Carl Davis: Maestro E-Book

Wendy Thompson

• Herausgeber: Faber Music Limited
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

How do you bring a forgotten silent film back to life? What are the techniques behind writing a successful film score? How do you work with and inspire choreographers? Carl Davis's fascinating story gives an insight into the prolific composing and conducting career of one of the world's most celebrated film and television composers. Born in New York, Carl Davis spent his early years of his career in American before going on to study in Copenhagen. From there he moved to Britain and entered the worlds of classical music, theatre, film and television. He has since composed almost 400 film and TV scores, winning several BAFTAs and Ivor Novello awards, as well as establishing himself as the number one choice to score silent films.Some of his most recognisable work includes the soundtracks for The French Lieutenant's Woman (BAFTA/Ivor Novello Winner), Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV Series), Scandal (1989) and Cranford. Written by Wendy Thompson, Carl Davis: Maestro is a glimpse into the life of a consummate all-round musician and his impact on many spheres of music-making. This is the full eBook version of the original hardback edition

Leseprobe

CARL DAVIS: MAESTRO

WENDY THOMPSON

For Sara

CONTENTS

Title PageDedicationOvertureIFrom the beginningIIMusic for the stageIIIMusic for TV and radioIVMusic for silent filmsVOn conductingVIMusic for feature filmsVIIBallet musicVIIIConcert worksCoda: Into the futureAcknowledgementsPlatesCopyright

OVERTURE

Islington, London. A dank, dark afternoon in early December, 2015. The shops are bright with Christmas lights; people are hurrying quickly to and from the tube station to get out of the persistent drizzle. In a recording studio just off Upper Street, members of the Philharmonia Orchestra are sitting quietly, headphones on, preparing to start the 14th of 16 sessions recording over five and a half hours of music written to accompany one of the most enigmatic classics of the silent film era – Abel Gance’s monumental Napoléon. Chris Egan, a highly experienced producer from the world of pop music and West End musicals, sits in the control room, directing operations. This is his first experience of working with a more classical orchestral score, but there’s no doubting the acuity of his ear. Time is money in the recording world, and everyone works to precise deadlines. On this project, he is working with the conductor and composer Carl Davis, one of the most respected figures in the film, TV and theatre worlds, and the creator of ‘Live Cinema’ – concert performances of his scores accompanying the screenings of silent films. These are in huge demand all over the world. In October 2016, Davis will celebrate his 80th birthday, and the event will be marked by the simultaneous release on DVD, Blu-Ray and CD of a newly restored, digitally cleaned-up version of Napoléon, the score that represents one of his most notable achievements.

This afternoon they will record just 15 minutes’ worth of music, in the course of a three-hour session. The section covers a scene in Bonaparte’s native island of Corsica, where the young army lieutenant, played by Albert Dieudonné, is outside an inn facing down a mob of surly and unappreciative peasants who would like to see him dead. Dieudonné dominates the small studio screen, a mesmeric presence. He acts with his extraordinary eyes, commanding authority. ‘No … Our fatherland is France … …with me!’ reads the on-screen text box. The session begins. Davis counts in the click track. The orchestra plays the majestic ‘Eagle of Destiny’ theme, representing Napoleon’s ambition for himself and his country, and then segues into a lively tarantella. ‘Cut,’ says Egan. He queries a missing note in the second oboe’s part. Carl Davis confirms that it should indeed be present. The second oboist says that the note is missing from her part. It is restored, and another take begins. Egan queries the dynamic level of the trombones. The trombones agree to delay a crescendo by a second or two. Throughout the afternoon, work proceeds apparently at a snail’s pace, with minute attention to detail. Even working with a highly professional band like the Philharmonia, Egan and Davis have to be satisfied that every tiny section of music is absolutely perfect and will synchronise with the images on the screen. Every section is taken, and retaken, and taken again, until that perfection is finally achieved. The session comes to an end; instruments are packed away, and Davis and Egan pore over the results on playback. Two more sessions to go, and this unbelievably ambitious project – for many years an impossible dream – will be on the road to fulfilment.

I

FROM THE BEGINNING

The premiere of Napoléon on 30 November 1980 at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square marked a watershed in Carl Davis’s life and career. It was his first major appearance on the podium, and since then his career has run along the dual paths of conductor and composer. For more than half a century this mercurial New Yorker, with his ‘can-do’ attitude, quick wit and ironic smile, has occupied a unique place in British musical life. Able to produce scores at lightning speed and eager to collaborate with impresarios, choreographers, film directors and orchestras, he works in an impressive range of musical genres. If one avenue shows signs of drying up – always a risk in the commercial world – he simply turns his hand to another, often working on several projects simultaneously. His award-winning film, TV and ballet scores are internationally praised for their brilliance in capturing the mood of a scene, a character, or a fleeting moment. He has played an integral role in the reappraisal of masterpieces from the silent film era, and their performance with newly composed orchestral scores. Orchestras – notoriously surly about their conductors – appreciate his down-to-earth attitude, while his inclusive, unashamedly populist approach to concert programming, which springs from a burning passion for communication, continues to break down the cultural barriers that surround classical music, whether in matters of repertoire or concert-hall etiquette.

Napoléon brought together Carl Davis’s past and future. His cultural education as a child growing up in New York City in the 1940s was all-inclusive. He was equally fascinated by opera – as a teenager he stood to watch performances at the Metropolitan Opera House – as by musicals, especially the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls. New York was enjoying a huge renaissance in dance, with classical ballet productions at Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre, the tail end of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and new works from the legendary Martha Graham, doyenne of contemporary dance. There were movie houses all over New York, showing both American and European films. And there was a great deal of music on the radio – both on the classical music station owned by the , and on the New York City station, which broadcast 24 hours a day. Davis says he heard a huge amount of music, and responded eagerly to the stimulus.