just some of the many additions to the usual suspects, all making for a robust film score all told. Ground breaking this might not be, but it’s good to hear something that’s had more than a little thought go into it. Of course the director is Kevin MacDonald and his past efforts have always seen cunningly conceived scores and source pieces by Alex Heffes. It was of course a surprise not to see Heffes attached to The Eagle… Small shame, but Örvarsson has stepped up to the plate admirably. La La Land Records continue to be generous with their releases and their recent roster has been typically good. John Morris is included once again with another fine turn in the shape of 1985’s Clue. The classic comedic whodunit is of course based on the board game ‘Cluedo’ and the colourful cast of characters are ably supported by Morris’ orchestral modes. Typically the composer takes the comedy very seriously with brassy accents, shivering strings, some camp electronics and a punchy little main theme capturing something of the mad-capped-ness of it all, not to mention the overriding ‘mystery’. A classic, of course. Another classic of the silver screen is noted with a double disc release of Ernest Gold’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, a film which saw a cavalcade of comedy stars from the Silent Era through through to the then ‘present’ day. The likes of Buster Keaton and Mickey Rooney were billed alongside Phil Silvers, Ethel Merman and Jonathan Winters. The score, one of Gold’s most famous is suitably sprawling with its circus-like main theme giving way to unending thrills and spills for orchestra. Disc One captures the entire score, while Disc Two presents the original LP re-issue. Performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, it’s quite a feat and a treat for the ears. Testosterone is definitely on the menu with the next two La La Land releases, namely Hans Zimmer’s Broken Arrow and Mark Mancina’s Money Train. Both are fine examples of 90s action scoring at its best, with Zimmer’s tried and tested brand of orchestral, synth, guitar mash-up working wonders for the big budget machismo-fest. The main theme, for guitar, is simple but has become somewhat iconic now and this very generous two-disc album showcases the work in its entirety with bonus selections from the original album too. Mancina’s effort from the previous year is of course related, given the two composer’s collaborative history, but it stands out as pure Mancina with the oh-so energetic figures just bursting out of the speakers. Again guitars and keyboards meet full-throttle action orchestra here, but with less emphasis on synth-pads. The composer reminisces in the sleeve booklet about the period, citing it as ‘the good old days’. These scores certainly paved the way for much of the modern film music we hear today and good or bad, these elder cousins are just brilliant examples of action film scoring done right. Finally an interesting release from La La Land by one of the brightest stars beginning work in Hollywood today, Abel Korzeniowski. The Polish-born composer of course came to fame through his staggeringly beautiful work on Tom Ford’s A Single Man and La La Land have released the composer’s music for a previously unknown Polish animation called Copernicus’ Star. The gorgeous little film was helped along beautifully by the original score, recorded in Poland with orchestra and chorus, and the selection released here only goes to prove just how talented a composer Abel Korzeniowski really is. The depth of emotion, melody and colour found here is again rather staggering and I for one am chomping at the bit to hear more from this exciting new voice. Lots to think about, seek out and enjoy if you can. Visit silvascreenmusic.com and lalalandrecords.com for more information and ordering information, not to mention news on their latest treats. As for me? The desk is empty once again, so I’ll be back soon with more thoughts on the latest releases.

Bristol Music... A Rant?

2011-02-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

I live in Bristol, in fact I was born in Bristol, and while I’ve visited plenty of other places – considered ‘the move to London’ – there really is no place like home. The city has a rich cultural heritage, a colourful history and its streets, with their era-straddling, ever changing facades, could tell a thousand stories I have no doubt. There’s also music to be discovered in the ‘capital’ of the West of England...

The Hazlewood Affair...

People have questioned Bristol’s musicality of late, thanks in no small part to comments by Charles Hazlewood. His article, which came about in the lead up to the first concert of a new residency at St George’s Bristol with his orchestra The Army of Generals, alludes to the fact – and it is a fact – that Bristol is without a major ‘full time’ orchestra. He also began his spiel by stating that in his opinion the city is ‘desperately in need’ of ‘musical protein’.

While we’re hardly desperate, a city of our size should probably have an ensemble in the league of those based in Bimingham, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Scotland and London, not to mention the great BBC Orchestras. Bournemouth’s Symphony Orchestra has become the orchestral representative of the South and West and so we get to share them... Sure they’re a fine ensemble – they were in fact the first live orchestra I saw when I was a child – but I’m not sure I want to share them...

Of course we do have Bristolian orchestras, several in fact, and the likes of the Bristol Ensemble and the Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra (both re-branded in an attempt to be taken more seriously perhaps), not to forget the Bristol Concert Orchestra, Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra and Bristol Classical Players, each perform very regularly across the city and do great things. The Bristol Ensemble is itself somewhat omniscient of late, striving to set out its stall as Bristol’s first orchestra. Concerts aside they do marvellous outreach work, which is brilliant and essential.

There’s more to musical protein than a name, or a budget though... it’s what you play that matters, how well you play it and how you package it. I think If you want to get people in off the street to hear Classical music, particularly in this city, then you can’t be in the least bit pretentious. Will Mr and Mrs Bloggs in the suburbs of Horfield or Hartcliffe actually give two hoots about ‘Abstractions and Refractions’ – the title of Charles’ concert series – the answer is no frankly. Charles wanted, nay wants, to break down the boundaries of the classical concert experience, ‘concert etiquette’ if you will, and get people in through the door and listening who wouldn’t normally... It’s a great idea which I’m all for, but a glance around the room at the first concert in the series revealed the usual suspects in a venue steeped, historically, in the very Classical etiquette he’s striving to avoid. I absolutely love St George’s dearly, but the whole arrangement seemed at odds with its initial aim I’m afraid.

Bristol audiences are famously fickle though... Gergiev appeared at Colston Hall last year and nobody came. That’s an exaggeration obviously, but it illuminated the fact that if people haven’t got an appetite for Classical music they just won’t bother, no matter how big the name on the poster.

What might have worked better for Charles’ general idea? Get an orchestra in the amphitheatre on the harbourside, or in Queen Square and belt out some tunes that the Bloggs’ might know, something for the Classic FM crowd and the casual listener who likes the theme from Star Wars. That would do it, then when you’ve got them try them with something different, something they don’t know. Don’t try and play them music they don’t care about in the first place and then add insult to injury by showing them how amusing and clever some composer they’ve never even heard of was so many years later... It just doesn’t wash.

In, something, we trust...

Colston Hall likes to think of itself as the city’s premier music venue. The shiny makeover has worked wonders, not to mention some name changes behind the scenes... The council is in the process of offloading their responsibility of the venue, instead creating The Bristol Music Trust to run its affairs. Interesting times then for the hall, which will continue to be financed by the council in the initial years of the Trust’s life, but then it’ll have to fend for itself in a time when money for the arts is hardly abundant. The eventual aim is for this trust to be ‘entrusted’ with the all the musical goings on in the city, acting perhaps as a central hub for not just the Colston Hall, but other venues and events too... It’s an interesting idea certainly, but with a community of venues very much with their own established identities, clientele and modus operandi, I doubt whether shoving it all under one umbrella will work. The meetings and feasibility studies continue (endlessly knowing Bristol City Council, until they’ve spent a fortune and decide to leave things just the way they are) so the jury’s out on the future of Bristol’s music making.

One thing’s for sure there are those is this city who love music, who make great music and who enjoy music... and I’m not just talking Classical. So as long as that continues, we can’t go very far wrong can we?

On The Desk VII

2011-02-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

Well here we are again, at the desk and contemplating all things Film Music (and, it goes without saying, More Besides). I’ve had quite an influx this last week or so, passed on from labels, composers, friends and even a few I’ve actually bought myself – which is a rare occurrence these days I can tell you. I still enjoy the rush of buying an album though, particularly if it’s for my collection. This week I filled some gaps in the Horner line-up, so I finally inserted Avatar, The Karate Kid, Jade and 48 Hours in… The Karate Kid, a surprise entry in the composer’s resume last year to be sure, is a great listen actually. I do find James Horner comes out guns blazing when he’s against the clock (many composers do in fact). The album is one of those controversial CD-R releases, made to order so to speak. Do I mind this? Well to be honest I haven’t thought about it along any further line than ‘oh it’s on CD, let me at it!’. I suppose there are some things to consider with the rise of the CD-R album, but I don’t think I have the energy to go into it now. All I know is I’m enjoying the album very much. End of.

48 Hours is an interesting little disc; first time on CD and featuring just about half an hour of Horner’s original score. The film, and score, is as old (or indeed young) as me… So yes it is a little dated here and there, but it represents one of the composer’s really early Hollywood entries (1982 fyi) and shows him in action, non sci-fi/fantasy mode which is seemingly all we know of him from that period. Some subtle electronics linger around the orchestral forces (not massive, but sizeable) and they come together with steel drum (yes, remember that in Commando? It’s the same here, and very similar all round I’d say) creating a rather interesting underscore to the otherwise snappy buddy comedy antics on screen. Horner very much lets the performers (Nolte and Murphy) do their thing and underlines the more serious aspects of the unfolding drama, chases and wotnot. It’s over in a flash of course, but the album goes on with original songs by The BusBoys and one source cue by the brilliant Ira Newborn, who also produced the songs. Good to tick the box though and have the album and it’s a colourful listen when all is said and done.

Last time round I promised The Promise (can one promise a promise?) and so I turn now to Debbie Wiseman’s latest dramatic turn for director Peter Kosminsky. The mini-series has just started on Channel 4 – so catch up if you can – and the composer’s emotional musical underpinning is characteristically on the money. Ebbing and flowing with a well honed sense of drama, Debbie Wiseman’s music is at once even tempered, subtly exotic and always beautiful. The traditional middle eastern instrumentation – including Oud, Kaval, Duduk and Arabic Violin – peppered throughout the cues is well balanced alongside the more usual solo turns from members of the RPO and of course the composer herself on Piano. Following two characters 60 years apart in history, the music is able to straddle both narrative strands allowing Debbie to make even distinctions thematically. There’s a darker hue to some of the flashback moments – ‘The Settlers’ and ‘The Fight’ for example – while the deeper emotion is often found in the cues with the least orchestration. It’s amazing what a solo piano can say… Food for thought and another fine score, plus a very generous album from Silva Screen Records.

Silva also released The Rite by Alex Heffes. Alex is such a great composer, and a jolly nice chap to boot, so it’s always good to hear new things from him. This film, by Swedish director Mikael Håfström stars the oh-so brilliant Anthony Hopkins as an unconventional Catholic Priest who tutors a young seminary at the Vatican’s Exorcism School… Fascinating stuff then, and a robust effort from the composer who opts for largely conventional trains of thought, given the subject matter. There are urgent strings, swathe of chorus, bubbling brass and jolting percussion aplenty, particularly in the exorcism cues themselves. ‘Exorcism of Lucas Part 1’ has a particularly impressive jump-start and builds to a heady fusion of contemporary atmospherics which, when coupled with some snarling brass and eerie choral moments, makes for a textbook gothic horror cue full of shudders. Textbook is often good, particularly when coming from a composer of this calibre and being as we haven’t heard anything like this from him before, it’s not a bad route to take… this is Hollywood after all and as a young, relatively unknown composer, you really need to stay within the parameters of what’s known and accepted by producers, otherwise they might go elsewhere. While Alex has done some great films, this is the first glossy Hollywood entry away from Kevin MacDonald and it’s a great first crack at the big studio nut.

Merry Christmas!?

Has Christmas come early, or is it late? La La Land Records’ release of Home Alone has appeared on my desk, at last. Ok so it’s late, the album was released in time for the movie’s twentieth anniversary (I cannot believe I’m writing that…). The film, produced by the late John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, has become a festive family classic and it’s music goes a long way to creating that sense of Christmas cheer, familial warmth and comedic caper. This new pressing from the label is just brilliant, with all of Williams’ cues collected together in film order, not to mention versions of his original songs (‘Somewhere in My Memory’ and ‘Star of Bethlehem’, written with Leslie Bricusse). While the original CBS Records soundtrack album (which is normally on repeat in the house every season) captured the heart of the music created for the film, there are a handful of fresh cues here to enjoy, plus some additional music in the shape of source cues (carol medleys and alternates) to make it worth the purchase, not to mention the fact that the 1990 album is very hard to find nowadays… The big draw for me was the booklet which features some great background to the film’s production and the creation of the score. It seems Williams was never considered – Bruce Broughton was credited in early trailers, but had to abandon the project due to other commitments – and it was only when he was treated to a sneak preview screening at Amblin Entertainment that he himself requested to do the picture, so excited was he by it. After all those years at the top of his game, and his name attached to near enough every Hollywood blockbuster in recent history, it’s no surprise Williams had a canny eye for a surefire hit… which it was.

La La Land are very much championing the music of the great John Morris, having release a number of his works in recent times, indeed the label just announced Clue which is fresh off the bat following their release of the brilliant Haunted Honeymoon. A master of pastiche, Morris provided a full-blown orchestral score for Gene Wilder’s 1986 comedy shocker using the talents of the London Symphony Orchestra no less. Wildly scintillating in places and full of fun in others – the main titles as source music for example in ‘Memory Music/Wolfington Castle – Haunted Honeymoon is a comedy score that takes itself absolutely seriously, though with its tongue firmly in its cheek of course! Jeff Bond’s liner notes are typically informative, making for a fine package all in all. With a composer as talented as Morris and an ensemble as mighty as the LSO you just can’t go wrong. Well done La La Land.

Speechless

Finally I look to The King’s Speech which I’ve finally managed to have a listen to away from the film itself, and what a film. It’s the BAFTAs this coming Sunday night and I’m in no doubt that this film will sweep the board, including a nod for Alexandre Desplat who has yet again delivered a sensitively sparkling dramatic score. There’s charisma here, beauty of course and emotional hues born of subtlety and a lightness of touch we’ve become so accustomed to. While Desplat’s score underlines the majority of the drama, his typically delicate title cue dances around slightly more sombre string passages. Those ‘heavier’ moments (as heavy as Desplat can be when he decorates them so elegantly) lead nicely into the disc’s final selection of Beethoven pieces. Of course the film’s denouement, where His Majesty gives the speech of his life, is underscored by a passage from Beethoven’s 7th which is chock full of tempered emotion it inspired tears by the scene’s end. A fine disc from Decca Records and hopefully an award-winning soundtrack for the composer of the hour.

Next time? Who knows… though I do have a confession to make. I’ve been listening to Henry Jackman’s Gullivers Travels and I’m excited, that’s all I’m saying. More on him next time.

The Promise and The Rite are available from Silva Screen Records now – silvascreenmusic.com – while lalalandrecords.com will take you to all manner of delights, including the Morris scores, Home Alone and their fine releases of Batman Returns and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier…

John Barry 1933-2011

2011-02-03T03:34:00.001-08:00

A sad week for film music with the news of John Barry’s passing, a true Lion of a composer whose legacy speaks volumes…

Listening to his work, as I have been since I heard the news on Tuesday morning – indeed I immediately selected his album ‘The Beyondness of Things’ to underscore my walk into the office that day – I was struck by the innocence to be found within his melody making. That album, followed by the equally brilliant ‘Eternal Echoes’ absolutely represents Barry at the peak of his orchestral composing. They’re very personal albums I think. It’s as if he had all these little musical ideas stored away and needed to get them out, share them with the world. That was a while ago now, and it’s been ten years since he actually scored a picture – Enigma being his celluloid swansong.

Of course everyone has been talking about James Bond and Barry is 007’s composer laureate. Those scores – and songs – are a legacy in themselves when you think just how important they are in conjuring the very essence of that character and those classic films. Me? I was never a Bond nut – I was too young to really jump on that fan-wagon, and I can’t think of a film scored by John Barry that I was able to appreciate fully. The later films were a bit heavy for a young Beek, though we did have Dances With Wolves on video at home…

It’s very easy to herald the brilliance of someone when they’ve left us and I feel something of a hypocrite in many respects when I do this today, as I admit to never giving Barry’s music as much time or enthusiasm over the years as other composers’ work. When I think back now I realise that it comes down to age. I was a child of the late 80s/early 90s and thus John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer are the composers who I was drawn to initially, and still hold in the highest esteem. Look at my CD collection and it’s those four names, in that order, which rank highest in terms of sheer numbers. Barry CDs? You’d have to look hard and go way down to the bottom, and even then it’s just a couple of compilation discs. Go to my hard drive though and it’s a different story. I have, in recent years, managed to gather 23 Barry albums… it’s a start.

Barry is as great as John Williams – certainly had as many Oscars – and was actually a year younger than the American. Some of Barry’s big successes came before Williams’ most famous, and in the 80s a John Barry score was sought after. Barry was the go-to composer for a deep, dramatic, mature sound… which Williams proved he could do much later. When Williams ‘came out’ as a serious dramatic composer with the likes of JFK, Schindler’s List and all that followed, it seems Barry was out of a job…

So while I haven’t had chance yet to listen to all his major works, the truth is Barry has been almost omnipresent all through my years. Whether it’s Bond films on the telly, or those great great themes for the likes of Zulu, The Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, Born Free and Out of Africa… These things are used, re-used, played again and again in concert, on television and alike, so in many ways I’m a Barry fan by default. I do have favourites though and Somewhere in Time is top of my list, followed by Out of Africa and Body Heat. I recently acquired The Deep and must finally play Moonraker… I’m actually quite excited to think there’s a whole world of ‘new’ music for me to discover for the first time.

John Barry, I am now your fan – I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but thank you for all the wonderful music you’ve left for us to enjoy, discover and rediscover.

On The Desk VI

2011-01-24T06:56:00.001-08:00

There was a time when you could barely see my desk for the CDs stacked atop it… Back in the days when Music from the Movies was in its fullest swing I was receiving albums from both sides of the Atlantic on a regular basis. Then it slowed, along with MftM, and today I receive a trickle of albums in the mail from some of the labels here and in the US. Not all of them are even worth mentioning of course, but I do enjoy making discoveries and hearing new things when I have the time.

This blog does allow me some space to share my thoughts on new and old releases, things I’m excited about and things I’m less thrilled with. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep a regular ear to the ground – or indeed the desk – and cover a little (or a lot, time willing) of what lingers on (and sometimes under or beside) my desk.

So what’s new?

Danny Elfman was in London during the Autumn of 2010 recording The Next Three Days and that resulting effort came to CD (and the downloadable realm) here courtesy of Silva Screen Records. It seems director Paul Haggis and composer Elfman got on like a house ablaze, so does that spell the end of the Haggis/Powell era? Powell’s busy enough it seems, so perhaps he won’t worry. Elfman does these edgy dramas very well and always seems on top of the latest trends and sounds. He’s certainly not a composer to rest on his laurels… Big Top Pee Wee this ain’t. Instead we’re in moody and emotive piano territory, with a steady dose of programming simmering, throbbing and pulsating away above and below, here and there. Strings play a part too and it sometimes feels like Dolores Claiborne meets Spider-Man... It’s all very 2010 and certainly more listenable than a lot of the drivel pouring out of some of Hollywood’s current crop of young composers, scoring the higher-end thrillers and alike these days.

Do I like it though? Well yes it works very well within the context of the modern thriller, it’s pacey, exciting in places and has some emotional hues that come across in the way I imagine they’re intended to. On album it’s background music to say the least. Can we expect much more from this genre though? Not all scores can be luscious, thematic, juicy and exciting eh? I once wondered if Danny Elfman was losing his way, moving on – and then some – from his slightly more chaotic and colourful roots. But like all artists he has grown up, matured and developed. He sometimes sounds like an altogether different animal, with occasional glances back to what we might consider his heyday. His ‘heydey’ though was his infancy as a film composer… What does that really say? That’s fodder for an altogether different/longer discussion I think, so back to The Next Three Days… Favourite tracks? ‘Same Old Trick’, ‘All Is Lost’ and ‘They’re Off’.

Get Me To The Greek…

I distinctly remember watching The Bounty when I was 5 years old on the telly. It was probably my first sighting of a bare breast… I wasn’t sure why at the time, but I was far more interested in Mel Gibson… Moving On! The music was of course composed by that great bearded master of the keyboard score Vangelis (or Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou to give his full name). Given the impact of Blade Runner two years earlier, it’s surprising that an original soundtrack of this 1984 sea-faring yarn didn’t get a proper release. But then it was the 1980s and as we all know some real gems were left on the shelf. I didn’t know much about this score if I’m honest, besides a track on the brilliant album ‘Odyssey’, but other than that the film’s music was a mystery to me. Until now.

For whatever reason the original recording is still to make an appearance on ‘official’ CD, so Dominik Hauser saw fit to recreate the entire score from scratch, perform and record it for release by BSX Records. Without much to go on except the one track I mentioned, plus of course the ‘sound’ of the composer we all recognise, it’s faintly difficult to say whether Hauser has, categorically, nailed it. What I can say is this, it sounds pretty convincing! Waves of electronic hues, visceral and shimmering… I really rather like it. I was sceptical when the album landed on my desk (well it didn’t so much land, I actually picked it up from the doormat and put the there myself) as such ‘re-creations’ can be just a bit.. well, rubbish. I’m all for a complete symphonic re-recording, so I can’t really put down a recreation of an electronic score on electronics can I, particularly when it appears to have been done extraordinarily well. This isn’t some pleb on a Casio keyboard… The sounds are right and the performance top notch. If that weren’t enough we’re treated to some brilliantly toe-tapping sea shanties for violin (performed by Elizabeth Hedman) and one for voice (Katie Campbell), which make for a very listenable Bounty…

'Stand Back, Buenos Aires!'

I got an email before Christmas from one half of a composing duo based in Argentina’s Capital, asking if I’d like to hear some of their music. Of course I agreed that it would be my pleasure and I soon recalled the name, realising I already had an album of music by Daniel Tarrab & Andrés Goldstein.

The package arrived, courtesy of FedEx, and I settled down to listen. I was instantly moved by what I heard and immediately emailed Daniel to tell him how much I was enjoying their music. Having heard what I was able to play (some technical issues!) I have to admit I am thirsty for more… what beautiful music they make. Inheritance was the first disc to go in and perhaps the one which has stayed with me since, being so full of beauty, grace and emotion. The film, a documentary by James Moll (The Last Days), follows two women connected to concentration camp Commandant Amon Goethe – one his daughter, the other a Jew who found herself working as his housemaid at Plaszow – as they meet 60 years after the events of the Holocaust and retrace their experiences in Poland. Strong stuff indeed and I’d very much like to see the film now. The music though is a fitting accompaniment, reaching emotional depths with heartfelt clarity and performance. I can’t recommend it enough.

Equally gorgeous but with a little more sunlight on its wings is La Puta y la Ballena (The Whore and the Whale), with which I was already a little familiar. Once again the performers gracefully apply themselves to the lovingly crafted score, this time littered with moments of high passion – thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous Argentine instrument the Bandoneon (performed by Néstor Marconi). Both this and Inheritance were released by Mellowdrama Records here in the UK… Seek them out!

Cut from a different cloth is La Seňal which finds Tarrab & Goldstein exacting a fond homage to Bernard Herrmann. The score was composed for a thriller set during Eva Peron’s twilight years as corruption and the mafia make their presence known in BA. The CD selection was brief but powerful, with intense string performances and a brilliant musical nod to Vertigo’s famous ‘Scene d’Amour’…

Quite enlightening then, hearing this wonderful symphonic music from Argentina… A brief glimpse of some music from Deuda (The Debt) on a promo DVD from the composers offered a whole different style, which sees them embracing a more inherent local flavour… It was fabulous music and I’d like to hear more of that celebratory, colourful Argentine flavour.

You know the names Santaolalla and Bacalov… now remember Tarrab & Goldstein, two men who I think are just marvellously talented composers who appear to absolutely love what they do and place that love at the very heart of the music they make. Discover more by visiting agdtfilmmusic.com

More from On The Desk coming soon – including Debbie Wiseman’s The Promise and Alex Heffes The Rite.

Danny Elfman’s The Next Three Days is available from Silva Screen Records – silvascreenmusic.com – while BSX Records’ The Bounty is available from their websire – buysoundtrax.com...

And I'm back...

2011-01-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

Okay it’s a new year, which means I’ve made several resolutions and while these include making a better attempt at learning some Portuguese and going to the gym (big tick against the latter) I feel the most important to anyone reading this is thus: Blog. More. So here goes, 2011 blogging underway. Film Music and, as ever, More Besides.

So what have I to say in this, my first blog of the new year? Well I’ll come to that, but first I’d like to express my amusement at the Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Score’ going to The Social Network. Did it even have a score? Wait, of course it did… not traditional by any means and perhaps I shouldn’t poo-poo the work of… who was it again? Sorry. The BAFTA nominations, now there’s a list of contenders: Powell, Zimmer, Rahman, Desplat and Elfman. I’d like to see Alexandre Desplat take home a Mask finally – for The King’s Speech -, though Zimmer’s efforts for Inception were utterly brilliant. Hans has been nominated four times throughout his career… so maybe he’s overdue? Elfman too I guess, but he shouldn’t win for Alice in Wonderland… should he? and anyway, I'll never forgive that terrible jig at the end.

The truth is the films with the biggest PR & Marketing junkets tend to win the awards it seems, which is why The Social Network took the Globe this month for Music. I genuinely think The King’s Speech is the biggest British film of the year (though it’s a co-prod. With Australia) and therefore BAFTA will bestow Desplat, finally, with an award… let’s see eh? We’ll find out on 13 Feb.

What else then…

Ah yes, the point of this blog – apart from an awards moan – is to re-instate my ‘On The Desk’ series of blogs. This allows me to air my thoughts and musings on music that is sitting on my desk (funnily enough!). I do still, from time to time, receive albums for review purposes and while I just haven’t the time to write full reviews any longer, I feel it’s only fair to those who continue to provide me with freebies that I at least give them a ‘shout out’. Of course from time to time, and as whim takes me, I may decide I want to share a much fuller analysis of something I’ve enjoyed/hated/whatever. So keep an eye out…

In other news (not that I want to particularly be a newsy) one of my favourite composers, and indeed people, has a couple of delightful albums on the way in the next few weeks, which is great. Debbie Wiseman has composed another score for director Peter Kosminsky, The Promise, which is a five part drama screening on Channel 4 in February. A very generous album of Debbie’s gorgeous and emotional score is coming from Silva Screen! Don’t miss that and don’t miss Rhino Records’ disc of the BBC’s Land Girls which offers some of Debbie’s lovely accompanying notes, an original song performed by ‘The Soldiers’ and also, if that weren’t enough, some period wartime songs. Ought to be very tuneful. Both Wiseman discs available in February I think.

So first blog of the year closing. Next time I shall be picking my way through some of the discs on the desk.. which include some delightful discoveries from Buenos Aires-based composing duo Daniel Tarrab and Andrés Goldstein, a new release of Vangelis’ The Bounty and, as ever, much More Besides.

Happy New Year!

Michael Nyman: An Anthology, at Colston Hall

2010-11-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Michael Nyman’s music live on three previous occasions. It’s always a divided experience I find, as his music is itself divisive. His compositions stray from the engaging and almost hypnotic to the benign and tragically beautiful, by way of the occasional bout of sheer ennui. The driving, repetition of much of his music is the well tested trademark of the artist (and he is an artist in every sense of the word) and one who successfully (or otherwise) traverses the realms of film music and music for music’s sake.

‘Michael Nyman: An Anthology’, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Bristol’s orchestra too apparently… though I can’t imagine those on the south coast really want to share?) was markedly different to any of the Nyman ‘fests’ I’d been a party to before and this was noticeable on two counts. Firstly no ‘Michael Nyman Band’ and secondly – and perhaps most importantly - no Michael Nyman… I was under no illusion that he would be there though, so it wasn’t a big surprise and in fact the evening threw up (for want of a better term) a whole host of interesting nuggets for a film music fan, and indeed a Nyman fan, of which I am both.

I go to a lot of film music concerts and to be honest – and you’ll agree with me if you do too – it’s very much ‘same old’. The classic film music repertoire is to be expected at the majority of film music events these days, so it’s a breath of fresh air and actually brilliant to be able to sit in the company of an orchestra as they perform great chunks of score live. The engorged ensemble meant we were able to enjoy treats such as Gattaca – Nyman’s first major ‘Hollywood’ film score – and the 17 minute selection more than did it justice. This larger orchestral fare of Nyman’s doesn’t get heard in concert as he usually – and quite regularly – tours with his smaller ‘band’, performing chamber works and scores (such as the Greenaway entries) and of course everyone’s favourite The Piano.

We weren’t spared those delights though, because delights they are, and when given over to a symphony orchestra they took on a far grander tone as one might expect. The 20 minute selection from Greenaway’s Drowning By Numbers offered some wonderful moments, including the infectious ‘Wheelbarrow Walks’ and the Mozart inspired ‘Trysting Fields’ and ‘Knowing The Ropes’, while the ubiquitous ‘Chasing Sheeps Is Best Left To Shepherds’ from The Draughtsmans Contract brought a smile as ever. Such scores are Nyman gold; bawdy, cavorting and somehow deliciously saucy (in fact I always picture tarts in powdered wigs being chased around a drawing room when I hear this stuff).

The Piano was of course a highlight as the ensemble were able to take on the larger scale cues such as ‘To the Edge of the Earth’ and ‘The Embrace’. ‘Here To There’ suffered thanks to the usual frolicking woodwinds being replaced by pompous brass, which was a shame and changed the feel of the cue entirely. The subtle beauty and furtiveness of ‘Lost and Found’ was indeed lost thanks to some very shaky trumpeting – again replacing woodwind (!). It’s always the brass that lets ensembles down for some reason… the sound is so naked that any error, however slight, is glaringly obvious. The pitch of the requirement in this selection from The Piano was obviously too much for the poor old player.

The only selection I wasn’t familiar with – and the longest at 21 minutes – was a suite from The Diary of Anne Frank. It was in fact something of a premier as this arrangement of cues from the score – by Andy Keenan – had never been performed before. The animated film was produced in Japan in 1995 and seemingly inspired the composer to come up with some of his most beautiful, melodic and lyrical music. I adore Nyman when he’s in this mode and this lengthy selection was a real treat full of emotional peaks and troughs; ‘Concentration Camp/Silent Separation’ was suitably dark and emotive, while ‘If/Why’ – written for songs – showed just how lyrical the composer can be when working within such parameters.

Ending the concert was the audacious ‘Memorial’. I know the piece from its use in Greenaway’s classic The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, but its dedication to those who perished during the 1985 Heysel Stadium Tragedy gives it a far more soulful underpinning. Still, it remains a classic with its stalking, stomping, unrelenting nature which, when applied to a symphony orchestra, truly made the hairs stand on end somewhat triumphantly. It got a big applause from the not so big audience and invited an encore. Something ‘lighter’ was promised by our conductor Pete Harrison and we got ‘In Re Don Giovanni’… a perfectly sprightly Nymanesque ending.

With such a grand ensemble at their disposal it’s a small shame that perhaps more time wasn’t given over to some of Michael Nyman’s other larger film scores. Shorter selections from the Greenaway scores might have allowed time for something from The Claim or The End of the Affair, a concert suite of the former is certainly available… A thought for future programming perhaps.

Whether the BSO really is Bristol’s orchestra too or not, I’m very pleased that they have a home at Colston Hall. The venue has come on leaps and bounds since its relaunch last year and really is quite a lovely space in which to mingle and enjoy music. And the future looks interesting as Bristol City Council are to no longer run it, instead allowing it to deal with its own affairs under a new ‘Bristol Music Trust’. I for one hope it means more concerts like this one will be entertained…

With thanks to Paul Preager and Sarah Hodson at Colston Hall.

Is there a Doctor in the house?

2010-11-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend Halloween than in the company of some monsters, and that was just the kids. Yes there were a lot of little people present at the final Cardiff show of the BBC’s Doctor Who Live yesterday but you know what? The kids are alright…. Because this show is all about them. There was much to enjoy for the young at heart as well though as all the best monsters from Series 1-5 of the BBC’s flagship Sci-Fi spectacle were wheeled out before us under the guise of an intergalactic circus, of sorts.

The ringleader was the colourful bouffant-haired Vorgensen, played by the brilliant Nigel Planer, who began as a showman with a gimmick to show off – ‘the minimiser’ to be exact – and ended up the perfect Panto villain as his gimmick turned out to be a rouse to capture The Doctor alongside his plethora of Cybermen, Scarecrows, Smilers and Vampire Vixens (aka The Vampires of Venice, aka Saturnyne) – a veritable zoo of Who beasties. I won’t give any more away, but as with any Doctor Who adventure all is not quite as it seems and a deeper evil may just be behind the events unravelling before us.

The Doctor himself was of course not present in physical form, but on screen in a series of well played-out exchangess with Vorgensen – and the audience. This, and the entrance of various monsters into the auditorium, obviously takes its cue from the wonderful Doctor Who Proms whose physical interactions with favoured (or feared) villains remains a highlight of both years in the Albert Hall. This new ‘Live’ concept though works on a different level, with a story at its heart, and in that sense is a far more enjoyable ‘show’ for the key demographic – i.e. kiddies.

Once again – and ultra important from my perspective – music played a huge role in the proceedings, though this time scaled down from full orchestra to a scintillating band of thirteen. Under the command of The Doctor’s favoured conductor and arranger Ben Foster, these guys and girls made an awesome sound, which I simply wasn’t expecting. They brought to life Murray Gold’s themes with heaps of pizzazz and a dollop of chutzpah, absolutely giving the BBC National Orchestra of Wales a run for their money. Themes from across all five series made an appearance, supporting both the monsters running amok and also big screen montages of some of The Doctor’s adventures. Filler this might have been, but it worked beautifully; I am in fact a sucker for a good montage and these, underscored so eloquently, inspired some eye-watering… but only a bit.

With tickets starting at £25 this would by no means be a cheap trip for a family and when you add in the endless merchandise available – including the ubiquitous glossy £10 programme – there is a sense that the BBC is cashing in somewhat on its prize pony… but that said people are lapping it up and having a bloomin’ good time while they’re at it, and who can say fairer than that when the outside world is so chock full of real life doom, gloom and monsters.

Monetary matters aside, this is a wonderful show, a sci-fi pantomime of sorts and everyone involved ought to be mighty proud of it. Doctor Who just keeps getting bigger and better doesn’t it?

Just a final word I think, as I’m bleating on about the good Doctor and his music. Silva Screen Records have come up trumps with not one, but two lavish, immense and brilliant collections of original music from the series’. It seems Doctor Who soundtracks are like buses… you wait two years for a new one and two come along at once (well, ish).

‘Series 4 – The Specials’ hit stores a few weeks ago and it has been a long time coming. Indeed I was at the recording session for ‘The Next Doctor’ over two years ago and then ‘The End of Time’ this time last year, so I for one have been chomping at the bit to hear some of this stuff again. It’s all great stuff of course, but the second disc – devoted to ‘The End of Time’ – is just extraordinary, showcasing what is absolutely Murray Gold’s finest work. ‘Vale Decem’ is on repeat currently… Check it out if you haven’t yet.

‘Series 5’ is on CD this week… oh yes, it’s another double disc set and is another stunner I can tell you. Having written the programme notes for the Prom again this year I was already party to some of the tracks and arrangements on this new album, but there is far more besides, in fact there is something from each of the thirteen episodes of Matt Smith’s inaugural series. It’s a brilliant collection, setting out on CD just how versatile a composer Murray is. The depth of emotion so apparent in prior series’ remains, but there is a fairytale elegance to some of this recent stuff, not to mention a maturity, that speaks volumes for how much he has grown as an artist, how much braver he has become and just how talented he is. Listen to ‘The Time of Angels’ against ‘Amy’s Theme’ and then ‘Battle in the Sky’ and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The team are busily getting the Christmas Special music together, so there is – as ever – plenty more to look forward to. Good times, Doctor.

Doctor Who Live continues it’s UK tour in Liverpool on 2-3 November, then finally in Belfast on 6-7 November. Silva Screen Records’ two new albums – plus soundtracks for Series 1/2, Series 3 and Series 4 – are available right now at www.silvascreenmusic.com.

Big thanks to Ben Foster, and David Stoner at Silva Screen Records.

Wilde & Wonderful

2010-10-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I wrote anything here, so I thought it was high time I got back into the swing of blogging. Time just seems to run away doesn’t it? Still, the world of film music (and more besides) goes on and while I’m not going to spend any time looking back at what’s been going on since I last ‘blogged’, I would like to share my thoughts with you on a recent visit to London for a ‘Wilde & Wonderful’ evening of words and music.

This was no ordinary concert, for it was a select few who were gathered in the Egyptian Ballroom of Mansion House (a gorgeously gilded space which is at once breathtakingly lavish and strangely intimate). Aldermen, Masters and even the occasional ‘celeb’ were brought together beneath the towering columns to celebrate and support Treloar’s College, an absolute gem of a place.

In the wilds of the Hampshire countryside the lives of young physically disabled children are being changed, for the better, on a daily basis as Treloar’s School and College supports, educates and nourishes these youngsters, preparing them for adult life. There are many success stories, as we discovered at the concert, with some students going on to university. One such former student Hannah Fielding read a self-penned poem about what the school and college has meant to her; it really was the perfect dedication, realising in words why we were all there and confirming how important it was that vital funds were raised to help the school and its students grow further still.

Having been invited by Debbie Wiseman to contribute the programme notes and presentation script for the concert (the latter to be read by Sir Terry Wogan, no less) I felt I was able to do my bit for the show and it’s inspiring cause. I was delighted to be able to attend as well and see it all come together, with the talented young musicians of the Junior Trinity Symphony Orchestra performing a varied programme under the baton of both Debbie Wiseman and their principal conductor Andrew Morley.

Having a youth orchestra perform was an inspired idea. We were there to celebrate the young people of Treloar’s, and to have a band of youngsters help us do that with music was just wonderful. They had their work cut out too as this was no easy programme. Sure there were a couple of classical standards (‘Air on a G String’ and ‘Salut D’Amore’) within the programme, but the majority of the running time would go to Debbie’s own music. ‘The Selfish Giant’ and ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ formed the heart of the show, with actors George Layton and Cheri Lunghi performing Oscar Wilde’s captivating narratives. While excerpts from both pieces had been performed at other events, it was just stunning to hear the whole piece (story and music) live. The music is of course simply gorgeous, perfectly underscoring Wilde’s creations with heartrending beauty and visceral tenacity in places.

I was genuinely impressed with the orchestra who took on these effervescent compositions admirably, not to mention the likes of Britten’s ‘Playful Pizzicato’. That piece supported a brilliant performance of the poem ‘Jim’ from Robert Powell. Particular mention must go to the pianist – apparently just 14 – whose measured performance shone during ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, not to mention the bird’s song itself which was played just perfectly by the solo flautist.

With a rousing performance of Wiseman’s ‘Wild West’ from Wilde (accompanied by a bit of dodgy clapping from us) the show came to its conclusion and those of us not signed up for a posh dinner went into the night with a nightingale’s song in our hearts.

Suffice to say it was a great success and much needed funds were raised for the school and college’s new building programme which will see them moving to one site so that they can continue the inspiring work they do with these very special young people.

If you'd like to learn more about Treloar's School and College or indeed make a donation, then get yourself to http://www.treloar.org.uk/

Eat Me: Andreas Constantinou's 'Wonderland'

2010-04-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Sweetness and dark are all around in Wonderland, especially for boys and girls with dark and inquisitive souls. If that’s you then read on…

The long awaited follow up to Fistful finds Andreas Constantinou on top form, opening the book on a fairytale collection of characters with a story to tell. Some are victims of their beauty (‘The Maiden’), while others are sly predators, concealing plenty and taking all (‘Beautiful’).

Like any fairytale there are shadows in the corners and cracks beneath the surface, but with that darkness comes an abundance of colour as the talented singer/songwriter and performer (he really is a proper Jack of all things, including hearts I shouldn’t wonder…) weaves his evocative poetry through song.

Playing the part of storyteller, participant and indeed accomplice, our narrator unravels his creations and infuses them with infectious rhythm, memorable riffs and a well considered selection of instruments. Autoharp and ukulele are the major voices behind the music, while guitars, piano and percussion lend support throughout. A dusting of synthetics play their part too, looped and immediate in ‘Beautiful’ while, ‘Slither’ uncovers an edgier vibe as the melody and riffs swagger and saunter their way.

‘Wonderland’, being the title track, is something of a standout amongst a set list already standing to attention with its vivid and creative instrumentation - not to mention something of a trip following the bridge – while the all too short ‘B.U.G.’ finds a cannibalistic beast of storybook proportions taking centre stage, the fluffy-sweetness of the delivery belying the brilliantly grizzly subject.

Further highlights include the gorgeously quirky curtain raiser ‘Autumn’, the energetic ‘The Hunter, The Hunted’ and the brilliantly evocative ‘Pandora’. In all cases Constantinou’s vocals reveal a talented performer with a real twinkle in his eye not to mention an imagination both fertile and frenzied.
Drawing the selection to a close far too early for my liking is ‘Lullaby’, which manages to be at once wistful, awkward and entirely uplifting and ends the trip through Wonderland beautifully. I can’t get enough of this; it really is a fabulous, fantastical, indie-folk feast... Gobble it up.

For more information visit www.andreasconstantinou.net

Albums, Oscars and A Single Man

2010-03-09T04:02:00.000-08:00

Ahh, there are only so many hours in the day. Fact. If I were to sit and listen to all the music on my desk in one go, I’d probably have grown a considerable amount of facial hair by the time I was done (and then I’d turn around and there would be even more CDs on the doormat).

It isn’t easy, deciding what to give optimum reviewing time to, particularly when you’re the only regular reviewer for a website that needs constant updates and attention in other areas – news, articles, artwork… It’s all about time management you see, which is even more difficult when you remember that you don’t get paid for a single thing you do. There’s a ‘real’ job to consider, not to mention a life away from ‘the desk’. It brings me, often, to wonder why I do this. The answer? I love film music. Fact.

It occurred to me this morning – in fact it occurred to me last week when I was able to do absolutely nothing about it – that with all my spare time and focus going on Music from the Movies.com, I haven’t given anywhere near enough time to this blog. That makes me sad, because I really rather enjoy hacking away at this thing and sharing my thoughts across a variety of scores, events and moments. So today, this glorious Tuesday in March, seems like the best time to do so. I had expected to be working on a triple feature on multiple Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker, but as is often the case Rudy’s enthusiasm for his subject has seen him delving ever so much deeper into the film, the music, the people and their collective hidden depths. With that in mind I am left with time to ponder the pile in front (and behind) me.

There are CDs in a line to my left in my in-tray… These are ear-marked for my ‘full attention’ and include Christopher Young’s Creation, Shirley Walker’s The Flash and a recent British re-recording of Bernard Herrmann’s Citizen Kane and Hangover Square. I’m excited about the latter, for I love Bernard Herrmann.

Beneath the desk are more piles, one is a pile of discs I have already reviewed (phew!) and the others are titles that haven’t made ‘the cut’. That seems a bit harsh I guess, but there are only so many hours in the day and I can’t review everything. But perhaps this is as good a time as any to give at least some of them the attention they deserve?

There’s a rather nice album of music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, released at the end of 2009 by Decca, called ‘Playing The Piano’. This particular copy is a Deluxe Edition and includes the album ‘Out of Noise’ as a bonus. I’m rather partial to a bit of piano music, particularly solo, experimental stuff… I adore the Einaudi’s and Nyman’s of this world (though I suppose there are only one of each, ha) and I think Sakamoto can sit comfortably alongside. Anyway, ‘Playing The Piano’ finds the composer at the keyboard performing solo piano versions of his film works. The obvious ones are accounted for, and stand out, i.e. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor. The latter is a favourite of mine and the piano rendering is rather special… I have to say I did hope for something from his gorgeous contribution to the Babel soundtrack, but it isn’t here and we’ll have to live with it. ‘Bibo no Aozora’? I think.

Nuzzled next to that is Chris Young’s effervescent Drag Me To Hell, which I frankly can’t get enough of. As soon as I saw the track ‘Concerto To Hell’ I knew it would be a bit special. Such a title usually means the composer was inspired enough by their own creation to have a play around with it and create something fun and exciting. Elfman is good at doing that as well – as his rather listenable album for The Wolfman shows. I don’t have a hard copy of the latter score… but I imagine I would have given it my ‘full attention’ if I had. (An insight: It’s hard enough to keep on top of actual physical CDs, let alone albums that I can’t see or touch… So if it’s on my hard drive it is not going to get a review. Fact.)

MovieScore Media are ever so prolific, which makes my job harder than ever and I find I have to be ultra picky. Daniel Pemberton’s Attila The Hun is marvellous, really, and Jeff Grace’s I Sell The Dead is rather infectious and brilliant – how could it not be, the man is fantastic. Suffice to say I hope to give Jeff’s The House Of The Devil my fuller attention in the not too distant future. I’m a big fan of Alfons Conde as well, and Guy Farley, so it pained me to have to demote both The Beckoning and Knife Edge to the lower pile. Both are dark and brooding and beautiful in places – the former, by Conde, features some super choral work. MovieScore really do love a good horror/thriller it seems, and I’m always up for that.

I have a pile of German albums to get through, courtesy of our friends at Cinema Musica… Richard G. Mitchell’s Der Seewolf remains in the upper pile for now – it’s rather good. The others, including Annette Focks’ Romy and Karim Sebastian Elias’ delightfully Zimmer-esque Das Geheimnis der Wale, have bags of charm and are hugely listenable. Such discoveries make me happy and remind me – which needs to happen – that there is more to film music than what comes out of Hollywood and London. Again, only so many hours etc. blah blah; you know the score.

La La Land Records are another prolific label and I very much enjoyed their double album of music from The Fugitive by James Newton Howard. I can’t say it’s one of his most inspiring scores for me personally, but it’s good to have such a generous presentation of a major title. Their release of John Frizzell’s Legion was also welcome. Once again Frizzell has created an immediate sound for the score.

This week saw the 82nd Academy Awards… The Oscars used to be a highlight of the year for me; there was a time when I would stay up until the wee small hours, with a flask of coffee to keep me awake. That was before Sky Movies took over the broadcast and I don’t have it, so my experience of the last few years’ ceremonies has been after the fact. With the announcement of no song performances this year, I felt as though I wouldn’t be missing out on much. Then, when a little bird informed me that the nominated scores would be presented through interpretive dance, I knew it was best left alone. I immediately recalled the last time they did ‘Dance The Score’; horrific memories of a man stomping and slapping about on the stage to John Williams’ ‘Hymn to the Fallen’ make me shudder even today. Why, AMPAS? WHY?

Still I was pleased with the result this year. Michael Giacchino is a great composer – certainly busy – and I’m chuffed that his beautiful score for Up stole the show. Sure it wasn’t edgy, or even cutting edge like the other nominees (save for Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was similarly charming and simplistic). Up is a classic, emotional orchestral score in the old tradition and I’m glad the Academy were won over by its charm. I'm hoping that Walt Disney Records will finally see fit to release the darn thing on CD now; come on Disney, a Golden Globe, two Grammys, a BAFTA and an Academy Award and we can't even put the album on the shelf?!

I was surprised not to see Abel Korzeniowski’s A Single Man in the list this year. His score – which featured additional music by the great Shigeru Umebayashi – was nominated for a BAFTA. I saw the film this week and was blown away by the music… Everything about the film was beautifully considered, every frame, every colour tone (and change of tone), while the music was part and parcel of the film’s design. At times it would bend out of shape, distorting along with George’s world view and sense of self, then it would flourish with the most incandescent beauty. Ultimately a simple score, with emphasis on strings, it added so much to the film experience. There’s a moment in the score where the score takes on the soul of Bernard Herrmann, as George’s world is coloured and warmed by the appearance of a sweet, innocent, pretty girl. It was a real Vertigo moment and it made the hair on the back of my neck rise. Genius. The album is available from Relativity Records it seems… I need it.

There’s plenty more to say, more discs lurking beneath the desk and more besides lurking in my mind; but I will leave it there for now. Anyway, I think it’s time for a cup of tea – what can I say? I’m British. Fact.

Music to make merry by...

2009-12-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

‘Christmas is coming, the Goose is getting fat…’ though if I continue to stick my hand in the various boxes of biscuits and sweets that are the desk fodder of the festive season then I won’t be far behind the Goose myself. Thankfully I walk everywhere, so any gluttony on my part is soon forgotten with a few strides. Where am I going with this? Oh yes! Christmas music. There is of course an abundance of the stuff and whether you’re a fan of classical, pop, rock, hip hop (shudder) or folk music then chances are there are an array of festive themed tunes and ditties available for your listening. When it comes to film music there is of course plenty to choose from and my iPod’s Christmas Playlist (oh yes, it’s true…) is chock full of some real classics. There is something about a Christmas film score that manages to set the mood just right… Sure there aren’t as many opportunities to sing along, but put on a few cues from, say, Home Alone or Miracle on 34th Street and I guarantee your heart will be full of cheer and all the lovely fluffy feelings that the Big C is supposed to invoke.

While I haven’t got everything that’s out there, my playlist does include some of the big ones and I urge you to grab the following and play them now (well, after you’ve read this perhaps… actually stick something on to listen to while you read, I can wait a tick…)
SO as I was saying… Top of the list for me personally though is the aforementioned Home Alone by John Williams. Not only is it full of warmth and sparkle (celeste and sleigh bells aplenty) there are actually some rather brilliant ‘action’ cues, full of Williams’ trademark brassy flair. If that weren’t enough there are two original songs – ‘Somewhere In My Memory’ and ‘Star Of Bethlehem’ – which are given a handful of airings. The songs were written with Williams’ lyricist of choice during this period, Leslie Bricusse and both were instant classics in 1990 and the former at least has gone on to become a fixture in Christmas concerts the world over. I don’t think ‘Star Of Bethlehem’ is heard enough though, the melody and orchestration being suitably heavenly. Throw in a handful of well chosen source tunes – including Mel Torme’s version of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and The Drifters’ ‘White Christmas’ – and you have what is probably the quintessential Christmas soundtrack album.

With the sequel two years later came not one but two albums, this time giving Williams’ second score more room to breathe on its own release, with a collection of songs nicely filling the standard soundtrack disc. Once again the composer deftly created a whirlwind of comedic action, syrupy sparkle and yet more original songs – this time the sweet ‘Christmas Star’ and the joyful ‘Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas’ (again both composed with Bricusse). While it faithfully follows in the (snowy?) footprints of the first score, there are plenty more highlights and with the addition of an adult choir rather than the children of the first score, it all feels just a bit more mature. ‘Christmas at Carnegie Hall’ finds Williams putting together a lovely selection of traditional melodies, a highlight of the playlist for sure.

Using traditional/existing music within a Christmas film score is something that composers tend to rely upon more and more these days and a wealth of scores – including Alan Silvestri’s most recent offering for Disney’s A Christmas Carol – are guilty of this. One of my favourite examples of this came years before Home Alone was even thought of though, and the score is itself one of the hardest to find and even then Santa Claus – The Movie has only been released on LP and Cassette! Henry Mancini’s ‘Christmas Rhapsody’ is a brilliantly arranged selection of Christmas tunes, used over a montage of decades and centuries passing as the legend of Santa Claus evolves and engrains itself into the world’s consciousness. The album – released by Polygram in 1985 – is fairly short and it remains a sought after title on CD… The reasons for it not being available on CD in any form are unclear – likely complicated and legal - but with the recent surge of unreleased scores in mind, perhaps it’ll happen one day. Like Home Alone, Mancini’s Santa Claus features original songs co-written with Leslie Bricusse and with the rest of the composer’s very listenable score in mind, it’s a fine companion piece to Williams’ later work.

Flash forward nine years and pick up Bruce Broughton’s Miracle On 34th Street, which was thankfully released in complete form by Intrada Records a few years ago now. The original Fox Records soundtrack album was a major find for me years and years ago and the ‘Overture’ never ceases to bring about a real feeling of the season. The larger score features a scattering of lovely thematic threads and some wonderfully festive fare, including several Bach-style original source cues. The soundtrack album is brief-ish, but is very well considered collection which features the likes of Kenny G, Natalie Cole and Elvis Presley – great tunes!

James Horner’s The Grinch (aka How The Grinch Stole Christmas) divided many upon its release in 2000, much like the film itself. The film is kinda crazy yes, but it has some charm and Horner’s score is a dazzlingly chaotic blend of orchestra, crazy percussion and effects… ‘The Heist’ is a favourite cue on the album, while the finale moments are hugely uplifting. The original soundtrack album from Interscope Records combines a selection from the score – annoyingly mixed with occasional dialogue soundbytes – and an eclectic song set. The CD and score have grown on me hugely over the years and the majority of the songs offer an enjoyable alternative to the usual fare, with ‘Green Christmas’ by The Barenaked Ladies being a particular favourite. Horner’s own lyrical contribution, ‘Where Are You Christmas?’ performed by Faith Hill, isn’t the most festive creation in the world, and the film version (performed by Taylor Momsen) is thoroughly irritating (definitely one to leave from the playlist).

Now The Muppets may not be your cup of tea, but their Christmas Carol is a staple of my seasonal viewing. Walt Disney Records re-released the film’s soundtrack three years ago as part of Kermit’s 50th Anniversary. Paul Williams’ songs are as bright and jolly as they come, while the late Miles Goodman’s score is a fine accompaniment. The songs overshadow of course, being a musical, and it’s no worse off for it.

The truth is I could go on and on and this blog entry is already dangerously long I think. You will each have favourite festive film music moments and they might include: Elf by John Debney, Jingle All The Way by David Newman (released by Intrada last year), A Christmas Carol: The Movie by Julian Nott – featuring a song performed by Kate Winslet no less – Dimitri Tiomkin’s It’s A Wonderful Life, The Snowman, by Howard Blake, All I Want For Christmas by Bruce Broughton, Silver Bells by Mark McKenzie, all three of George S. Clinton’s The Santa Clause outings, not to mention Alan Silvestri’s duo of The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol. Perhaps The Nightmare Before Christmas by Danny Elfman is pushing it, but if you begin to feel Christmassy earlier in the year than most, then perfect.

Of course the majority of Christmas films spawn largely song-led albums (Four Christmases, Christmas With The Kranks, The Family Man…) with their scores left unreleased or barely registered. The classics remain though and steadily they’re becoming available on CD – all we need is that little bit of Mancini magic from 1985 and the Christmas film music wish list is complete.

Merry Christmas!

The Pink Ribbon Gala

2009-11-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Not only is Debbie Wiseman a wonderfully talented film composer, she also has a big heart and a generous spirit. All of the above were on display last night at London’s Cadogan Hall, where Debbie put on a very fine show, and all for charity.

The Pink Ribbon Gala was organised by the composer to help raise awareness and vital funds for Breast Cancer Campaign, one of the UK’s leading Breast Cancer charities. With more than a little help from her friends – namely the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, broadcasting legend Simon Bates, and a handful of stars from stage and screen – Debbie presided over a lovely concert programme of accessible classical music, not to mention a good many of her own works for the screen. The theme was certainly words and music, with specially selected pieces by poets such as Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot and Hilaire Beloc read to music from Wilde, Tom & Viv and a portion of the composer’s beautiful accompaniment for ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ (as composed for the grammy nominated album of Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales).

The RPO were in fine fettle as ever, at home certainly on their own stage, and with images projected overhead, they accompanied Cheri Lunghi – reading Eliot’s ‘Five Finger Exercises’, Timothy West – who read Wilde’s gorgeous ‘Serenade for Music’, George Layton – in charge of the aforementioned ‘Nightingale and the Rose’, and the ever-brilliant Prunella Scales – reading Beloc’s grizzly ditty ‘Jim’, about a small boy who lets go of his Nanny’s hand only to be eaten by a hungry Lion.

The texts were well chosen and worked really very well against the music – both were given time to breathe, which was a blessing and while they were all marvellous, the highlight was surely ‘Jim’, set against Benjamin Britten’s ‘Simple Symphony: Playful Pizzicato’ There were instances of music without words, with the show opening to the tune of Bach’s sobering ‘Air on a G-String’, while Debbie’s own suite from ITV’s My Uncle Silas perked things up in the second half. Selections by Borodin and Holst – the former’s gorgeous ‘Nocturne’ from his second string quartet and the latter’s always-frolicsome ‘Finale’ from his ‘St. Paul’s Suite’ – were well received during the first half, with the latter putting a spring in our steps on the way to the bar!

You can always rely on Debbie Wiseman to have something new up her sleeve and this occasion was no exception. For the last few years she has been working with Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black on a new musical called Feather Boy. Originally staged with an all child cast a couple of years ago as part of the Shell Connections series on London’s South Bank, the pair have revisited the idea – based on Nicky Singer's award-winning children’s book – and have filled it out and readied it for the West End stage. It’s certainly been a labour of love and I know that Debbie was very pleased to be able to unveil one of the centrepiece songs from the new show. ‘Nothing Grows On Gold’, performed by the delightful Mary Carewe, proved itself to be a classic showstopper with some real wind beneath its wings. The show itself is set to debut officially in 2010…

The evening fluttered by it seemed and the room was filled with a lot of spirit and good will. Ending the show with an encore of ‘Wilde West’ from Wilde, Debbie had us clapping along, with a handful of unashamed yokels offering the off ‘Yee Haw’ to boot. It was a jolly end to a very pleasant evening of music and words and I think it was without doubt a big success for Breast Cancer Campaign. Well done to all involved for putting on a marvellous show.

If you’d like to find out more about the work that Breast Cancer Campaign do, or if you’d like to make a donation then please visit www.breastcancercampaign.org/.

A Great Event: Nature's Great Events

2009-09-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Bristol’s Colston Hall has been at the forefront of its busy music scene for countless years and after a number of rebuilds during its life, the latest upgrade – a £20m extension of glistening foyer, box office, dining, bars and performance spaces – is just the latest facelift. It’s an impressive creation and is a fine improvement, giving the old hall (with its renowned acoustic) the kind of entrance space it deserves, bringing it well and truly into the 21st century.

Ten days of celebrations are underway with over 2000 local musicians and performers involved in heralding the next stage in the venue’s story. With this in mind, the organisers wanted something special for the centrepiece event and they came up trumps with Natures Great Events.

Screened on BBC One earlier this year, Natures Great Events was classic Natural History Unit television, charting more wonders of the world’s animals, their behaviours and the delicate surroundings that form an essential part of their very existence. Supplying the music for the series were Bristol based composers Barnaby Taylor and Ben Salisbury who have each cut their teeth on Natural History productions. For Natures Great Events though, the pair very much took a leaf from George Fenton’s score pages and gave the often jaw-dropping images suitably emotional and epic music. With that in mind, it seems a logical idea to take that music into the concert hall and, played along with specially edited images projected onto a big screen, make a spectacle of it all. And that’s exactly what happened tonight at Colston Hall.

It was very much a once in a lifetime opportunity and the sell out crowd were treated to a specially created six movement symphony of sorts, with conductor William Goodchild leading the brilliant BBC Concert Orchestra through Barnaby and Ben’s music and if that weren’t enough each movement was introduced by none other than Sir David Attenborough himself. It was quite bizarre to sit and listen to ‘The Great Man’ – as he was introduced and described to us – so famous is that soft, well considered voice. To have him there was a real treat and he received a standing ovation before he’d even done anything, so high is the regard and affection with which he is held.

Natural History film is always the most real drama a composer could wish for when creating music and the array of scenarios presented here offered the composers the chance to be creative, comedic, dramatic and emotional. Frolicking cubs were underlined with jovial refrains on mallet percussion, mating Dragonflies with quasi-celestial twinkle, while Lions - near-starved and barely clinging to life - were met with emotive woodwind passages. It was the wide open vistas of the great African plains, grasslands and icy oceans though which saw the orchestra take flight, offering grandly sweeping gestures for strings and brass, while the larger, more ferocious sights gave rise to swathes of percussion. ‘A Heavy-weight Battle’ in Movement II (The Great Flood) was one such example, while the militaristic might of the final movement (The Great Tide) in which a ‘Super Pod’ of Dolphins, joined by sharks, whales and sea birds, mass an attack on millions of sardines off coast of South Africa, was a stunning display. It truly was a battering, with infectiously rhythmic percussive lines – performed with support from local percussionists – and was a brilliantly rousing finale to the piece. A similar scene was featured in The Blue Planet and I thought it would be hard to top Fenton’s brilliant cue ‘Sardine Run’ and while it differs greatly – being more of a 'march to battle' – it managed to raise the hairs equally.

The music and images of course went hand in hand, one supporting the other in all kinds of ways, and as often happens with this kind of performance, it was easy to forget you were in the presence of a live orchestra, so engaging were the images on screen. The sight of huge Humpback Whales feeding on herring by literally scooping entire schools of them from the surface with their bellowing mouths was just one of the many amazing highlights... The lasting shot for me though is of two Polar Bears, seemingly marooned on a lone iceberg in the Arctic Ocean; a poignant note about the future of the poles and the effect global warming will have on those beautiful beasts…

So with more standing ovations and a word or two from the composers themselves, the orchestra went on to perform a specially-composed encore. Played along with footage of the making of the series and introducing the amazing cameramen responsible for what we had seen, it was a free-spirited, celebratory denouement.

Natures Great Events really was Bristol’s great event and those of us lucky enough to attend were left in no doubt that this city really has a lot going for it right now. Congratulations to all involved and let’s hope Colston Hall can offer its stage to more events like this in the future.

You can find out more about upcoming events at the new look Colston Hall by visiting the venue’s website – www.colstonhall.org

With thanks to Paul Preager at Colston Hall

Hammering it out - BBC Proms: Michael Nyman

2009-08-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

I know I bleat on about the Albert Hall, but I quite honestly never tire of being in that space and last night I found myself there once again for another of the BBC Proms. Last time was of course for the magic of the MGM Musicals with a vast orchestra, choir and vocalists on stage; this time, however, was a much smaller affair, though no less energetic methinks. Prom 54 saw the indomitable Michael Nyman take to the stage with his eleven-strong band to perform a late night set of music from his film scores and otherwise. A concert by the Michael Nyman Band is always something of a rambunctious affair, the music - and indeed the man himself - somehow unapologetic in their ‘down to business’ approach. Nyman took his seat at the piano with little fanfare and with a wave of his right hand immediately struck up the band for four selections from his 1982 score for The Draughtsman’s Contract. I’m always equally entertained and mystified by the music for this particular film, as it relentlessly and repetitively frolics along unashamedly loud and proud. There’s an air of naughtiness about it somehow, with the flagrant bassy piano bashing along and the brass having a whale of a time until they’re all seemingly rudely stopped in their musical tracks with the classic Nyman cadence; then comes that moment when nothingness pervades and you realise how brilliantly coloured the air was just moments before.

The uninterrupted set continued with a new piece commissioned by the BBC especially for the concert. ‘The Musicologist Scores’ was a lengthy (20 minutes) introspection of sorts, as the composer went back to his roots as a musicologist, deconstructing elements of music by Handel and Purcell, recycling them into his own composition. It was an entirely cyclical affair – as much of Nyman’s music tends to be – with a seemingly unchanging stream of notes, altering slightly with a new angle, a variation here, a new layer there, until it returns to the original root of the piece. It is of course deceptively difficult music, wholly mathematical, rhythmic and brilliantly structured; that said, when it’s chugging along for twenty minutes one’s appreciation for the artistry is overshadowed by a wandering mind and a sore bottom. It is of course hugely experimental music and Nyman’s tenacity in performing it should be admired if nothing else – we were indeed a captive audience and even the gentleman seated next to me following a copy of the printed score gave up at about the ten minute mark.

‘Six Celan Songs’ is a song cycle composed in 1990, based on the intense poetry of Paul Celan. Two of the six songs were presented, and the band were joined by Finnish soprano Anu Komsi who delivered both ‘Blume (No. 6)’ and ‘Psalm (No. 3) with an intensity – in German - that matched the words. It was the latter song which left the deepest impression though, its haunting lyricism overshadowing the much darker former piece, itself coming across with a dreary pessimism – bizarre when the title translates literally as ‘Flower’.

The final programmed piece was the ever-brilliant ‘Memorial’ from Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Once again Nyman’s hat is tipped firmly in the direction of Handel and Purcell, with the stomping bass line seemingly getting ever stompier and the petulant violin seemingly intensifying as if played through gritted teeth. It’s wonderfully steely music and never fails to, perhaps oddly, raise a smile – memories of cooked flesh and all kinds of arty eroticism coming to mind no doubt, not to mention the brilliantly vile Thief (Michael Gambon) who orders said meal (the Lover of the title) to teach the straying Wife (Helen Mirren) a lesson. Classic.

So it was definitely short, not particularly sweet, but certainly a lot to get your teeth into. Nyman’s music is ever challenging, always knowing, but at the same time beautiful somehow. His only encore – ‘Franklyn’, from Michael Winterbottom’s Wonderland – proved this in spades; a simple and elegant denouement which was definitely the calm after the storm. Hurricane Michael perhaps.

The Proms season continues until September 12th and you can catch all the action at www.bbc.co.uk/proms, not to mention nightly broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and occasionally on BBC Television. See the website for full details!

With many thanks to Bethan Bide at BBC Proms.

Straight from the Lion's Mouth - The MGM Film Musicals Prom

2009-08-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

The Royal Albert Hall was bathed in the glow of Golden Age glamour last night as the BBC Proms celebrated the great MGM Film Musicals. The hall was something of a time machine as we were whisked back to a bygone age, with the John Wilson Orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers, and a host of vocal stars performing show-stopping numbers from the great Studio’s glittering heyday.

The project has been a labour of love for Wilson – a lifelong fan of the classic MGM sound – and the concert was the culmination of many months, if not years, of work reconstructing the original scores, literally raising from the dead the notes once put on paper by some of Hollywood’s most talented songwriters and orchestrators. With the decline of the original MGM studio and the subsequent buying and selling of its major assets, the music department archives found themselves out with the trash as developers cleared space for a new parking lot. It almost brings tears to your eyes when you think of the gems – largely notes on a page – that were discarded and probably used for landfill. All that remains are the original conductors’ books, held within the Warner Bros. archives in Burbank and it is those musty, but magical, pages that formed the basis of John Wilson’s restoration. Of course those books held only so much information about the orchestration and arrangement of the music, and so Wilson quite simply had to sit down, listen to the recordings and watch the films to transcribe note for note every part and every second of music.

The result is a tremendous feat and the show put on last night was truly a marvel as this hand picked orchestra, replete with dance band and chorus, managed to quite convincingly recreate the sound of the MGM Studio Orchestra before our eyes and ears. Opening with the swirling ‘MGM Jubilee Overture’ (arranged by then head of music, Johnny Green) I was left in no doubt that we were in for a very special evening. The scintillating strings, and those chorus voices, just smacked of another time and you couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. From the overture we arrived at the first song, ‘The Trolley Song’ (from Meet Me In St. Louis). Once again I was bowled over by the immense sound coming out of the 95+ ensemble on the stage, while the lead vocal by Broadway/West End star Kim Criswell was as bright and peppy as it should be. If we were in any doubt of her skill at ‘becoming’ Judy Garland, her performance of ‘Over the Rainbow’ – which followed – was sublime, and enough to reduce my friend to tears.

Each of the solo vocalists embodied the original performers admirably, while at the same time bringing their own personality to the pieces. Curtis Stigers cut a fine figure as he stepped out onto the stage for the Astaire number ‘Steppin’ Out With My Baby’ (from Berlin’s Easter Parade), while the higher brow figures of Sarah Fox and Sir Thomas Allen (soprano and baritone respectively) raised hairs with their beautiful, velvet tones on the likes of ‘More Than You Know’ (from Youmans’ Hit The Deck) and the classic ‘Stranger in Paradise’, as featured in 1955’s Kismet. Prior to these we were treated to the wonderfully rambunctious ‘Barn Dance’ from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The performance was an early highlight and the orchestra proved themselves even further, turning out a dazzling performance. At one point the string section took to their feet, while members of the chorus – not to mention soprano Sarah Fox – let out the odd ‘Yee Haw’. The piece, originally arranged by Adolph Deutsch, is a classic example of just how intricate and indeed difficult some of this music is; the pace was unrelenting and the players were put through their paces and no mistake, but they rose to the challenge and knocked our socks off with their energy. The smiles on their own faces were evidence enough that, while it was hard work, it was worth every bead of sweat.

One of the surprises of the evening was the last vocalist, one Seth MacFarlane. Known rather more widely for creating, writing and voicing the TV hit Family Guy, MacFarlane proved himself to be quite the crooner also. Doing a very fine impression of Frank Sinatra, he brought to life – with a little help from Criswell and Stigers – the likes of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’, ‘You’re Sensational’ and ‘Well, Did You Evah?’ from the classic Cole Porter musical High Society. The latter saw Stigers take on the Bing Crosby role, and both tuxedoed stars bounced off of one another well, champagne in hand.

There were plenty more highlights and surprises, from musicals both beloved and relatively unknown to the layman. 1955’s It’s Always Fair Weather and the previous year’s Deep in My Heart were examples of the latter, though both provided further brilliant turns from MacFarlane, Fox and Sir Thomas Allen. The latter star had his big moment in the Lerner & Loewe classic ‘Gigi’ from the 1957 musical of the same name, while Criswell brought the house down with the uber-classic ‘Get Happy’ which, if you didn’t know, was composed by Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen and featured in the 1950 musical Summer Stock (coincidentally Judy Garland’s final bow for the studio).

It was 1952 which saw the film that would embody the MGM Musical ideal and Singin’ in the Rain remains the jewel in the crown, not just for the talent on display (on and off screen) but also for its iconography. Seth MacFarlane took on the title song, this time doing his very best Gene Kelly impersonation, while the hardy group of regular ‘Promenaders’ standing down at the front twirled their umbrellas. It was something of a magical moment, Conrad Salinger’s beautiful, bouncing arrangement filling the air and epitomising the night we’d shared with this brilliant band and the music of the golden age. That wasn’t all though, as the show closed with Singin’ in the Rain’s ‘Broadway Melody Ballet’, a tour de force on screen as Gene Kelly – convincing studio bosses of his latest idea – descends into the fantasy world of that idea and dances his way through set piece after set piece. We were treated to the entire routine – sans footwork – with the company singing and having a ball. This of course resulted in rapturous applause and cries for more, with the stars returning to the stage for ‘That’s Entertainment’. MacFarlane made fans of Family Guy very giddy by singing a couple of his lines as ‘Stewie’, a nice touch for those in the know.

I’ve seen many shows in my time, musical and otherwise, but I can’t remember a time when I’ve been so captivated and so uplifted. The artistry on display, both on the page and on the stage was truly awesome and John Wilson’s dream – finally realised live at the Albert Hall – was nothing short of a triumph, straight from the Lion’s mouth.

With thanks to Bethan Bide at BBC Proms.

On The Desk V

2009-07-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Just when I think I’m beginning to get on top of things, the in-tray fills with another handful of albums. There are some cracking ones in need of attention, and I will get to those next week I hope. This week though I want to focus on a variety of titles in both my in-tray and on my hard drive. As I’ve said, very often I get sent links to albums, or files to download, from composers both up and coming, and well established.

Recently I received one such album from composer Edwin Wendler, a young and indeed talented composer who, though born in Vienna, now resides in Los Angeles. His most recent film score, The Interior – a film follow up to the 2007 television series – was released on CD by Perseverance Records a little while ago and while I’m yet to hear that, one of his early scores displays a colourful creative flair that I hope runs into the later works of recent years. Home: The Horror Story was a 2000 film directed by Venezuelan director Temístocles López and saw an all American family man find his life turned into a nightmare after undergoing invasive brain surgery. While it’s not a film that will likely be making it to your local multiplex anytime soon, the mix of bizarre surrealism and pseudo comedy horror antics has made it one not to be missed on late night television. Edwin’s score is as rambunctious as they come, with the composer unleashing a barrage of synthetic party tricks and unyielding ditties that cavort and swagger along with the comic capers in the surreal on-screen nightmare. I particularly enjoyed the opening cue ‘Meet The Family’ with its Elfmanesque hue, while the stomp and stagger of ‘Returning Home’ is a lot of fun. Ticking more of the horror boxes is ‘Getting Hot’ with its eerie voices, reverse effects and pizzicato effects. The overall carnival atmosphere of the larger score is a real winner though; much fun indeed. Hopefully we’ll hear more from Edwin Wendler in the future.

One composer I’m very pleased to be hearing more from is Benjamin Wallfisch. While Ben remains a big player in the classical field – his family name precedes him – his continuing work in film music is nothing short of brilliant. I was blown away by elements of Dear Wendy, which I reviewed for Music from the Movies a couple of years ago and when I learned that the young composer was working on The Escapist I was excited. Fast forward what seems like an eternity and MovieScore Media (who also made Dear Wendy available) have released the score on CD. The film is one of the unsung gems of recent years, with a stellar cast of British actors (including Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Seu Jorge and Steven Mackintosh) and gritty scenes of prison life and daring escape beneath the streets of London. The score is itself something of a breathtaking effort, with Ben scoring for both traditional orchestra and well conceived programming. With ‘Theme from The Escapist’ we’re thrown into an unrelenting, bassy refrain which drives the idea of the escape. The thumping piano and bass strings grab you by the throat and drag you along with its intensity. It’s an absolutely terrific, primal sound and quite a simple idea really, but nonetheless hugely effective. The escape itself – which runs through the film counter to the scenes of its inception within the prison walls – is underscored very creatively with rhythmic clangs and clatters, as programming, piano and bow strikes join forces to propel the band of escapees through the grimy sewers beneath the Capital. These are best heard in the likes of ‘Underground Escape’, ‘Into the Dryer’ and ‘Sump Chase’, while the brilliant main theme is deconstructed throughout as the plan comes together, with hints of it building in ‘Confessional’ and ‘Elegie for Brodie’. There’s an emotive side to the score also, as the music touches on the reason for the escape, Frank Perry’s daughter, who is gravely ill and with whom the life-prisoner wants to make peace. Solo vocal is utilised largely for these elements, with piano, strings and woods here and there (as in ‘Escaltor’) – these moments serve as a suitable antidote to the otherwise pivotal cues found elsewhere. Once again I am left in no doubt that Benjamin Wallfisch is one of the most exciting voices to enter the film music arena in recent years and while he continues to work as an orchestrator and conductor on other people’s scores, let’s hope he finds time to put pencil to paper himself and create more of this entirely listenable and hugely effective film music.

“Stand by for Action!” The Music of Barry Gray is a little gem of an album, though it may only have appeal for those who grew up with the ‘Supermarionaton’ and, later, live-action classic series’ of Gerry Anderson. I for one am too young to fully appreciate the hysteria surrounding the original runs of the likes of Stingray, Fireball XL5, Joe 90 and Thunderbirds, however when I was a child in the early 1990s a number of these shows had something of a renaissance and was certainly hooked on the latter. Going back further into my childhood, I can remember being very afraid of the opening prologue sequence for Capain Scarlet and the Mysterons. The inclusion of the music and sound effects for that scene – including the terrifying footsteps and final gunshot – still manage to make me shiver just a little, ha. This album then takes in snippets, themes and cues from all of Barry Gray’s collaborations with Anderson and takes us from their earliest work (Four Feather Falls) right through the major classics of the mid 1960s, right up to the more ‘modern’ sci-fi adventures with real actors in the form of UFO and Space: 1999. A lot of it is kitsch, with some wonderfully twee sixties-soaked songs and ‘Twists’ offering an amusing and strangely infectious glimpse into the past, while the big guns blaze here and there with wonderful dramatic cues found in the selections from Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and alike. The French-flavoured ‘Perils of Penelope’ in the former, not to mention Joe 90’s ‘International Concerto Suite’, are evidence enough and a prime example of just how multi-talented Gray truly was. The album, from Silva Screen, features informative notes by Ralph Titterton and along with the multi-faceted scores represented, they make for a wonderful tribute to an oft-overlooked master of film and television music.

Finally a couple more titles from MovieScore Media that are in need of a mention, namely Sharon Farber’s touching score for When Nietzsche Wept and Panu Aaltio’s The Home of Dark Butterflies. Both offer music from relative unknowns, which the Swedish label should constantly be commended for. Farber’s score for Pinchas Perry’s emotional drama – based on the novel by Irvin Yalom – is a poignant affair, played out largely with piano and strings, while more orchestral flurries can be found in the romantic and stately ‘Save Nietzsche/I’ll Help Your Friend’. Traditional melody is found in ‘Shabbath Dinner’, while Nietzsche himself is credited with composing ‘Hymnus an das leben’. Performed by soprano Ayama Haviv, accompanied by Farber on piano, it’s a strikingly emotional aria that manages to capture – along with Farber’s larger score – the ultimate fragility and sadness of this complicated emotional man. Equally emotive is Aaltio’s score for Dome Karukoski’s drama about about a teenager who is sent to a boy’s home called ‘The Island’, where he comes to terms with the ghosts of his past. Recorded in London, it’s a fine sound that is created here and through a mixture of minimalist devices, and swathes of strings, Aaltio manages to nail the emotional complexity and spirit of the young protagonist.

Coming soon: A look at Nicholas Hooper’s second Harry Potter score, a couple of premiere albums from James Horner’s past and music from the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica.

With thanks to Mikael Carlsson, David Stoner, Jelena Jancic and Edwin Wendler.

Music from the Movies

2009-07-20T05:26:00.001-07:00

I got an email from a record producer recently – I’m not going to name him – asking about Music from the Movies.com. He made an interesting point in his email, remarking that the future of film music and indeed film music journalism surely cannot lie in the United States and the United States alone? Music from the Movies, which began life as a print magazine in 1992, went on to become a popular and oft-visited website for film music fans and industry names alike. As Web Editor and Chief Correspondent of the site, I was very proud of its status and the fact that it didn’t exist to make a profit. When the print magazine ceased production in 2006 it was a sad day; whether you realised it or not Music from the Movies was always produced by a small group of devoted people in the UK, along with Rudy Koppl and a few valued contributors in California. Nobody earned a single penny from their work and it was always a labour of love; the same went for the website – which subsequently went offline in March. The site’s disappearance was indeed unforeseen and as surprising to me as it was to anyone else.

I remember stumbling across a couple of messageboard threads in recent months, and noticed some bitter words about our magazine, and indeed its demise. I personally just wrote the words and kept the website updated and was never involved in any part of the ‘business’ end of Music from the Movies; but I do know that it wasn’t an easy decision. To carry on would have meant increasing the price of the magazine to a ridiculous level and any major revamp of the website would cost money that was never there in the first place. Nobody has come out of this with a pocketful of cash and I resent anybody thinking so; if anything certain members of the team are equally, if not more, out of pocket thanks to their own personal investment to keep the website alive.

That can be put behind us though and I hope to see a new future for Music from the Movies; it’s certainly not impossible – in fact it looks as if there may be life in the old dog yet... One thing is for sure though; you can guarantee that whatever it looks like on the surface, the same passion and devotion will go into its recreation and continued re-development. All I can say is watch this space…

As to the record producer’s comment about US-led film music journalism – I too agree that the art form shouldn’t forever be so LA-centric. There are plenty of people all around the world who not only make great film music, but also appreciate it, with passion and insight. You only have to look at the Spanish conventions in Ubeda, Madrid and on Tenerife, not to mention the online magazines still coming out of Germany and France. Hopefully Music from the Movies can return in the UK, with continued emphasis on the high-end work happening in the US and London, but also standing alongside our European friends and neighbours who love film music as much as we do.

Michael Beek
Web Editor/Chief Correspondent, Music from the Movies

On The Desk IV

2009-07-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

Time once again to forage amongst the heap of CDs atop my horizontal work platform (aka the desk). I say ‘heap’… it’s more a molehill, and I won’t make a mountain out of it. It was a tricky decision as to what to shout about in this, the fourth instalment of ‘On The Desk’, but I feel I’ve plucked a good variety out of the heaplette.

I had planned on going into raptures about Richard Wells’ impressive feature score for Mutant Chronicles, however in extolling its virtues to a colleague last week I managed to leave said disc behind. So without the album here to refer to, all I can say is the score is really rather good. With orchestrations by Benjamin Wallfisch, the sound is robust and indeed fully orchestral with enough clout to stand out from the crowd. Whilst Wells isn’t perhaps the most recognisable name in film music right now, I expect he will be in time to come and thanks no doubt to turns such as this. On the small screen Wells has been responsible for the likes of the BBC’s brilliant fantasy/comedy/horror/drama/thing Being Human and I’m certainly keen to hear more.

So to the albums I didn’t abandon… First up is Bear McCreary’s Caprica; an album from La La Land Records containing the composer’s score for the pilot episode of this new sci-fi series from the makers of Battlestar Galactica. McCreary has enjoyed a large fan following thanks to his turn on the latter series, spawning a couple of albums and even a few live performances in Los Angeles over the years. Caprica couldn’t be more different to the solid tribal/rock-tinged hues of Battlestar though, as this new creation – set fifty years prior to the events of that series – is plainly more desolate, as two families on the titular planet bare witness to the events that lead to their society’s downfall. Stripping back the sound he created over four seasons of Battlestar, McCreary shifts his focus on a more minimalist palette, creating a frenetic and at times emotional score for the first part of what is essentially a tragedy. In many ways it’s a familiar sound, with echoes of Glass in the repeated patterns, while the passages of strings, woods and harp (e.g. ‘Grieving’) instantly remind me of Goldsmith’s brilliant Hollow Man. Around this there are hints of the music that will follow – temporally – in Battlestar Galactica as McCreary adds kinetic rhythm and such to cues like ‘Terrorism On The Lev’ and ‘Cybernetic Life Form Node’ (two of the very few up-tempo numbers on the disc). It’s a fitting sound for the setting though I think, and the sort of vacuous future-world score we’ve grown accustomed to in many respects, but no less effective. The series itself is set to air from January 2010, so it will be interesting to see where the music goes in the larger story; one thing is for sure, it’s off to a strong start with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the helm and Bear McCreary’s engaging music at its heart.

Up next an interesting trio of television films, screened earlier this year on Channel Four. Red Riding saw a sprawling fictitious account of the investigation into the Yorkshire Moors murders that gripped the attention of the nation in the 1970s and early 1980s. David Peace’s novel was re-imaged in three parts and by three different directors, each taking on the story and characters as they found themselves in 1974, 1980 and 1983. Each director utilised a different composer for their individual stories and as such Silva Screen has presented this musical triptych on CD. Award-winning British composer Adrian Johnston teamed up with regular director collaborator Julian Jarrold for the first part and set the scene with a visceral, edgy score, supported by a very listenable guitar theme for the ‘Eddie’, and later ‘Paula’ (with added cello). Six years later and we’re in the company of director James Marsh, who engaged composer Dickon Hinchliffe to continue the story musically. Hinchliffe, who scored the British comedy Keeping Mum and, more recently, the Dustin Hoffman/Emma Thompson romantic drama Last Chance Harvey, provides a slightly more engaging score for the second part. Opting for a more immediate orchestral tone, the composer peppers his score with light, almost jazz-like percussion as well as edgier tones (achieved with ambient effects and cello) in the likes of ‘The Karachi Club’. Once again it is one central theme which takes the weight of the music, though more so than Johnston. Finally it’s the turn of seasoned film and television composer Barrington Pheloung, who teamed up once again with Hilary and Jackie director Anand Tucker for the third and final part – 1983. As you might expect, strings play a central role here and the sound – courtesy of the London Metropolitan Orchestra – is fuller than the previous scores. Certainly the more traditional of the three, it is however far less engaging than say Hinchliffe’s effort which manages to carry the weight of the drama, while at the same time remaining fresh and interesting. Pheloung’s contribution is weighty enough and acts as a serious closing statement for the trio of scores. It is of course a fine score in and of itself, with ‘Love Theme’ the highlight. A printing error on the reverse of the album cover almost saw me make a silly error myself, as I went to track 25 thinking it was the first of Pheloung’s cues – I began writing about how similar his work was to Hinchliffe’s; of course it was Hinchliffe! Track 26 is the start of Pheloung’s score… That typo aside, this is largely a fine release from Silva and while my attention wandered occasionally the three scores sit alongside one another quite successfully.

One of the newest additions to my collection is an album from French violinist Laurent Korcia, who was signed to EMI earlier this year. His first album for them, entitled simply Cinema, sees the handsome virtuoso perform – you guessed it – music from the movies. That said, the link is fairly tenuous as the majority of the pieces are existing classical compositions used in films. However, the selection isn’t your everyday ‘Music from the Movies’ classical set, and there are enough original score pieces thrown in to make it an all round listen I’d say. The appearance of two compositions by Korcia himself cshift the overall concept of the album yet again to perhaps one of ‘showpiece’ rather than an out and out homage to film music. This is cinematic music then, rather than music of the cinema. Checking the original score boxes are the usual suspects, with Williams’ Schindler’s List and Morricone’s Cinema Paradiso – two of film music’s finest violin-centred works – at the top of the pile. Schifrin’s Mission Impossible is given an interesting arrangement with rhythm provided by accordion no less, while Mancini’s Moon River and Rota’s ‘Speak Softly Love’ from The Godfather complete the familiar selection. Two pieces from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess – of course filmed in 1959 by Otto Preminger – will please the crossover crowd, while the likes of Chaplin’s ‘Smile’ and ‘Weeping Willows’ from Modern Times and A King in New York are an original thought. ‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’, featuring vocals by Camille, closes the album and is a nice touch, giving the selection even more variety. Compositions by the likes of Saint-Saens, Vivaldi, Provost and Grappelli – amongst others – complete the line-up and of course largely fill it. There’s no denying Korcia’s talent though and his performances throughout are nothing short of beautiful. You can forgive EMI for wanting to show off their new signing and what better way to do it than with music of cinematic proportions.

Finally Sony Classical have released a follow-up CD set to last year’s Classic Cinema. I reviewed the first three-disc collection for Music from the Movies.com and I recall being somewhat taken aback as the release was identical to that of Classic FM at the Movies. I relented somewhat, in hindsight, given that listeners outside of the UK might not be familiar with the British Classical music station, the Sony release perhaps being aimed at a more international market. This new release, entitled Classic Cinema Part 2, once again treads on the toes of Classic FM as it features, track for track and disc for disc, the exact same line-up as the station’s own follow-up set Classic FM at the Movies: The Sequel. I am still somewhat irritated by the complete lack of thought Sony seem to give the – okay let’s face it, gullable – British public. There will be many people who will see this nicely packaged set and think ‘Ooh that looks good, I’ll buy it’ only to discover they already own it in a different guise. Perhaps they’re just a bit thick if they do… Buyer state of mind aside, the selection – if you don’t already have it – is very fine indeed and rather all encompassing. It is of course a crowd pleasing playlist, perfect – funnily enough – for Classic FM fans who constantly request music from Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman, Captain Correlli’s Mandolin, Jurassic Park, Braveheart and Pride and Prejudice on a daily basis… and funnily enough they’re all present and correct here. Once again it’s a mixture of RPO, RSNO, City of Prague Philharmonic and original soundtrack recordings, with the usual suspects joined by similarly hued numbers – like Portman’s Emma, Goodwin’s Where Eagle’s Dare, Zimmer’s The Da Vinci Code, Doyle’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Goldsmith’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. What more can I say… Lap it up if you don’t own the aforementioned Classic FM release, grab it if you’re new to this lark, otherwise there’s nothing to see here.

Mutant Chronicles and Red Riding are available from www.silvascreenmusic.com, with Caprica available now from www.lalalandrecords.com. Sony Classical’s Classic Cinema 2 can be found in all the usual places and Laurent Korcia’s Cinema album goes on worldwide release on July 28th, courtesy of EMI.

A Happy Tune - The King and I at the Albert Hall

2009-06-18T05:01:00.000-07:00

I do love a good show; whether it’s a live orchestra playing, well, anything frankly, a talented singer doing what he/she does best, or indeed a glitzy Broadway/West End show. The latter took me further west last night - Kensington in fact - where Rodgers & Hammerstein’s sumptuous musical The King and I is currently enjoying a lavish revival at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s only the second time the glorious Victorian arena has staged a full blown musical – the first time being the Tenth Anniversary production of Les Miserables back in 1995 – and once again the hall was brought vividly to life with music, dance and colour. Of course this show is one of the old school Broadway spectaculars of the 1950s, the pair’s fifth ‘modern’ musical together, and like Oklahoma!, South Pacific and The Sound of Music, it’s littered with memorable melodies, larger than life characters and oodles of charm.

Leading a large ensemble cast were Maria Friedman and Daniel Dae Kim – as Anna Leonowens and The King of Siam – while fine support was given by the likes of well known screen actor David Yip and soprano Jee Hyun Lim, not to mention the many other faces and voices of the royal household. Miss Friedman is of course one of the stage’s brightest stars and she shone brightly in this perfectly cast role, in fine voice and emitting a wide-eyed warmth in a series of elaborate dresses. Mr Kim, most recognisable from TV’s Lost, made his London stage debut with this show and while he was by no means the strongest singing voice in the cast, he won us over with a charming and at times humorous portrayal of a man courting the modern world, but one who refuses to bow down to it. From their first moments together on stage I found it hard to imagine that the pair would gel and become a believable duo – but that’s the point of the story I suppose, they’re as opposite as opposites can be and the feelings between them are buried way beneath the surface. Later the bristles soften of course and their joint success at impressing the British envoy and his party, celebrated with a joyous dance lesson was truly delightful, not to mention their emotional, but understated parting.

Of course the Albert Hall is not a theatre per se, and so this production was performed ‘in the round’, the actors performing in the centre of the hall with the audience surrounding them. The setting of a musical in this way is quite a different experience for both performer and audience member alike, as for the former the space and direction of projection is increased and for the latter the performance is that much more immediate – for some it was literally right before their eyes. It was a challenge for sure, particularly for those creative minds tasked with staging the show and creating the world before us. When you’re being seen from all angles there really is nowhere to hide and the team can be congratulated not just for creating a lavish setting – replete with bodies of water, boats and indoor fireworks – but also for doing it relatively conservatively. Don’t get me wrong, there was bags of opulence in the Siamese Palace, but the use of space and the change over between scenes was well executed and required little fuss. There is definitely a weightier focus on performance and costume when there isn’t a myriad of backdrops and moving scenery and in this case it was a real winner.

This was my first viewing of this particular show and I went into the hall imagining all the music would be new to me; that was naïve of course as I instantly recognised many of the songs. Staple repertoire fillers such as I Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting To Know You and Shall We Dance? were instantly recognisable, while Hello, Young Lovers and I Have Dreamed were new to me and I shall certainly seek them out and listen to them again. The latter saw beautiful performances by Ethan Le Phong and Yanle Zhong as the young lovers Lun Tha and Tuptim, who cannot be together as she ‘belongs’ to the King. Le Phong was especially impressive and he would have made a fine King – I’d like to have seen/heard him perform A Puzzlement, the King’s big number, which was probably the weakest song in the show sadly.

Dance of course played a role in the show and the set piece for choreographer Susan Kikuchi was the performance of The Small House of Uncle Thomas, during which Princess Tuptim addresses her hatred of the King through her interpretation of an American story about slavery. To be honest this part was a tad lengthy and it was easy to lose focus – a casualty of the ‘round’ setting perhaps, being that the effects had to come from props and lighting on the ground, rather than the all encompassing and changeable surround of a proscenium stage.

Performing the music on the stage proper – though cloaked behind flowing drapes and ornate columns – was the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by seasoned Musical Director Gareth Valentine. The usual acoustic was somewhat dulled by their shroud – though to be fair it was the voices that were the main focus here – but they did a wonderful job as ever. The score represents one of Richard Rodgers’ finest and most incandescent, with the March of the Siamese Children being a wonderful musical set piece and highlight as Anna meets each of her new pupils, just some of the King’s many heirs. The children themselves were warmly received and each turned in a lovely performance – though at times it seemed Prince Chulalongkorn was lost somewhere between Hackney and Bangkok, as his accent flitted between the two quite often. Neither he or young Louis – performed here by Tony Nguyen and Lewis Cornay – were given their chance to shine vocally as their song, the Reprise of A Puzzlement was excised from the show for reasons unknown. Of course I wouldn’t have known otherwise having never seen the show before, but my companion actually played the part of Louis in the 1990/91 production (starring Susan Hampshire as Anna) and so he immediately drew my attention to it.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II rejuvenated the Broadway stage with shows like The King and I in 1951 and this week it’s happening all over again with this gilded spectacle at the Royal Albert Hall. This is a rare opportunity to experience musical theatre as never before and while the likes of Hairspray, Avenue Q and Wicked are perhaps more flavour of the month with the younger generation, they owe their existence to shows like this. The old ones really are the best and no mistake.

The King and I is at London’s Royal Albert Hall until June 28th. Tickets are still available priced between £21.50 and £62.50. Group discounts and hospitality packages are available. Visit www.royalalberthall.com for further information or ring 020 7838 3100 to book tickets.

With huge thanks to Jodie Jenkins at the Royal Albert Hall.

On The Desk III

2009-06-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

My desk is almost tipping over under the weight of CDs at one end, so the toy TARDIS has had to move to the other end to keep things on an even keel… Of course I jest (though, not about the TARDIS). The in-tray is somewhat heaving though at the moment and so I feel it’s time to give some time to more albums that are ‘On The Desk’…

First up and well overdue for a mention is La La Land’s release of Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin’s music for the hit NBC drama Heroes. Now I am about to commit a cardinal sin and admit that the entire phenomenon has passed me by (yes, terrible I know). I understand it’s rather good… (understatement of the decade perhaps) It’s certainly popular and the series has made stars of its, well, stars, spawned a committed fan following, and a top selling soundtrack album to boot. While the hip ‘n trendy tracks add much (to the record companies wallets no doubt), it’s the contemporary licks of Coleman and Melvoin that give Heroes its real voice and musical identity. The album from La La Land appears at first to be somewhat thin on the ground – with just ten tracks – but the majority of the selections go way past the five and six minute mark. Yes it’s something of a suite frenzy, arranged by the composers to reflect each of the series’ main characters and ending with a couple of set piece moments – including ‘Kirby Plaza’ from the finale of Season One. So, as the composers’ state in their nicely personal sleeve notes, each character is given their own ‘overture’ of sorts. But don’t get me wrong, there are no grand gestures here, no big themes; instead a sort of chillout set which re-creates the atmosphere of the show. ‘Claire’ offers a glimpse of a main thematic on piano – and a good one at that – echoed in parts of ‘Sylar’, while both he and ‘Mohinder’ are painted with Satie-esque piano hues. The selection is of course awash with synthetic textures, some airy, some industrial and all very listenable in their own ways. Not a groundbreaking, ear-shattering, pulse-racing selection by any stretch of the imagination, though fans of the show are sure to lap it up.

Up next – and staying with La La Land Records – is John Murphy’s take on The Last House on the Left, the latest Hollywood Horror makeover from Rogue Pictures. Wes Craven’s 1972 original – indeed his directorial debut – paved the way for countless films that followed with its gritty ‘realism’. The impact, however, is somewhat diluted all these years later and the film represents probably one of the titles most in need of a re-hash. And so fast forward to 2009 and Dennis Iliadis takes the reigns on this suped-up, sexier version of the story, which sees a family holiday home invaded by a violent gang who find themselves suffering at the hands of the angry parents of their victims. It’s all rather unpleasant of course, but the score manages to rise above mere shock and spatter, instead offering a mature take on the emotions running high throughout. ‘Saving Mari’ and ‘Going to the Guest House’ offer typical horror tones and general unease, while the likes of ‘After the Assault’ and ‘The End’ see more tonal ideas, achieved with solo piano – particularly in the latter. Murphy is no stranger to the darker side of film, thanks to brilliant turns in 28 Days Later and its follow up 28 Weeks Later and with The Last House on the Left he applies subtle atmospherics to a largely orchestral score, creating a bristling balance of light and shadow offering far more than your average horror score.

As I’ve touched on before, composers often feel inclined to send me promotional material of their latest work and I was delighted to receive a couple of discs from British composer Jennie Muskett. Jennie is one of the UK’s little known shining lights, having provided highly imaginative scores for small documentaries, prime-time television series’ and glossy Hollywood films alike. She is well on the heels of current trends and strives to keep on top of technological developments – with that in mind you can always count on Jennie for an immediate sound, straddling the genres of contemporary digital music and traditional classical approaches. Most recently the composer delivered Compulsion, for the ITV film drama starring Ray Winstone and Parminda Nagra. It’s an atmospheric and at times darkly sensual score, featuring deliciously exotic colours and a well-honed contemporary edginess. I’m always impressed by Jennie’s music and am always left wanting more – I think there’s still a lot remaining for her to achieve and she has well and truly set herself up to become on of the UK’s major voices on screen.

Finally to one of MovieScore Media’s most colourful releases in a while, Darren Fung’s Just Buried. The film is a darkly comic look at funeral homes, as a young man inherits one such establishment only to find the young female mortician he falls in love with is doing away with the locals to keep the ailing business afloat. Taking its lead of course in many respects from the likes of Six Feet Under and Pushing Daisies - the lighter side of death has certainly been in vogue of late – the film is given life (ahem) thanks to a delightfully perky score by Darren Fung. Eclectic is something of a buzz word when it comes to this type of score, but it truly fits Just Buried as Fung has arranged a frisky melange of instrumentation to create a bustling musical accompaniment. Headed by piano, we’re well and truly in Thomas Newman territory in many respects, but more playfully so I feel. The scampering pizzicato, glockenspiel, strings and cimbalom that skip through the likes of ‘Vehicular Manslaughter’ are immediately likeable, and indeed infectious, while the pseudo-gothic classicism found in ‘Pickles Has The Stick’ are both tongue-in-cheek and brilliantly applied. The track titles alone here are enough to raise a smile – and an eyebrow perhaps – each perfectly exhibiting the type of film this is. Personal favourites are ‘I Dropped a Mini-Van On Him’ and ‘You Screwed My Dad!?!?’ – need I say more. Joking aside, both cues offer some of the more dramatic brassy moments on the disc - the latter seeing an amusing shift on the wedding march. This is a delightful score and no mistake – a real breath of fresh air for the ears.

Heroes (LLLCD1091) and The Last House on the Left (LLLCD1092) are both available from www.lalalandrecords.com, while Just Buried (MMS-09003) is available on CD via www.screenarchives.com and as a download from the usual platforms. For more information visit www.moviescoremedia.com.

If you’d like to know more about Jennie Muskett then take a look at her newly launched website where you can see and hear what she’s all about – www.jenniemuskett.com.

With thanks to Beth Krakower at Cinemedia, Mikael Carlsson at MovieScore Media and Jennie Muskett.

By George! - George Fenton and the LSO

2009-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve mentioned my early obsession with television theme music when I was growing up; I’d sit with a tape recorder next to the television set and record tape after tape of themes. Of course I had favourites and it has transpired that many of them were composed by people I’ve since had the pleasure to meet, get to know, and whose music for the big screen I admire still. George Fenton is one such person whose career began on that box in the corner of the living room and his music for the likes of Bergerac, Telly Addicts and countless BBC News themes and stings most certainly appeared on my cassette tape ‘compilations’. George is an absolute gentleman and with an enviable career as a screen composer; he is without doubt one of the largely unsung heroes of film music. His early collaborations with directors like Richard Attenborough and Neil Jordan, followed swiftly by those with Ken Loach, Stephen Frears and Andy Tennant have allowed the composer a lingering presence on screen, with assignments on boths sides of the Atlantic. His music, I find, is consistently good; it’s thematic, listenable, strong and varied – which is the hallmark of a great composer. Any film is in safe hands when George Fenton is on board.

Last night George was able to present a selection of his works at London’s Barbican Centre, with more than a little help from the London Symphony Orchestra. Ever humble, the composer/conductor seemed truly honoured to be able to stand before the illustrious band. The orchestra last worked with Fenton in 1993, performing the score to Attenborough’s Shadowlands and so it was something of a long-overdue reunion. From the podium, the composer presented his own music in his own understated way; this wasn’t a big showy event by any means, instead it was a safe and strong presentation of just really very good music. It was the personal touch that gave the evening a sense of warmth and intimacy, with George leaving the podium himself to bring on his soloist guests at times.

It must have been a difficult concert to programme, mainly because of the wealth of material composed over the last thirty years or so. That said it was a fairly inclusive set-list, with just a touch of the composer’s early small screen gems presented in a trio including the themes from The Jewel in the Crown, The Monocled Mutineer and The Blue Planet. The latter was of course the most recent of that selection and one of George Fenton’s biggest triumphs, the music itself being performed in its own concert tour in recent years. With that in mind it’s understandable that there wasn’t more from the groundbreaking BBC series being played at this concert – though a performance of ‘Sardine Run’ would have gone down very well I think.

The film selections that made up the majority of what remained took in many highlights and key collaborations in George’s career so far, with emphasis on his variety of style here and there. Sweeping, orchestral romance was a firm fixture with suites from the likes of Ever After and Stage Beauty whisking us off our feet, while the likes of China Moon and Land and Freedom offered more contemporary orchestration choices and Spanish hues respectively. The brass and percussion were able to exhibit their famously fine voices throughout, with Valiant being a brilliant second half opener, while first half closer Land and Freedom was positively Herrmannesque in places with crashing brass chords and all kinds of jarring harmonies.

As I said, soloists played a key role on the stage and the second half saw some stunning performances by Martin Robertson and Andrew Findon who took on the likes of Duduk, Chinese flute and Irish pipes in selections from Planet Earth (itself a moving suite), Beyond the Clouds and one of my all time favourite Fenton scores, High Spirits. John Parricelli and Tom Howe did the honours on acoustic guitars for Dangerous Beauty, a lovely suite and another highlight for me personally as I’ve enjoyed the score on album for many years (though I didn’t recognise the title in the programme as my album is called A Destiny of Her Own).

Singer Nicola Emmanuelle provided an edgy vocal for Le Vampire, a standout moment from the first half. The music was composed by Fenton for Neil Jordan’s 1995 film Interview With The Vampire, though it was replaced with a score by Elliot Goldenthal… It is a classic example of ‘why on earth?’ as the music is simply brimming with gothic romance and fire. I am a fan of the replacement score though, which is perhaps slightly edgier still; certainly more chaotic, but no less romantic in my view. Emmanuelle returned in the second half with a group of singers for the finale piece, from Richard Attenborough’s 1987 apartheid drama Cry Freedom. The music was a tour-de-force which saw the conductor leave the podium to perform piano and ‘mumble’ (as he put it) the end title song he wrote at the last minute at Attenborough’s request. It was a stunning end, with the voices of the passionate vocalists ringing out over the orchestra and the rhythm section inspiring many a toe to tap in the audience. George returned to the podium to bring the ensemble together (though they never missed a beat without him) for a thrilling cadence of percussion, brass and voices.

While my companion and I were sad not to hear a burst of Newsnight or The 6 O’Clock News as an encore (appeasing ourselves by humming it all the way to the pub), we did leave in no doubt that George Fenton is one of the industry’s strongest voices, and a composer who is sure to do marvellous things with music for a long while to come. Come on George, release a compilation album and include a few bonus tracks of news stings… please?

With thanks to Dvora Lewis PR.

On The Desk II

2009-05-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

In my in-tray this week – and indeed On The Desk – is a steadily growing pile of CDs which I’ve sadly had to ignore due to other commitments of varying interest. That said, there has been time to sample a handful of delights this week, including one of the more anticipated scores of the ‘Summer’.

Indeed, Hans Zimmer’s follow up to the scintillating gothic-fest that was The Da Vinci Code – Angels and Demons – has graced my ears a number of times since I hungrily grabbed it from the FedEx man’s clutches last week. Zimmer frames (!) Ron Howard’s scaled down religious thriller in a similar musical shroud to that of their first Robert Langdon ‘adventure’ though, like the movie, it feels somewhat more focused. The single location and smaller ensemble (casting wise) means there is far less to get confused about, and fewer bases to cover for the composer. With that in mind – and continuing a trend somewhat – the composer presents his lengthy score in just a few tracks, nine to be exact. Yes it’s the kind of album that will send some people completely mad as it is impossible to know what you’re listening to in relation to what you heard in the film.

This is a classic album production for the composer/producer, with all-encompassing track titles such as ‘Air’, ‘Fire’ and ‘503’ giving absolutely nothing away. Is that a problem though, really? Well I’m on the fence I suppose – as I’ve mentioned in my blog before, back in the day composers would record the soundtrack album specially and call it ‘Music from the Motion Picture’, thus creating a rounded listening experience and musical titbit for consumers to enjoy. Arranging and splicing score cues into lengthy suites – as Zimmer does here – is equally maddening for some, but like the ‘Music from’ albums it somehow captures the work in a neat little designed package. I watched the film having heard the album and immediately knew that the disc bore no relation to what I was watching, and in some instances I picked out perfectly nice cues that weren’t on the disc (such as a rather nice boy soprano solo for an early scene at the Vatican). The music in the film is immediate, sometimes relentless and – as my friend commented on leaving the cinema – rarely gives you time to breathe, so constant is its ascension to a seemingly unending precipice (that’s BeekBlog guff for Cliffhanger).

The album then opens with the end credits music – titled ‘160 BPM’, which is possibly how fast the audience’s pulse is racing by the time the cue ends. It is a brilliant album opener – despite being the film closer – and pretty much overshadows everything that follows. The rhythmic patter of the faux pipe organ, incessant drums and ecclesiastic choir all soar above quite a kitsch, almost 80s electronic beat. It’s all very Hans Zimmer though and is somewhat refreshing in a bizarre way; we’ve heard so much from his cohorts and protégés that you really do forget – as a colleague put it to me – how bloody good Zimmer can actually be. This track shows him on fine form indeed and I’d quite happily rate the entire disc on this piece alone; it left me breathless. There is another forty or so minutes of music left though, so I’ll try not to peak too early, even if Hans did. With ‘God Particle’ we get some of the music from the opening of the film as a familiar motional string line precedes Zimmer’s simple climbing theme from The Da Vinci Code, this time given life by violinist Joshua Bell. The instrument – and performance – gives it a matured and more emotive feel. It’s a strong thematic though and is warmly welcomed back, along with the threat motif from the first film. Initially associated with the shadowy monk assassin, it is used here for the similarly shadowy clergy-killer. Both thematic threads rear their heads amongst a sea of programmed loops, atmosphere and choral hue (‘God Particle’ quickly disappears from the memory by the way after Bell bows out). Bassy chords, shrieks and all kinds of eerie patter remind me of Hannibal, as Da Vinci did in places, with the grandiose choir and creepy pipe organ found here and there, for example in ‘Air’ and ‘Fire’, raising the hairs rather successfully. Bell returns in the latter, alongside all kinds of shimmer and twinkle, creating a rather mystical sheen before atmospherics take over once again.

The production design here is pretty special to be fair and you can’t fail to be impressed by the depth and nuance created by Zimmer and Co. There’s further excitement in ‘Black Smoke’ with much percussive wizardry and a return to the ‘160 BPM’ sound, while things calm down a little in ‘Science and Religion’ and the bassy ‘Immolation’. All in all it’s a very glossy soundtrack album which concerns itself more with a listening experience, rather than the original intent of the music in the film itself. A gripping listen... mostly.

Another shadowy film to turn heads in recent week is Tomas Alfedson’s gothic drama Let The Right One In. With a score by Swedish composer Johan Soderqvist, the atmospheric story about a bullied boy who befriends a young female Vampire has been winning over viewers the world over. While it is a visually beautiful piece of work, a lot of the film’s impact comes from the music by Soderqvist, who supports the story with a brilliantly balanced score that both lurks in the shadows and casts a melodic light on the unlikely friendship that blossoms between Oscar and Eli. MovieScore Media released the music on limited edition CD, and as a download, and their album presentation is a generous one that takes in many highlights, including the graceful, yet hugely emotive ‘Eli’s Theme’. Other standouts include the sweet piano-led ‘Then We Are Together’ and the gorgeous guitar take on Eli’s theme in ‘Going Home’, while darkness enraptures in the likes of ‘The Slaughter’ and ‘Virginia in Flames’. A fine album of a very fine score.

Finally, and adding a splash of colour to my pile, is the very yellow-sleeved Shifty. Released by Silva Screen Records, the British indy drama about two friends reunited after four years having gone down very different paths, was treated to a very listenable contemporary score by composing team Molly Nyman and Harry Escott. A small ensemble piece – performed by The Samphire Band – it feels wonderfully fresh and appealing, with a street-ish vibe that doesn’t alienate. The touch is really very light, with a slight electropop edge in the likes of ‘Busting My Ghaand’, while piano and guitar perform repetitive patterns in ‘Charming Glen’ and ‘Leave It All Behind’ (with Violin). The influence of Nyman’s composer-father is evident in this respect, but the younger Nyman takes his lead and runs in her own direction with well conceived edginess and colour. The final score cue ‘Play The Tape’ continues the feeling of ‘Leave It All Behind’, but with added percussion and is a definite highlight and an all encompassing example of what Molly and Harry have achieved here. All in all it’s a surprising listen, and not at all what you’d imagine from the subject matter; in fact the film itself has surprised many offering one of the most real portrayals of a heterosexual relationship between men seen on screen, not to mention the contemporary take on Islam. For those reasons Shifty has been celebrated, and the music should be too.

More On The Desk coming soon, including La-La-Land’s Heroes score album, John Murphy’s The Last House on the Left and a look at the recent music of British composer Jennie Muskett.

Angels & Demons is in cinemas right now, with Hans Zimmer’s score available on Sony Classical. Let The Right One In is still doing the rounds on screen in the UK and Johan Soderqvist’s engaging score is available on CD from Screen Archives.com and as a download from the usual places. Visit www.moviescoremedia.com for more information. Finally Shifty is available on CD and as a download from www.silvascreenmusic.com. Check it out.

Music on a Knife-Edge: Psycho LIVE

2009-05-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

While I’m yet to see all of his films, I can say with my hand on my heart that I am a Hitchcock fan. I remember going to the cinema – The Watershed in Bristol to be exact – eleven years ago to see a film which would have a huge impact on me for years to come. To this day Psycho is my favourite film, for various reasons, and last night I was able to experience it on the big screen for a second time at Notting Hill’s glorious Coronet Cinema. That experience in itself would be enough to write home about – or indeed to blog about – but Hitchcock’s visual masterpiece was brought even more vividly to life with its groundbreaking score by Bernard Herrmann played live.

In what was essentially a brilliantly conceived, though wonderfully random promotional event, Sky Movies laid on the film and music as a way of launching their new Hitchcock Season. With that in mind it was very much a private affair, with a scattering of tickets given out to prize winners and alike, with the rest dished out amongst interested and related parties, not to mention a handful of ‘celebrities’ (I use that in the loosest sense of the word and although the names Gabriel and McCartney were mooted, sadly I only happened upon Who Wants To Be a Millionaire host Chris Tarrant). I was fortunate enough to come under one of those categories (and no I didn’t win a competition) and took my seat, clutching my gleefully acquired complimentary drink and sweets, thinking I knew full well what to expect. I was entirely wrong… well, mostly.

Twenty or so string players from The London Soundtrack Orchestra (formerly known as The London Ensemble) did an admirable job of hacking away at Herrmann’s busy, rhythmic and always thrilling music, with conductor Ben Foster at the helm. It was quite a task and Ben steered them through cue after cue, sometimes with as little as a second or two to breathe before the next onslaught. Obviously it was a slightly smaller ensemble than we might be used to hearing play this music, but that didn’t mean it was any less impressive or immediate, in fact it was downright startling in places.

The clincher was always going to be the shower scene as blade meets flesh (or does it?) to the shriek and hack of those immortal glissando notes. It was this moment that shook me out of my otherwise state of quiet enjoyment. This scene was always meant to shock of course, but after years of seeing it on the small screen, the sharp edge has gone a little blunt… not so last night. With the music being played right before us, the intensity of that famous scene was dialled up to max and it was almost heart stopping, while the enlarged screen meant the eyes of the killer – shrouded in inky shadow – shone out larger than ever. The moment leading up to the frenzied attack was given extra atmosphere with the low rumbling of a passing tube train far below us. What a thrill.

Another reason it’s great to see a classic film in the cinema is the audience experience… Moments that you laugh at on your own, are funnier still, while moments that make you catch your breath are even more breathless – the scene where Lila is frightened by her own reflection in Mrs. Bates’ bedroom was one such moment and everyone laughed nervously at how much we had jumped, helped along of course by our musicians’ on-the-nail performance.

Everything about this film is so well considered, from the carefully planned shots and even-tempered script, to Herrmann’s intricately symmetrical musical puzzle. It’s ultimately a very simple film, but it’s no less masterful. The conservative nature of its production gives way to the fact that the story at its heart is simply marvellous, the performances brilliant and it never fails to enlighten me, excite me and make my heart pound. Even more so last night and thanks to that my passion for this film, and its music, has been fuelled once more.

My fellow audience members appeared to agree and with the spine-tingling notes of the ‘Mad House’ motif, as Marion’s car is dragged from the swamp, a wave of applause rang out across the gilded room. Ben Foster and the London Soundtrack Orchestra created a bit of magic in a small corner of the capital last night and for the first time ‘in the history of Planet Earth’ as our host Alex Zane put it. I’m amazed this landmark piece of music hasn’t been performed live to its picture before, but it’ll surely happen again though. ‘Sometimes just one time can be enough…’? Not this time Marion.

Sky Movies’ Hitchcock Season begins on Monday May 25th with screenings of fifteen of the master’s classic films throughout the week, including world premiere HD presentations available on demand through the SkyHD channel. For more information visit www.skymovies.com.

With thanks to Ben Foster.

Rolling out the Classics - Filmharmonic 2009

2009-05-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

There is one permanent entry in my diary year after year that I always look forward to and can never bring myself to miss – Filmharmonic. I go along to the Albert Hall knowing fully what to expect – indeed this is my fifth year – as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra take to the stage to perform some of cinema’s greatest film themes. Before you open the programme you know you’re going to see the words Gladiator, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible, Superman, Witness and Pirates of the Caribbean. These days you know you won’t see Rocky in the programme, but you know full well that Bill Conti’s rousing fanfare and theme will provide the encore piece. Does any of this matter? I used to think so, but I’ve come to embrace the annual dusting off of the classic film music repertoire. Why? Because it’s just so damned good.

There’s no doubt either that the performance won’t be up to scratch and this year it was largely agreed that the RPO excelled themselves with what I considered a really punchy performance. A few pieces in the past have come across somewhat lacklustre, tired even, but this year they were each performed with a lot of flair and power, particularly Williams’ glorious theme from Jurassic Park (though they still use the score with the wrong note at the start!), the obligatory Superman and Goodwin’s downright brilliant theme from Where Eagles Dare.

A highlight moment for me always comes with the guest conductors and while the producers rarely stray far from their usual contact list, it’s always a nice opportunity to a) see a composer conduct their own music, and b) hear something you haven’t heard live before. Last night saw David Arnold take to the stage at the Albert Hall for the first time in a few years. David would be the first to agree he isn’t really a conductor, but he kept the ensemble together – using a red pencil I might add – and appeared to thoroughly enjoy conducting his perky waltz from The Stepford Wives, an orchestral rendering of ‘You Know My Name’ from Casino Royale and the cue ‘A Night at the Opera’ from Quantum of Solace. While the former Bond snippet was obviously barnstorming, the real highlight for me was the latter dramatic cue and although it didn’t end with much fanfare, it was a riveting addition.

British Film and TV stalwart Debbie Wiseman is a permanent and very welcome fixture at Filmharmonic and she can always be counted on to bring her latest score pages – and a rowdy posse – with her. This year saw her lead the orchestra through a suite from Lesbian Vampire Killers - her most recent film score – preceded by a selection from Tom & Viv – her first. It was a nice touch making those career bookend selections and the former certainly went down well, with members of the film’s team – including director Phil Claydon – offering no end of support from their seats in the Grand Tier. I told Debbie I would make some noise after the suite, but it really wasn’t needed with them in the room! While the film itself has suffered very mixed reviews, there’s no doubt that the music is a triumph. The composer and director make a good team and I’m fairly certain it won’t be the last we’ll see and hear of them together.

As usual a few additional nuggets littered the programme, with a rendering of Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters title song leaving me slightly red-faced in the first half. While it featured very colourful orchestration and some great brass, it was all just a bit embarrassing frankly… I’ll never condone orchestral versions of songs. It really was something weird, and it didn’t sound good, particularly when it came to the point where people would normally shout ‘Ghostbusters!’ – that was left to the brass… oh dear.

What should have been embarrassing at the end of the first half was a selection of American TV Themes and while you’d be right in thinking it’s a bit of a stretch for a film music concert, it actually ended up being one of the best bits of the night. Opening with Bill Conti’s brilliantly applied themes for Dynasty and Cagney & Lacey (which was rightly met with a very big cheer and applause come the end), the ensemble presented Mike Post’s dramatic opener for LA Law, before ending with Jerrold Immel’s infectious Western-tinged theme for Dallas. I was a fan of TV Themes long before I discovered film music – okay, I was about 10 – and these four themes always scored highly for me. I do believe Conti’s Cagney & Lacey is a contender for ‘Best TV theme Ever’, and it was a giddy childlike pleasure to see and hear it played by a full orchestra.

So you see there’s always something to get excited about at Filmharmonic, even if you think you know what to expect. The hall was very full as it always is and when our affable host Tommy Pearson – who did a fine job as usual – asked if anyone hadn’t been before, I was surprised to hear a great many voices shout out. That’s a wonderful thing and indeed another reason why the RPO roll out the classics annually, because there’s always someone who is yet to experience the power of live orchestral music, and live film music at that. More of the same next year – May 14th 2010! Don’t miss it.

You can experience the delights of the Filmharmonic repertoire on a newly packaged triple CD set, available from the shop at www.rpo.co.uk. Visit www.royalalberthall.com for information about the RPO’s next film music concert – ‘The Best of Bond’ – which takes place on Friday 13th November.

With thanks to Doran Harding, Debbie Wiseman and all at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

On The Desk

2009-04-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

As a film music journalist and critic I do find all sorts of albums coming through the letterbox. With the prolonged – and indeed unforeseen - absence of Music from the Movies.com, my in-tray is somewhat full of discs I would normally set to work on reviewing for the MftM review column. With that in mind I have decided do devote the occasional blog to those delights – or otherwise – which I find ‘On the desk…’

This week I would like to shine a light on a handful of offerings which have been lingering a bit too long and which certainly need a mention. Ryan Shore is one of the last year’s most exciting discoveries and whilst his family credentials need no more introduction, he has proven himself to be a most versatile and exciting talent. We of course have MovieScore Media to thank for bringing his work to our ears; from the label’s digital release of Headspace sometime ago, through the likes of Numb, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer and Shadows, the Swedish label – headed by former Music from the Movies Chief Correspondent Mikael Carlsson – has championed the young composer well and truly. It is the latter two titles that have sat in my tray for a number of weeks and each is a credit to Shore, both displaying his fine talents with an orchestra. And they couldn’t be more different in tone; Jack Brooks is a carnivorous symphonic work which sees the Slovak Symphony Orchestra chop away at a ballsy set of cues, each working to enhance the gung-ho and ever so slightly comic visuals. At times Shore the younger has the feel of his Uncle, albeit a little wilder, a little more crazed – evidenced in ‘Tentacles’ and ‘Kicking Ass’ (which he does, and well). With ‘Eve’s Situation’ – a standout cue – he brings about a sense of pure 80s orchestral pleasure, reminiscent of early Horner in many respects and mainly thanks to the bold brass, trigger-happy anvil percussion and undulating snare. It’s a wonderfully robust piece of work all in all, and is a shoo-in for the Best Score award at the forthcoming Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.

A pole apart is Shadows, which Shore scored for Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski last year. The film itself, about a man whose near-death experience sees him having to confront the meaning of his own life, was considered for nomination at this year’s Academy Awards in the ‘Best Foreign Film’ category. Musically it’s a mature, dramatic work featuring some beautiful vocal solos by Janita and wonderfully lyrical lines. The opening title cue sees a gorgeous, lilting woodwind solo over strings, while the score proper is full of mystery, some angst and a lot of beauty. The motional quality of ‘Appearances’ found me thinking of Desplat, with those harmonies running throughout and captivating entirely.

When you realise that Shore is first and foremost a dedicated Jazz musician and composer - with great talents at both – you get the sense that he is just an absolute all rounder and will be able to turn his hand to anything. These two scores alone say so much, with the more intimate vibes of Numb, Kettle of Fish and Coney Island Baby, not to mention his presence in the Streep/Thurman rom-com Prime (released by Varese Sarabande) only increasing the scope and variety of the early part of what is likely to be a very fruitful career in film music.

Composer Neal Acree has been plying away in Hollywood for a few years now, providing music for a handful of primetime fantasy series’ including the Joel Goldsmith vehicles Witchblade and the long-running Stargate adventures. Movie-wise, Neal has impressed with a variety of under-the-radar shockers and thrillers and is due a high-profile break on the big screen. His scores for Juncture, 7 Seconds and Method are prime examples of his talents and while they haven’t been made available on CD officially, I was very pleased to receive a selection of Neal’s own promotional discs to listen to. With Method, he is given a classic murder mystery to play with and provides music that supports not just the bloody aspects of the story (brilliantly displayed in ‘Murder for String Quartet and Orchestra’), but also the faint romance of the central character – an actress, played by Liz Hurley, who gets into her current role as a famous Murderess a little too exactly. With a familiar piano-led vibe, Acree creates a sense of romance and threat – reminiscent of Mark Snow, John Ottman and alike – but very listenable indeed. Juncture sees another strong female character at the forefront, and this time the composer adopts solo female vocals, alongside sampled piano to create an altogether unusual atmosphere, which is definitely the name of the game. Finally 7 Seconds finds a heightened rhythmic sense, samples, loops and guitar work – not entirely my cup of tea, but well achieved and exacting a definite contemporary hue with just a touch of sass.

Finally this week is Enlightenment Records release for Shamim Sharif’s romantic comedy drama I Can’t Think Straight. The film, which sees a young – soon-to-be-wed – Palestinian woman falling in love with a British Indian woman, did the rounds at this year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and has proven quite a popular title. The soundtrack is an eclectic set of tunes which touches on the vibes and cultures found in the film’s busy plot. Singer/songwriter Nadine Khouri features throughout the line-up, with the freespirited and very listenable sound offering the disc’s highlights. Composer Raiomond Mirza is responsible for the film’s original music and the majority of his cues (mostly songs in fact) feature solo artists, including Khouri, as well as Mena and Leonie Casanova. Casanova’s own track ‘Holy Daughter’ is another treat, with strong vocals and guitar, while Mirza’s only instrumental score offering (‘Love Theme’) fits in rather nicely with it’s sweetly mellow vibe. It’s very much a set-list of strong female vocalists though that make up the album, topped off perhaps by World Music star Natacha Atlas, who adds ‘Kidda’ and ‘Ghanwa Bossanova’ to the mix. A well chosen selection and certainly not your average soundtrack playlist; it ought to do well with fans of the film, of which there are an increasing number.

More ‘On The Desk’ coming soon...

For more information about MovieScore Media releases go to www.moviescoremedia.com, while you can find out more about Ryan Shore and Neal Acree at www.ryanshore.com and www.nealacree.com, respectively.

I Can’t Think Straight is available on DVD from May 4th, while the soundtrack album is available on CD from the usual places. Take a look at www.icantthinkstraight-themovie.com

With thanks to MovieScore Media, Republic Media and Neal Acree.

On The Proms...

2009-04-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

It’s amazing to think that the Royal Albert Hall is hosting its 115th season of ‘Proms’ concerts this year… The BBC Proms – as they’ve been known for sometime now – is without question the highlight of the Classical calendar in the UK. The world’s most accomplished musicians have descended on London year after year, performing music both classic and new to packed houses during the summer months. There’s a certain buzz about a Prom – and I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a few – that is somewhat difficult to explain. The experience of sitting beneath that vast dome seems somehow to unite those who have gathered to celebrate and join in the spirit and fellowship of music – okay, perhaps a touch over the top? Vomit inducing? Maybe… but it’s true; there’s a definite feeling of delight in that place, at those times. It’s certainly twee, but quintessentially British.

To extend the borders of the Proms – which of course are ever so London-centric – the BBC has found ways of bringing the experience to those outside the M25. Proms concerts are often broadcast on big screens in open spaces around the country, while some regional ‘Last Night of the Proms’ concerts have proven an interesting, and indeed interactive idea. Rolling out the carpet for the main event though have been the BBC Proms Preview Concerts, which are currently doing the rounds in the South of England (and only the South of England it seems…). I attended last night’s event at St. George’s Bristol, an all-too-hidden gem at the heart of the city, where the BBC Singers gave a free mini-concert of music by composers being represented this year at the Proms.

Music by Holst, Bach, Stravinsky and Mendelssohn were just some of the treats sung out by the neatly pressed troupe; their fluid – and at times powerful – voices ringing out perfectly in the fine acoustic of that beautiful space. Though brief at around forty minutes, the ensemble absolutely enraptured, with their performance of Stanford’s ‘The Blue Bird’ a captivating highlight featuring solo soprano Margaret Feaviour, while McCabe's 'I Sing of a Maiden' offered the newest composition in the selection and featured four soloists, including the very handsome (and equally talented) Christopher Bowen. The presentation ended with a wonderful tudor madrigal composed by none other than Henry VIII. With additional rhythmic hand percussion, ‘Pastyme with good companye’ left us in fine fettle indeed.

Proms Director and controller of BBC Radio 3 Roger Wright introduced the event, using the time of course to give us a brief insight into this year’s line-up. Mr Wright also used the opportunity to do a little market research, discovering to his delight that a good many of those in the audience had attended Proms concerts in the past. He seemed very pleased indeed, which he would be… I was pleased too, but also found myself pondering the demographics. Here was a room full of white middle class people who attend classical concerts on a very regular basis. It’s hardly a varied slice of the populace and if you’d given out tickets on the street and asked those people the same question, I know the response would be very different.

The remit of the Proms, as laid out by its founder Sir Henry Wood 115 years ago, is ‘Quality and Accessibility’ and our host assured us that this was still the case. Wood’s term certainly goes hand in hand with the BBC’s own of ‘Inform, Educate and Entertain’ and both attempt to work together to present a stunning array of talent (Quality) at an affordable price (Accessibility). Mr Wright was quick to assure us that the Proms was in no way a big money maker for the corporation, though he did reveal that a staggering £6m of licence-fee money goes into the production of the 58 days of live music – all of which is broadcast in some form - with ticket sales apparently accruing just £3m of that in return. So is it worth it? Well that’s an interesting question…

As a music lover, and someone who especially appreciates live orchestral music, then yes I think it undoubtedly is. Music is food for the soul and I can’t think of a better feast than the BBC Proms, but is everyone really getting a piece of the pie? Classical music inevitably draws a certain type of crowd and despite the best efforts of those involved, that’s the way it will always be. Each year there are a handful of Proms that go beyond the traditional, Classical idiom, with Children being the target for many of them. Whether it’s through Blue Peter or Doctor Who, the BBC try – and succeed – in getting young people through the door. Having been involved in the latter Doctor Who Prom I know first hand how it can work… Time will tell though whether that show, and that music will draw any of those concertgoers back again. This year’s programme sees many delights of course, and the BBC has seen fit to push their programming of ‘Indian Voices’ and Bollywood music, not to mention the appearance of Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood, whose orchestral work ‘Popcorn Superhet Receiver’ is being premiered – both in Week 5. Another crowd pleaser is sure to be ‘A Celebration of MGM Film Musicals’ in Week 3, while I myself am looking forward to hearing music by Michael Nyman and Philip Glass later in the season.

These popular ‘shows’ overshadow the rest of the events – and I’m doing the same thing right now - but it proves a point that for some reason advertising the fact that all of Stravinsky’s ballet scores are being performed this season (which they are) won’t draw a ‘new’ crowd like that of a Bollywood spectacle, or a token rock star. The producers and those media vents in their pockets are perhaps somewhere between a rock and a hard place, because they need to be seen to be trying to attract a cross-section of society.

Is it enough though I wonder? The Proms Preview Concerts, such as the one I attended last night, take in just three other places: London (!), Brighton and Bath… that’s hardly a cross section. Televising concerts in open spaces around the country? Nice idea, but how about actually stage some of the Proms concerts at venues across the country; there are many fine halls that would suit, and a good deal closer to the homes of ordinary people who might think twice about travelling to London – whether the ticket itself is affordable or not. Quality? Certainly. Accessible? Not quite enough.

For more information on this year’s BBC Proms programme visit www.bbc.co.uk/proms.

With thanks to St George’s Bristol – http://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/.

Context conflab...

2009-04-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

Watching BBC One’s The Apprentice is often an entertaining experience – though it has turned into something of a pantomime in recent years. Comedy aside, watching the show has – for me at least – become a weekly round of ‘Name that Tune’. Composer Dru Masters is credited as the series composer in the end credits, but there’s little evidence of his presence. Instead the producers happily seize upon an array of film music cues week in, week out.

Last Wednesday’s edition saw a host of filmic tones slapped onto scenes of ineptness, comedy and otherwise, with notable use of cues from Thomas Newman’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Murray Gold’s Doctor Who (Series 3 to be exact) and music Debbie Wiseman penned for a Bertolli commercial some time ago. Thomas Newman is a firm favourite it seems, as his music often appears in the series – particularly pieces from Wall•E, Little Women and the aforementioned Lemony Snicket adventure – while cues from Rolf Kent’s About Schmidt feature almost weekly.

Sir Alan’s stage is not the only platform to do such a thing, in fact innumerable BBC programmes use music from film to underscore documentary, current affairs stories and even drama from time to time. Last year’s delightful travel series Stephen Fry in America is a case in point too; the six-part series was treated to original music by both Debbie Wiseman and composing duo Molly Nyman & Harry Escott, who each did a fine job. While the episodes Debbie scored featured entirely her own music, the Nyman/Escott instalments were littered with film music references. The most bizarre instance saw Fry enjoying a hot-air balloon ride to the tune of Jerry Goldsmith’s ‘Main Title’ from Alien. Now we all know that score was a bug bear for the late composer, but I’m sure even he would have shivered at the thought of his composition being used in such a way. Or would he? Do composers care that much about what happens to their music after it’s finished, being that it is written for a commercial medium to begin with? I ran the question by Debbie Wiseman and she finds a positive spin on the issue:

“To be honest, once the music is delivered for the particular project, and everyone is happy with what I've delivered, I feel my job is done, and I'll move on to the next project. Of course, the music can sometimes show up on other projects, in a completely different context, but in a way that's a compliment...it means that the music was liked and used by another producer!”

The Alien example is surely down to temp-love of course… but when you have composers of that calibre scoring the entire episode, why would you need to insist on keeping the temp? Maybe the editor was a Goldsmith fan.

Back to The Apprentice though, and while I appreciate how it is much easier to simply cut and paste existing music onto a piece of footage (and I’ve done it myself many a time) rather than scoring it from scratch, couldn’t the producers have commissioned a set of cues which they might similarly chop and change around? I suppose it comes down to £’s and pence at the end of the day.

I am ranting about this a little, yes… But I can’t help but shudder whenever I hear music written for something so specific, chopped up and slapped onto an image that bears no kind of relation to its creation/inspiration. Perhaps a poll on the most random use of a piece of film music might be fun? What’s the weirdest context you’ve seen/heard a film music cue used in, outside of its original intent?

The Apprentice can be seen on BBC One at 2100GMT every Wednesday, followed by You're Fired on BBC Two at 2200.
With thanks to Debbie Wiseman.

A nice Ring to it...

2009-04-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

What a week or so it has been for live film music in London. I’ve been fortunate enough to find my self in the company of the LSO, the RPO and, last night, the LPO. Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings trilogy opener The Fellowship of the Ring, performed live to picture at London’s Royal Albert Hall was the icing on a very enjoyable cake. Conductor Ludwig Wicki, the man who has been looking after Shore’s baby for the past couple of years now, has been touring the world with this first magnificent spectacle and will soon hit the road with the second instalment The Two Towers. The London audience has to wait a year for Part II of the experience, but last night’s show will surely live in their minds for a long while yet.

What made the performance of this complete score extra special for those in attendance, Wicki himself, not to mention Howard Shore – who was in the audience – was the fact that it was played by the music’s original cast. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices and London Oratory School Schola, were reunited on stage and worked their magic from the opening logos through to the end credits. Those lucky enough to get a ticket, and a good view of the giant cinema screen above the massive ensemble, were treated to a spellbinding presentation of what film music is all about. There was no fanfare, no shouting, just the film and the music and at times I genuinely forgot all those people on the stage before me were even there. That says a lot for the film and story, which always manages to captivate, not to mention the role of the music which immediately became one with the image it was written for. This was the first time I’d watched a complete film with live music and I have to say it was at times a bizarre experience. As I said, it was easy to get lost in the whole film experience and completely ignore the musicians beavering away beneath the screen, except for those moments where a particular sounds rang out – like the immense clanging during the scenes in Isengard – and bam you’re aware once again that this massive, intricate collection of sounds and melodies is coming from the people on the stage and not from a reel of tape, or a disc. I also found myself more aware, mesmerised even, when it came to the big moments in the score – the haunting beauty of the music for the Elves of Rivendell and Lothlorien, aided by the female members of the huge choir; the masculine thunder found in the sections for the Balrog and ‘The Bridge of Khazad-Dun’, not to mention the discovery of Dwarrodelf, the passage between the mighty statues of the Kings of old on the river and the emotional passings of Gandalf and Boromir. Highlights all and each served to whet the appetite for the bigger things that await in the second and third scores – just the thought of ‘The Lighting of the Beacons’ and ‘Mount Doom’ from The Return of the King is enough to make me want to wish the months away.

Technically it’s quite a feat to perform a complete score to picture; while Maestro Wicki did of course have his own screen from which to follow the action, I didn’t see any cans on the heads of the players, so a click-track wasn’t used - which is itself amazing. Of course balance was always going to be an issue, in terms of dialogue, and subtitles were needed so the audience didn’t miss moments in the film; it wasn’t a problem though and on the whole it all played together very succinctly.

The setting of the Royal Albert Hall was perfect and, coming to it just days after my Star Wars experience at the o2 Arena my thoughts were confirmed; this would have been a far better choice for Star Wars: A Musical Journey. The atmosphere in that beautiful space was warm and friendly; the presentation magnificently intimate, though the ensemble and screen were by no means any smaller. This is what a live film and music experience should be like and I count myself lucky to have been there.

I remember having dinner with Maestro Wicki and his wife, amongst other people, in Cannes toward the end of 2006; we were all in town for the performance of Shore’s Lord of the Rings Symphony in nearby Nice. Wicki had come along to rehearsals to meet with Howard Shore for the first time, to make his acquaintance prior to his starting work on this mammoth project. Flash forward two and a half years and I am very pleased to have finally been able to experience what I had been told about that weekend. Truly magical…

My thanks to Jodie Jenkins and everyone at The Royal Albert Hall.

Howard Shore’s score for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers will be presented in the same way by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Voices at the Royal Albert Hall on April 23rd and 24th 2010. Visit www.royalalberthall.com for further information.

o2 D2... or how I survived Star Wars: A Musical Journey

2009-04-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Star Wars cash cow was coaxed – quite easily to be fair – onto the stage of London’s vast o2 Arena this weekend as Lucasfilm premiered the live spectacle that is Star Wars: A Musical Journey. The poor thing is 32 years old – in fact it’s probably a different cow, the original was served up in the commissary at Skywalker Ranch a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away?). Age, and freshness, aside, Star Wars draws the crowds like nobody’s business and nobody does business like George Lucas. With two shows this weekend and a tour of Europe and the US to follow, the money will indeed keep on rolling in. It also means the music of John Williams will be ringing out from stages for a long time to come, which is a great thing.

You might think I’m being cynical - I’m really not; I actually have great affection for Star Wars and lapped up every possible scrap of merchandise I could afford for almost ten years. The one thing I always looked forward to though was the CDs – indeed the music of Star Wars was an early factor in my appreciation of film music. I remember saving my pocket money for months (!) so that I could purchase the ‘Special Edition’ soundtracks in 1997 (though I still mourn the loss of ‘Lapti Nek’ and the original ‘Ewok Celebration’ from Return of the Jedi). As the millennium came and went, three brand new scores had been composed and released (to varying degrees of appreciation) and with that the circle was complete; a journey had been taken by John Williams and we’ve been enjoying it ever since. Compilation albums have come and gone – though let’s try and forget ‘The Corellian Edition’ shall we? – but with Star Wars: A Musical Journey, the story of Anakin Skywalker’s colossal fall from grace and ultimate redemption is told the right way... musically speaking at least.

The stage, shrouded by a large curtain finally came to life – later than anticipated – and the members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra drew our attention with the classic opener of many a Star Wars adventure, the Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare. And so our ‘journey’ began, with our narrator for the evening, Anthony Daniels, guiding us through with his trademark voice and an unashamedly hammy delivery. There was no denying this was a serious, dramatic affair. That said, he was a fine storyteller and the crowd went wild with every reference to his alter-ego (helped along at one point with a gold waistcoat and a brief droid-like walk across the stage).

If you bought the original soundtrack album for Revenge of the Sith you will remember the bonus DVD. Also titled Star Wars: A Musical Journey, it featured Ian McDiarmid sitting in front of the empty stage at Abbey Road Studios where he re-told the story of the saga. This live show is essentially the same concept, though expanded a little (and only a little). In fact Daniels’ script was almost McDiarmid’s word-for-word and the accompanying footage – impressively projected on an enormous screen above the orchestra – differed really very little, though it was perhaps more inclusive of imagery from the original trilogy and more finely edited. I thought then, in 2005, that the piece would make a good live concert and it does lend itself very nicely to a staged setting. The union of words, images and glorious live music always works well and there was a touch of magic about the whole affair – but only a touch.

Musically it was a bit of a surprise as the majority of the pieces accompanying the story were the usual concert renderings of the major character themes and set-pieces. A big thing was made of the fact that Williams had himself arranged his six scores into a two hour suite. It would appear the composer had little to do, save for editing down ‘Luke and Leia’ and putting together a kind of ‘Entr’acte’ for the opening of the second half, consisting of the ever-thrilling cue ‘Carbon Freeze’ from The Empire Strikes Back. That said, there were many highlights including the wonderful concert version of ‘The Flag Parade’, a barnstorming presentation of ‘The Forest Battle’, the always-moving ‘Light of the Force’ and an absolutely brilliant, note-perfect rendition of ‘The Cantina Band’. Further highlights were found in ‘The Asteroid Field’, which wasn’t the concert version but the original cue from the film featuring some fantastic blasts of Vader’s theme and the sweep of Solo and Leia’s love theme toward the end.

Get to the point Michael… Okay, if anything it was a bit too much; the music – whilst performed admirably well by the RPO – was of course mic’d and the resulting sound bellowed and reverberated around the cavernous venue, as did Daniel’s voice. The distant hoots and shouts – and believe me in a space like that they were distant – gave the whole thing the feel of a football game. The emotion of the story itself, not to mention the many nuances found in Williams’ fine themes were somehow lost in the vastness. I’ve often felt there is something awfully lifeless about an arena, which is ironic given that this particular one was full of thousands of people shrieking and many wielding Lightsabers. Intimate this was not, and a concept such as this deserves that I think.

So all in all it was something of a Rebel Assault on the senses and it has taken me a day or so to contemplate the experience – perhaps evident in my writing… Whatever I think though, there’s no denying the size and power of this rather affable bovine and while there were many ironies and contradictions evident at the o2 Arena this weekend, one moment stands out for me: As I walked around the arena before the concert I found myself behind a small family. A very small boy, waving his toy Lightsaber like a conductor’s baton, hummed very loudly – and passionately - ‘The Imperial March’ note for note… That’s the power of this music, and the power of Star Wars… I do believe both will live forever.

With thanks to Lucy Ellison at AEG Europe and David Cox at The Outside Organisation.

The LSO: A Life in Film

2009-04-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

There really is nothing like hearing the music you love played live. Sitting in front of an orchestra is, at the best of times, a thrill, but sitting in front of the London Symphony Orchestra is something altogether different; it’s an electrifying experience. So it was that I found myself sitting a few metres from the mighty ensemble last night at their home stage in The Barbican, as they performed a full programme of film music to celebrate their long (70 years +) association with the silver screen. From their days working the orchestra pits of the great London film theatres, the LSO has somehow been synonymous with the art of film. The art of film music as we know it, i.e. fully synchronised music scoring, formed part of the orchestra’s roster of ‘jobs’ from the art form’s earliest days and since then they have performed the music of some of the idiom’s biggest names and for some of the box office’s most celebrated successes.

To encapsulate a ‘Life in Film’ is no easy thing, but the show’s producers managed to put together a programme that highlighted a good many critical moments in the orchestra’s filmography. From their earliest performances on the likes of Bliss’ Things to Come and Williams’ first Star Wars adventure, through to the emotive realms of George Fenton’s Shadowlands and James Horner’s Braveheart, the ensemble have continued to work their collective magic and the evening’s programme was littered with evocative, memorable music from their glittering past.

A nice touch was the presence of some of the represented composers, whether in person or on film – courtesy of new interview footage projected above the stage. Patrick Doyle and Trevor Jones – who discussed their careers in a pre-concert talk with presenter Tommy Pearson – were in attendance, with the performances of selections from Jones’ The Dark Crystal and Doyle’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire being further highlights. During the on-stage discussion Jones likened working with the LSO to having all his birthdays on one day, and both he and Doyle – who was as wonderfully animated as ever – spoke warmly and with some awe about their regular orchestral collaborators. Another composer in attendance was Philippe Rombi, whose ‘Aria’ from Joyeux Noel proved to be one of the surprising jewel’s of the second half, as was Alexandre Desplat’s specially arranged suite from The Queen. On screen, prior to their own works being performed, were John Williams, James Horner and George Fenton. Williams was of course given the most time and his affection for the orchestra was obvious, while a rather thin-looking Horner – sat in front of a piano – recalled, as many did, the orchestra’s prowess and dexterity. Fenton recalled Richard Attenborough asking him if he’d be able to get the LSO for Shadowlands and he remarked that, while he thought it was a fine idea, he wasn’t sure if they’d want to work with him!

The orchestra performed from genuine orchestrations, which makes a hell of a difference to the listening experience. The intricacies of Williams’ works rang out in all their glory, with the brass and percussion of concert-closer ‘Duel of the Fates’ absolutely knocking the audience’s socks off. So much of the music we hear in concert these days has been arranged by third parties, and that often means there are discrepancies – which perhaps only the truly enlightened fans might notice. But it is testament to this concert’s organisers that the ‘real’ thing, so to speak, was able to be enjoyed. It’s no easy task either, as I’ve been faithfully informed; James Horner is a case in point, for little or no true performable arrangements of his music exist. To hear music from Braveheart played live was a real treat, and while the crucial bagpipe element was absent (replaced by tin whistle), it was worth the effort (and expense) of getting the pages to perform.

Presiding over the orchestra was the indomitable Harry Rabinowitz who, at 93, must be in line for the honour of oldest conductor still working on the podium. While it was lovely to have him conduct, you couldn’t fail to notice that his eye wasn’t always on the ball. After flinging the baton into the front row during the first half, his confidence seemed to give out a little and he often lost his place in the scores, which led him to frantically rifle through pages as the orchestra continued to play. It is perhaps testament to the orchestra's skill and professionalism that they were able to hold it together, with a less-than-dynamic conductor. He is a dear old soul though with an impressive career in music, and indeed film music.

So for me it was a magical evening, and a fine end to a very entertaining afternoon in London, which was kicked off nicely with a matinee of Marc Shaiman’s delightful musical Hairspray - if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to go! Meanwhile there is more live film music to come in London over the next couple of months. This week we have Star Wars – A Musical Journey at the o2 Arena, followed next week by a live performance of Howard Shore’s score for The Fellowship of the Ring (to picture) at the Royal Albert Hall. May 8th sees the annual Filmharmonic gala concert with the RPO, while June 7th sees the LSO back on stage at The Barbican, this time performing an entire programme of music by George Fenton, conducted by the composer.

Long live the LSO!

With thanks to the LSO and Dvora Lewis PR. For more information about the London Symphony Orchestra and to book tickets for ‘The Film & TV Music of George Fenton’ visit www.lso.co.uk

Fighting Horner's Corner

2009-04-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

I sometimes think James Horner is one of the great misunderstood. His enduring presence on the scoring stage over the last thirty years – yes, thirty – has seen him go from classical wannabe and B-Movie composer to one of the most recognisable voices, and names, in film music. To some he’s just ‘that guy who scored Titanic’, to others he’s a master of emotional nuance with a well honed perception of the human condition. He may sometimes come across as ever so slightly aloof, shy perhaps, and it’s no secret that he often finds the Hollywood machine faintly tiresome, but there’s no denying his skill and the identity he has crafted for himself. Has he passed the pinnacle of his career? Perhaps. There’s no doubt in my mind that Titanic was the crest of a steadily rising wave – built from the likes of Cocoon, Willow, Jumanji, Braveheart and Apollo 13. That said, his post-Oscar filmography is littered with box office and critical successes. His triumphs with his two Star Trek entries (The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock) meant his star was on the rise early and echoes of those scores can still be heard in his work today. But is that something to deride him for? Are we to berate an artist for creating a palette and re-using the same colours, nuances and brush strokes throughout their career? It seems so. Innumerable devices, motifs and rhythmic patterns have followed Horner throughout his career; most notably perhaps is the four-note ‘danger/threat’ motif, heard way back in 1983’s Brainstorm (‘Lilian’s Heart Attack’), through to Willow, The Mask of Zorro, The Perfect Storm and even The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. That latter example – his most recent score – is a fine case in point as even though it is reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind and the aforementioned Brainstorm in places, it remains a really rather captivating work and a perfect supporting tone for the film.

Re-using musical ideas, I think, simply cements a stronger presence and is a well conceived move. Today so much film music is merely wallpaper with little or no identity and I can barely think of a composer who is working in the very connective way that Horner still does. Plenty of legendary composers of the past did similar things; in fact it was the done thing in the early days of film music. With the conveyor belt system of production in the Golden Age, composers would often return to past scores and re-use bits and pieces, themes and motifs. Max Steiner – the man who started it all – is a fine case in point; for example Casablanca features music from The Lost Squadron, while his glorious theme for Now, Voyager is re-used for Bette Davis’ turn three years later as Mildred Pierce. Bernard Herrmann was fond of a three-note motif; made famous in Psycho as the ‘Madness’ motif, it was itself taken from his own ‘Sinfonietta for Strings’ (1935), used two years later in his ‘Moby Dick’ cantata and went on to feature in his score for Taxi Driver, amongst others. John Williams famously quoted the motif in Star Wars, which he was finishing up in the year following Herrmann’s death.

When he’s not re-using his own ideas, he’s often borrowing from other people – so the naysayers like to spout. Hands up, it is true to say that the music of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens and Khachaturian have each had some bearing on Horner’s work over the years, but what about the presence of Holst in both Zimmer and Williams, not to mention the effect the likes of Herrmann and Nino Rota had on Danny Elfman’s early work. Aaron Zigman does a very fine Thomas Newman every other score, while Newman himself has, on occasion, been inspired by his late father’s work. To come full circle, and to mention a recently released Horner gem, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids sees the composer take Elfman’s lead and looks to Rota for his main theme, Copland for his ‘Rodeo’ style pieces while the appearance of Grusin’s The Goonies in ‘Ant Rodeo’ can surely be put down to temp-love. Speaking of which, anyone ever noticed Williams’ ‘Banning Back Home’ from Hook is strangely similar to Grusin’s ‘Mountain Dance’ from Falling in Love?

So Horner can be forgiven for simply continuing a trend which has been, and always will be, apparent in film music. While he’s scored some stinkers in his time and doesn’t always come up trumps – Windtalkers anyone? – he remains one of the strongest and most recognised voices in film music. The Spiderwick Chronicles showed he’s still got it and indeed all ears will be on James Cameron’s ambitious 3D epic Avatar when it finally graces the screen later this year. With the passing of Maurice Jarre just this week, we are reminded of the longevity of film music royalty. Williams, Morricone and Barry represent the higher echelons, while James Horner is the head of the next generation, so be nice.

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids is available now on limited edition CD from Intrada Records (ISC Vol 94) – www.intrada.com – while The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is available as a digital download from Walt Disney Records at the usual places, or you can hear it for free by downloading Spotify here in the UK – www.spotify.com/en

One Hell of a Bite...

2009-04-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

Debbie Wiseman's Lesbian Vampire Killers

It was on a relatively grey October morning that I ventured across the country to London; a familiar journey culminating in my arrival at the sanctuary that is Air Studios. Every time I come to Air I’m struck by the friendly atmosphere as people bustle about, many of whom visiting just like me. The cosy, and busy, refectory usually offers a glimpse of someone well known in the music world – last time it was Bryn Terfel, enjoying a bowl of soup. This time Nick Cave, looking somewhat Vampiric - which was apt as just across the way the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra were battling a pack of Vampires, Lesbian Vampires to be exact. As I found my way to the booth, through a cable-covered corridor, a familiar orchestral flurry met my ears – the music of Debbie Wiseman. Later on, back in the refectory, the whys and wherefores of Lesbian Vampire Killers is being explained to a somewhat confused Nick Cave during lunch – ‘so is it the Vampires that are Lesbians, or the Vampire Killers?!’

To set the record straight – so to speak – it is the Vampires who are Lesbians; the killers are none other than James Corden and Matthew Horne, a pair of comedy actors who have unwittingly made it into the public conscience here in the UK through a series of roles and shows – some rather better received than others. Lesbian Vampire Killers though, finds the duo on fine form as Jimmy and Fletch, two friends who decide to get away from it all and go hiking in rural Norfolk, only to find themselves prey for a pack of Lesbian Vampires bent on resurrecting their long-dead Queen.

Back to the scoring session and it’s a tough schedule, but Debbie Wiseman is in fine spirits as usual. Two orchestra sessions fill the daylight hours, while the evening session sees the lovely ladies of the Crouch End Festival Chorus offer their voices, supported by classical superstar Hayley Westenra.

As usual I’m blown away by just how much music can be delivered in such a short space of time – indeed the entire film was scored in one day – and it’s all marvellous stuff. This is not a small score, but a wildly lustrous affair with unrelenting set pieces, fluttering romance and just a dose of comedy. Shortly after I take my seat behind Debbie’s regular engineer Steve Price, she takes the orchestra through a barnstorming cue which supports a hilarious scene involving an axe. As soon as the orchestra lifts off, it’s obvious the director is loving every minute of it and we exchange amused and excited smiles as Matthew Horne burys the axe into the head of his recently bitten ex-girlfriend all to the tune of Offenbach’s rambunctious ‘Can-Can’ (“It’s gonna be called ‘My aXe Girlfriend’ if there’s an album” he tells me, grinning from ear to ear). Later I’m introduced to the enthusiastic director and I’m pleased to find out he’s a big soundtrack fan – and possibly the only other person to have purchased Jaws 3D when it was finally released on CD last year. ‘I bought two!!!’ he reveals.

Of course there has been an album and ‘My aXe Girlfriend’ is not only present and correct, but one of the highlights as well. Having been at the scoring session, heard the album many times and seen the film, I am well and truly adversed in the ways of the Lesbian Vampire – and so it was with a head full of music, snappy one-liners and images of all kinds of gore (not to mention silliness) that I chatted on the telephone to Debbie Wiseman to discuss the most controversial title in her CV yet.

Unusual title… you’d agree the most unusual in your filmography so far?

I think it’s fair to say. Yes it definitely is the most unusual; it’s certainly causing the most controversy and whenever I tell anybody I’m doing it they look shocked. Especially with Hayley Westenra fans, I think they’re all a bit shocked as well; but the thing is that, as I say to people, the film is a lot of fun, it’s not offensive in any way and it’s just fun and the title itself causes controversy and makes people laugh and I think that’s a good thing.

How did you become involved with the project then?

Well about two and a half years ago, believe it or not, I met with Phil Claydon the director and he had heard some of the music I had written for Arsene Lupin and we met in a pub and started chatting about the music. Phil, as you know, is a massive soundtrack fan and he’s been collecting soundtracks probably even as early as you have I would have thought - he started when he was about six or something. He got into soundtracks really young, started to collect them and really has a massive knowledge of every type of soundtrack, from the early stuff – he loves Bernard Herrmann, things like that – all the way up to modern contemporary stuff. So he was so enthusiastic about the music, the score and what it could be and how much fun it could be. It was brilliant because often directors like the music process because it adds such a massive boost to their film, but to have somebody that not only likes the process but absolutely loves it was just fantastic. He’d come over and we’d start work and he said ‘Oh I’ve been waiting to do this for ages!!’ It was just great to have that enthusiasm and to have that support for the whole thing was fabulous.

You say in the album notes that he actually had quite a lot to do with how the score turned out; what sort of things was he giving you in that sense?

Well there were temp track ideas, but also before we even started actually – before he started shooting even – Phil made up CDs for me of all the stuff that he loved and stuff that he thought might work. A lot of that was just for listening and just for fun, and not necessarily to inform the score, but it was just great because he had so much in his head because he’d been looking forward to it so much and been really enthusing about getting started, so he had quite a lot in his head as he was writing it and developing the script. So there was a lot there to listen to, which I did, and then when we started actually working on it, it was kind of starting again really because it takes on its own life and although there were some temp track ideas, most of the time they were just there as a rough guide for editing. So we just sort of started again and that’s the fun bit because, though he’s had a great knowledge about soundtracks and had this background of loving film music, it didn’t make it ‘it’s gotta be like this soundtrack that I love…’ which a lesser director would have fallen into that trap.

So from all that you’ve ended up with this quite massive score; it’s gothic, romantic and funny… It’s actually scored quite seriously on the whole.

Well I think in a way it’s funnier if you do that; the irony of it plays well against the craziness of the situation. I don’t think comedy music ever really works terribly well in a film; I think by trying to be funny with the music often you can kill the joke, because you’re telling the audience and nudging them to laugh, and if they’re not gonna laugh without music, it’s probably unlikely they’re gonna laugh with music. The gags have to work on their own really and so the music plays seriously against it and a lot of the time obviously it’s a crazy scenario, but they’re in terrible danger, the boys, they’re about to be eaten by lesbian vampires and that’s a not a nice thing to happen (laughs). So to play it seriously was absolutely the right thing to do, because they’re in terrible danger, even though James Corden keeps going on about ‘I know something really wrong is happening here, but can we just ignore it?!’ (laughs) So of course it’s silly and of course it’s a crazy story, but I think it’s done with such love and the way it’s delivered – the two boys are so funny it, they’re very endearing characters – hopefully people will go along and grab a big bag of popcorn and enjoy it; it’s that sort of movie.

Typically your music is very thematic; what sorts of things have you come up with this time?

Well I guess the main one is the Lesbian Vampire theme itself because that sort of threads through, so you hear that in the opening prologue. In fact that was the very first thing I wrote; I was coming up with the idea of having something that was quite gothic and quite epic, but that also could be very beautiful and small at the start, so you’re teasing it a little bit at the beginning of the film. I played it to Phil and that theme stayed virtually exactly the same as it did from day one, I hardly changed a note, because it just sat really well and a lot of other things grew out of that quite naturally so it was quite good that it was nailed quite quickly. A lot of the other stuff, certainly the horror stuff was harder to nail and I tried out a couple of different ideas on Phil. I think the themes for that were harder because we weren’t sure whether to go all out horror or whether just to keep it slightly more magical and dark. There’s a very fine line between slightly overdoing it and slightly not, and that was quite hard to get right. The comedy stuff was more straightforward, there are a few comedy scenes and lighter touches which were easier to get right, then the real sort of action/adventure stuff, stuff where they’re bashing down doors – or not able to bash them down – and the running and big chases in reels four and five, those also were quite hard to nail and I did two or three versions of lots of those cues before we ended with what we’ve got in the film now.

Does that become more motivic than thematic then, that sort of scoring?

Yeah and it was getting the kind of big, chunky sound that Phil was after – very rhythmic and quite driving – without it sounding… It’s quite difficult to explain actually. A bit like the film itself, it’s very full on and it delivers the gags and then it moves on; it’s very quick and fast paced. He directed it and always wanted it to feel a bit like an animation; you know the way in an animated film the characters come to life so directly and then it’s over and done with and they’re off doing something else, and that’s what he wanted with this. He wanted the music to do that as well, so it literally leaps from one thing to another without bothering to make a nice neat join; one moment you’re in action/adventure land, the next you’re in magical land, the next moment you’re doing all out horror, the next minute it’s comedy… He just wanted that to happen and not to apologise for it, so it was getting into that vein of writing – which is very different to anything else I’ve done, and it was getting that atmosphere right…

Is that slightly more ‘Hollywood’ in that sense then, to be creating such a relentless, almost wall-to-wall sound… It did strike me as such when I reviewed the album, whatever ‘more Hollywood’ actually means (laughs)

I think so, possibly… I was interested that you said that. I guessed what you meant was that, yes, the directness of it, the directness of the approach…

Relentless, colourful, but not too repetitive and turning on its heel as you say…

That was the intention, to try and keep it lively and to give it that sense of excitement where it needed it, keep the drama moving on. I mean that very last sequence where he picks up the sword and he throws it, you know he’s a Hollywood hero at that moment and so the surging brass there and all that sort of stuff was to really play that up. Here he is, Matt Horne kind of looking like a Hollywood film star, saving the day!

Helped along by you…

Yes (laughs)

You mentioned the brass, which is fantastic, and it’s of course courtesy of the RPO, along with Hayley Westenra and the Crouch End Chorus… It’s becoming a regular cast.

Yeah… It’s not kind of intended. I do like the sound of the RPO brass and they do make a really great sound, they play beautifully together and create big sounds with seemingly very little effort – though I know a lot of effort goes into it. Having Hayley on board was really because Phil always wanted a choir and when I met him for the first time two and a half years ago one of the first things he said was ‘I really want it to sound epic and I’d love to use a female choir…’ – so he already had that in his head. But the solo voice came kind of later on, because once I’d written some of the choral cues it seemed there were obvious moments where a solo voice could be used as well. That’s when I suggested Hayley, because I just love her voice ‘cause it’s so pure and I can use it like another instrument; unlike say if I used a modern opera singer who might use a lot of vibrato, or make more of the notes than you necessarily want in something like this. She sings what I write very purely and it comes across sounding hopefully just like another instrument, but beautiful…

She has an ageless voice I think…

Yes that’s true, that’s a very good point, you don’t really know. I played a CD of hers to Phil when we were talking about using a soloist and he just loved it. Luckily she was free and was able to do it, because she has a crazy schedule and we were really fortunate that she was able to do it.

Returning to specific moments in the score, one of the standouts is ‘My aXe Girlfriend’… What was the idea behind that, using the ‘Can-Can’?

Well that actually was one of the hardest ones, that scene with the axe and poor Judy turning into a vampire… We must have written it four, five or six different times, I mean I wrote all kinds of different things; I wrote a crazy waltz that went round and round and round, I did something very very fast like an animated/cartoon sequence. So we tried loads and loads of different things and I don’t know where it came from and I don’t know how it ended up on the temp track, but the full Offenbach ‘Can-Can’ was originally tried as a temp track along with five or six other things and it was kind of felt that it was so crazy and so silly that it really really worked. So one day Phil said ‘why don’t we just think about using a bit of the ‘Can-Can’ and see if that works…’ So what I did was start the cue – it’s not the ‘Can-Can’ at the start – and then when he grabs the axe and goes across the room with her it’s there and at that moment it’s absolutely 100% the ‘Can-Can’. You only probably hear about twenty seconds of it; it just comes out of nowhere and hopefully will make people smile… It was really tough to do that sequence, but in the end everybody just loved it.

So you’re appearing at Filmharmonic once again this year, will the Lesbian Vampire Killers be making an appearance too?

Yeah definitely, I’ll be doing a suite from LVK – I’ve already written it actually, or put it together more or less – not with Hayley unfortunately as she’s out of the country, but it will be just an orchestral suite of all the main themes. I’m also doing a new version of Tom & Viv, which is quite interesting because Tom & Viv was my first film score and this is the most recent, so I thought I’d put them together. So that’s what’s happening! It should be a good night…

You were working on a ballet… Is that still premiering in July?

Unfortunately the ballet got a little bit delayed. There’s a slight problem with one of the financers; it was a bank that went under because of the credit crunch stuff. So it’s just been slightly delayed; but it’s not a terrible thing and will only probably be delayed by a month. I am work-shopping Feather Boy (the musical with Don Black) with the National in July; it’s been re-written and re-shaped as a new full-length musical. We’ve just cast it with old people and young people now, so we have this more binary attitude to it; I’m really looking forward to that and hopefully we’ll take that on after the workshops.

So one last point on Lesbian Vampire Killers… Is there a favourite moment for you in your music?

That’s a really hard question ‘cause I’m so close to it now… I think for me it’s in the last reel, so on the CD that would be the one that’s actually called ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’. That track I really enjoyed, because it took quite a long time to get it to feel as good as it could feel and just writing that and sustaining that kind of momentum – for seven, eight minutes – right to the end as he throws the sword and saves the day. That whole sequence and the build to that was quite a challenge, so that was good fun and I guess for me that whole sequence was the standout bit.

When you sit down and watch the film, or any film you’ve scored, are you really tuned into the music and the memories of working on it?

Yes it is strange… Now I am anyway. In two years time I’ll be able to watch it much more dispassionately and will be able to sit back and just watch it as a film, because the intensity of what you’ve done and how hard you’ve worked on it, it’s just that bit further away and so you can become just a bit more objective about it. Also you’re there at every stage – I went to the dub on this, I saw the final mix and so I have seen it many many times. I love seeing it when it’s finished, because that’s your treat at the end you know, it’s there and it’s done and it’s finished and hopefully everybody is happy with it. That’s great and that’s why you do it, but I will be able to – in a couple of years time – as I do with stuff that I did when I was first starting out, not listen as such, but I can certainly watch a film that I’ve done two or three years ago and not really think about the music. I’ll have the memories of it, but it will be much less in the front of my mind and I can sit and have a nice time just watching the film.

Lesbian Vampire Killers is in cinemas in the UK now, with the album available from Silva Screen Records (www.silvascreenmusic.com)
My thanks to Debbie Wiseman, Phil Claydon and everyone at Air Studios.

Good Mourning - Maurice Jarre 1924-2009

2009-03-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

As a lover of film music, it's always sad to hear of the passing of one of the greats. Today the world lost Maurice Jarre... There's something about his name even that evokes a sense of exotic romance and then there's the music, matching the name with its broad, exotic strides, sweeping romance and just a touch of fire.
I expect as word has spread of his death, from Cancer at the age of 84, stereos, computers and iPod's the world over have collectively poured out music from the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Ghost, A Walk in the Clouds or Witness, a show of collective mourning through music. It's funny how we - and I'm assuming that people like me do the same thing! - will hear news like this and go straight to the CD shelves and pluck something out to listen to, a private memorial to someone you don't know, but whose music has moved and excited you. My own collection is somewhat sporadic, spread between CDs (at two addresses) and a vast iTunes library. Easy grabbing distance was Silva Screen's 'Film Music By Maurice Jarre' - incidentally the first album I penned sleeve notes for - and so that became my mourning music of choice. The 'Overture' from Lawrence of Arabia - the film that brought him to the wider world's ears and earning him the first of three Oscars - still raises hairs, the battery of tympani and brass at the beginning, followed by the sweep of the main theme, while the likes of Ghost is a musical diptych of romantic orchestral flourishes and steely, unearthly electronics - a musical play on the worlds of Heaven and Hell.
While he scored well over 150 projects during his career, it will be his enduring collaboration with the late David Lean which will be seen as the pinnacle of his presence on film. Watching the wonderful Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert - Lean By Jarre - on DVD is always a thrilling and emotional experience; it's plain to see, not just through the music, but by Jarre's final words, how much affection the composer had for his old friend and collaborator. It will now have even more of an impact, knowing the composer too is no longer with us. Indeed the stars just keep on going out, which is a sad but inevitable fact.
As with any composer though, we have their music to remember them by after they're gone and Maurice Jarre's stream of now classic tunes will live on forever.

Rediscovering Old Gems... and Spotify

2009-03-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

A while ago I planned on reviewing the original E.T. The Extra Terrestrial album for Music from the Movies - believe it or not there is no review of it, like many other classic releases that ought to be covered on the website. I came to the music of E.T. through the film of course, but on album the first disc I owned and got to know was the 1996 album, of the remastered and extended score. What I didn't realise at the time was that album was actually the first time the actual score, as heard in the film, had been released. So, blow me down, when I clapped ears on the original 1982 MCA release (on LP and CD) I discovered a whole new take on the classic cues I had grown to love. It was of course the done thing back in the day, to record an album presentation of a film score so as to give it a more rounded listening experience, a package of all the best bits if you like.
Inexplicably, on the flip-side, I had been enjoying the original MCA release of Williams' Jaws for some time, not realising that it was an album recording and not the original score at all. Of course once I was a confirmed film music 'nut' I could tell that something was amiss and upon the 20th Anniversary of Spielberg's fishy tale, all became clearer still as the original score was released by Decca.
I still return to the original album recording often, as it offers wonderfully fuller versions of what are actually much shorter cues in the wider score; take 'Promenade - Tourists on the Menu'... On the full soundtrack album it is a brief ditty, seemingly chopped around, unlike the album presentation which allowed Williams to breathe life into his chirpy, tongue-in-cheek composition. It is if you like a concert presentation, which the aforementioned E.T. disc is full of; 'E.T and Me' is a beautiful highlight, while the opening strains of 'Three Million Lightyears From Home' present all sorts of additional flurries and colours that don't feature in the score itself.
This may all be old news to many, but for me they offer a fascinating shift in perspective, a chance to rediscover and fall in love again with favourite pieces of music.
Williams has had the opportunity to return to his great film works many times, thanks to his long association with the Boston Pops Orchestra. His annual 'Film Night' at Tanglewood, and dozens of albums with the ensemble have seen him re-imagine themes from his scores over the years. Just this year he will present a brand new suite from E.T. featuring harpist Ann Hobson-Pilot... One album I have bizarrely only just listened to for the first time is the 1993 collection Williams on Williams - The Classic Spielberg Scores. Of course I was aware of its existence, and I had in fact picked it up in Virgin Megastore on every visit when I was a child and put it back again, figuring having another Williams compilation was a waste of money when I could discover new sounds. How wrong I was, for the disc is a classic example of the composer re-shaping classic tunes, though I suppose I only feel that way about those tunes all these years after hearing them in their original forms. With the album being released in 1993, it of course offers up to date music from the fruitful Spielberg-Williams Collaboraton (incidentally the title of the Williams CD I already had as a child when ignoring this one) and as such it presents music from Schindler's List, Jurassic Park and Hook alongside examples from their years together on film. The latter title remains one of the busiest and most engorged of scores, thanks to the music's long gestation and the lack of a completed film from which to work. Here though, Williams - two years on from its release - returns to some of the score's highlights and re-presents them in gloriously longer casts. 'Smee's Plan', 'The Lost Boys Ballet', 'The Banquet Scene' and 'The Face of Pan' see familiar and cherised refrains expanded and re-worked into concert works, with the latter one of my favourite Williams compositions (originally titled 'You Are The Pan' on the soundtrack album). Further highlights, and more personal favourites, include 'Jim's New Life' and 'My Friend The Brachiosaurus' (from Empire of the Sun and Jurassic Park respectively) - both are standout moments on their original albums, set apart from the score that surrounds them and longing for more attention, which is dutifully given by the composer here.
I listened to the Williams on Williams album on 'Spotify' - the new online music portal, with a difference. I had heard about it on the news a while back and didn't really think much of it... however I am converted well and truly. Layed out similarly to iTunes, the platform allows you to search music, artists and albums, but unlike iTunes you can listen to entire tracks and indeed entire albums - and all for free. You can create playlists, which I've found is a useful way of logging albums you'd like to listen to for future reference without having to trawl through the sometimes lengthy search pages.
What's the catch? Advertising... It's a little like listening to the radio, for after a handful - or more - of tracks, you have to listen to a 30second advert. If you press mute on the computer, it pauses the ad, so you have to listen. I patch my computer through my stereo, so can simply mute it. It's not actually a big deal and they are soon over; the ads never iterrupt tracks as they play, but appear between them here and there. The good thing about the idea is that it probably will inspire people to purchase what they hear on CD or online from the usual places, rather than stealing the music so they can simply hear it. Hopefully.

The first one

2009-02-22T04:07:00.000-08:00

Okay so here goes.

I'm a bit new to all this blogging lark and while I've seen my fair share of blogs over the years, I've shied away from dipping my toe in the vast pool of 'blog'. However, I'm a writer - and a web journalist at that - so I feel it's time I dive in.

Hopefully this will be somewhere where I can wax lyrical about things I've been listening to - without having to write an entire review. I may even, on occasion, bleat on about something entirely unrelated to movie music - so buyer beware.

Welcome though, in any case, to this sanctuary of blogdom - Film music and more besides...

Michael