Review: City Lights at Glyndebourne.

On Saturday November 20th, I travelled to the renowned Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex, to see (and hear) one of Charlie Chaplin‘s masterpieces, “City Lights“ (1931). The film was projected on a big screen and was accompanied by Chaplin’s own original score. The music was performed by the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra under the baton of Jamie Phillips, who was making his debut at the Opera House.

 

Chaplin started making “City Lights” in the late 1920s following a somewhat rocky period when he made “The Circus”. In 1927 the world’s first talkie, “The Jazz Singer,” was premiered in New York and cinema changed forever. By 1930, silent films were seen as obsolete but Chaplin was determined that “City Lights” would follow on in the grand silent tradition.

 

Chaplin composed his own musical score with the assistance of arranger Arthur Johnston. Chaplin could not read or write music in the conventional way and needed a professional musician’s help with the details.

 

Amazingly, I have never seen “City Lights” in full until now. The music was played brilliantly and the orchestra exceeded my expectations by managing to replicate the 1930s playing styles, especially with a high level ofvibrato in the strings, which I believe is crucial when performing such a score.

 

The audience genuinely appreciated the film and it got plenty of laughs. The hospitality of the venue was top-notch. The surroundings were beautiful - it was my first time at Glyndebourne - and the atmosphere was great. After the film finished the orchestra gave a brief encore. Then, after the concert I fortuitously bumped into TV and film composer Paul Lewis and his wife, Sharon, and had a nice chat with them.

 

Me (Left) with Paul Lewis (Right).

All in all, I had a splendid day, and had several firsts: first time at Glyndebourne, first entire viewing of “City Lights” on the big screen, and a first for hearing The Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra. I can only hope now, that Glyndebourne does even more of these screenings in the future.

Podcast: In Conversation With Tommy Pearson.

In this episode, I speak to broadcaster and film music expert Tommy Pearson. This episode was recorded 16th November 2021, via Zoom. Apologies for any issues with the sound quality.

Podcast: In Conversation With Ben Palmer.

In this edition, I talk to conductor Ben Palmer about working in film. This episode was recorded in Berlin, October 24th 2021, prior to a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid” (1921) at the Babylon cinema.

New Podcast! In Conversation With Günter A. Buchwald.

In this episode I speak to composer, conductor and silent film accompanist Günter A. Buchwald. It was recorded on Friday October 8th, 2021. At the Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto Festival in Pordenone, Italy.

Film Score Junkie Podcast: First Edition, Featuring Neil Brand.

In this first edition of the Film Score Junkie podcast, I talk to composer, writer, broadcaster and film music expert Neil Brand. This episode was recorded over two days (October 6th and 7th) at the 2021 Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto Festival in Pordenone, Italy.

BBC Proms 2021: John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London.

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet one of my idols, the conductor, John Wilson. I attended the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, in London. John Wilson and his new orchestra, the Sinfonia of London, were performing works by mainly Austrian composers. The highlight of the concert for me, was the “Symphony in F sharp” by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who was from the Viennese School of Composers, and studied under Richard Strauss and Alexander von Zemlinsky. He made a name for himself scoring many golden-age Hollywood films, such as “Captain Blood” (1935) and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938) both starring Errol Flynn.

John Wilson.

The first half opened with the overture from “Der Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss II. Like a lot of well known compositions, you may know what it sounds like, but not what it’s called. That was the case with me. I knew it as the music that accompanied “Tom and Jerry at the Hollywood Bowl” and crashing cars during the opening of Disney’s “The Love Bug“. The operetta the overture was written for, was based on a play entitled “the prison“ by Roderich Benedix.

Strauss’s overture was followed by “Seven Early Songs“ by Alban Berg, and sung wonderfully by soprano Francesca Chiejina. The songs were originally written over three years from 1905 to 1908, but were not orchestrated by the composer until 1928.

Francesca Chiejina.

This was followed by Ravel’s “La Valse”, a piece described as a tribute to the Viennese waltz. At first I thought it was Strauss, but the seemingly chaotic tones and rhythms at the end are said to reflect the descent of Vienna after the Great War.

The Korngold “Symphony in F Sharp” is a piece I have never heard in full. The symphony began with a quiet and mysterious passage, played on percussion with pizzicato strings and piano. Then, as the peace progressed, it started to sound more cinematic. At various points I was reminded of the scores from “Jaws” and “Indiana Jones”. It seems to me (and has also been commented on by others) that John Williams was influenced by Korngold. It’s my loss, but the only pieces of Korngold that I am familiar with are his “Theme and Variations” and, of course, his film scores.

The concert wound up with a piece by Korngold’s teacher, Zemlinsky, as the deserved encore, a piece that predates film scores but sounded, for all the world, just like one.

I, myself, am passionate about film music, and this is how I became familiar with John Wilson’s work, as he is often associated with music from the stage and screen. In fact I attended this particular Prom because I am familiar with film music history and how it has its roots in the music played at this concert. I imagine that John Wilson chose these pieces because he wanted to show what preceded Hollywood film scoring, to enable the audience to understand the evolution of golden-age film music.

John Wilson (with mask on) after the concert.

Autographs from John Wilson (large signature on right) and members of the Sinfonia of London.

I very much enjoyed the concert and felt so lucky to be able to have a short discussion with John as he left the Albert Hall. His parting words to me were, “Study the music you enjoy!” Wise words indeed.

Watch the full concert on BBC iPlayer: https://bbc.in/3tGu6MF

Listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3nhkwOO

Review: "A Grand Night For Singing" at the Edinburgh International Festival.

When I set up this blog, I originally wanted to talk about film music and film music only. However I have decided to make an exception to that rule (sort of). Last Friday, I went to the Edinburgh International Festival to see a performance of a revue celebrating the musicals of Rogers and Hammerstein, entitled A Grand Night for Singing. It was written by Walter Bobbie and was first performed on Broadway in 1993. This semi-staged and slightly updated version of the show was conceived by American singer and actress Kim Criswell. Those who are familiar with the John Wilson Orchestra, may be reminded of Kim’s wonderful interpretations of Judy Garland classics such as, “The Trolley Song”, “Over The Rainbow” and “Get Happy”. The music was directed by British pianist, conductor and organist Wayne Marshall OBE, Kim’s long-term collaborator. The cast consisted of Kim Criswell, Danielle de Niese, Damian Humbley and fellow John Wilson veterans Anna-Jane Casey and Richard Morrison.

When the show began, Andrew Moore, the festival’s director of music made an announcement. He told us that Danielle de Niese had gone down with laryngitis and was unable to sing... I feared the whole event would need to be cancelled and that I may have travelled to Edinburgh in vain... But, that Jessica Leary would stand in for her singing parts! Phew! This worked so seamlessly, I forgot that Jessica was on the side of the stage, unless I looked at her directly. Because of this I have not had the pleasure of hearing Danielle sing, but it was a real pleasure to hear Jessica sing the part and watch Danielle act it.

(Jessica Leary)

The show got underway with a medley that consisted of the waltz from “Carousel“ and “So Far“ from Allegro before the cast finished their medley with the song that the show was named after, “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from State Fair. The band, led by Wayne Marshall, provided a superb and whimsical accompaniment. Kim Criswell treated us to a lively rendition of “I Can’t Say No“ from Oklahoma!. To continue with the Oklahoma! theme, Richard Morrison opened the second act giving us a rather energised arrangement of “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”. Anna-Jane Casey treated us to spectacular dancing as well as singing when she performed “It’s me” from Me and Juliet.

Other songs featured included “It Might As Well Be Spring” from State Fair, “Love, Look Away” (Flower Drum Song), “A Lovely Night” (Cinderella) and “This Nearly Was Mine” (South Pacific). They closed with “I Have Dreamed” from The King and I. Some of these songs I knew, but others I was hearing for the first time.

After the show had ended I waited outside the stage door, despite the unseasonably cold weather. Wayne Marshall, the musical director was the first to come out, probably because he had less make-up to remove, and no costume to change, but he was shortly followed by the singers. I was lucky enough to both meet and chat to them, and they were kind enough to spend some time with me.

(Me with Wayne Marshall.)

(Me with Richard Morrison.)

(Me with Damian Humbley.)

(Me with Anna-Jane Casey.)

(Me with Danielle de Niese.)

(Me with Kim Criswell.)

So all in all, this was a lively revue-style show featuring a variety of songs from some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s better and lesser known musicals, sung by some of the best performers around. There is something in it for every lover of musical theatre, whether you are familiar with all the works or not. As this was put together for the main Edinburgh Festival, you might not have an opportunity to see this in the near future, but if it should it later tour, or reappear at a later date, I would warmly recommend that you try to see it.