Last week's correspondence about John Barry's THE LION
IN WINTER score was very interesting.
I don't think THE LION IN WINTER can be equated with the large-scale
historical pictures that Rozsa and North scored, either the film or the
score. As an entertainment the LION IN WINTER is more akin to A STREETCAR
NAMED DESIRE or WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? than it is to the likes
of BEN-HUR or CLEOPATRA. It is, after all, about a claustrophobic holiday
spent with an extremely dysfunctional family. I don't regard it as having
a particularly naturalistic screenplay, either - this is not a criticism.
As for Barry's score, I think it is a fine piece of work. But I'd make
a safe bet (safe because we'll never know) that if North had scored the
film he, too, would have provided intimate, low-key music - although, as
Lukas suggested, it would probably have been more intricate, for good or
ill.
Incidentally, another film with its roots in theatre and also set
during the reign of Henry II is BECKET. This drama is an epic by definition:
scheming King (Peter O'Toole, again) wants to control powerful Church...promotes
best pal to Archbishop of Canterbury...best pal takes new job very seriously...King
becomes miffed...ex-best pal ends up as sanctified martyr. Consequently
it received an epic score (I think his best) from Laurence Rosenthal.
I found the most fascinating part of last week's debate was Lukas's
admission that he has never actually seen THE LION IN WINTER. I've never
been able to really appreciate programme music without knowing the programme.
It doesn't matter whether it is cantatas, oratorios, ballet music, tone
poems, programme symphonies, operas, theatre music, or film music; I cannot
fully "get" the music unless I know the plot, so to speak. I hasten to
add that I have no problem with absolute music per se. I can quite happily
listen to Chopin etudes or Haydn symphonies and often do, but if I suspect
the music has some sort of dramatic context behind it I feel that I am
missing out by not knowing that context. For example, imagine listening
to Richard Strauss's ALPINE SYMPHONY as absolute music: that great arch
structure, the ever-changing orchestration, the thematic development, and
the muscular dynamics would all combine to make it a wonderful musical
experience. But there would be something missing and you probably wouldn't
even know it. I'm not suggesting that you need to spend a bad day on the
north face of the Eiger before you can truly appreciate the ALPINE SYMPHONY,
but it's better when you know what's supposed to be happening. You might
get as much as ninety per cent out of a piece of programme music without
knowing the programme. Why not go for the other ten per cent?
When it comes to a good film score I don't believe you can get anywhere
near a ninety per cent return without knowing the film. Returning to THE
LION IN WINTER, when I listen to Barry's gorgeous music for Queen Eleanor's
arrival at Chinon it seems to me to be loaded with irony. How does absolute
music express irony? Think about that and consider this: imagine Malcolm
Arnold's score for THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI without any dramatic context.
In response to mail bag Barry ...
John Fitzpatrick has the right to his own opinions of course, but
so does everyone else. So what if Lukas Kendall likes Barry? I've got news
for Mr. Fitzpatrick. Barry is huge. Not a current reason, but because of
his massive impact on film music in the 60s and 70s. Anyone who loved film
music in the 60s and 70s is almost certainly a Barry fan. Back then there
were three composers that had any kind of a major constituency: Barry,
Goldsmith and Morricone. As the 70s progressed, Williams came on board.
Of late Barry, to be fair, has dropped out.
Most people judge John Barry for recent scores. Recency effect.
It's the same reason that public film polls always name the last 10 summer
blockbusters as the 10 greatest films of all time. But like so many composers,
his greatness is defined in the more obscure films.
Has Mr. Fitzpatrick seen or heard the film "Dutchman"? Recently
Jane Birkin called this her favourite film score, and said of her famous
composer husband, the treasure of France, "even Serge was jealous about
what John wrote". Any Hollywood score would have destroyed this film. Yet
Barry saw something very unusual and scored it that way.
What about Hammett? A perfect seedy jazz score, an obscure but interesting
film. Walkabout? Petulia? Boom? Seance on a Wet Afternoon? All relatively
obscure films but sporting the most wonderful and innovative scores. Far
superior. These are brilliantly constructed "art" scores.
I still say that the greatest marriage of film and music is Midnight
Cowboy. Unsurpassed perfection. Few composers are capable of writing a
theme like Midnight Cowboy. Fewer still are able to evoke the kind of genuine
emotion that the film's closing moments have.
I'll be the first to admit that Barry has degenerated into a formula.
I am not madly in love with anything John Barry has written in the last
ten years save Across The Sea of Time and Playing By Heart. But look back
into the wonderful 60s. No one touched Barry. Only Morricone and Goldsmith
challenged.
Sadly, most modern film music listeners judge film music by how
loud it is; by how fast the cymbals crash; by how loud the horns blast;
and by how fast the kettle drums rattle. I call it Gladiator syndrome.
It is an anti-Barry syndrome. But then the modern world society likes its
entertainment dumb. A good film is a very noisy one with lots of action,
CGI characters and special effects. The music also has to be loud and noisy.
No one likes intimacy any more. Barry doesn't fit in this world.
Barry was a composer with a perfect European aesthetic. He coated
his films in unusual but engaging themes which fetishised the lavish qualities
of film narrative, and the intimacy of characters. Every movement is so
deliberate and delicate. Practically everybody else says "oh, here's an
action scene, let's get the crash-bang-wallop out", or "oh, here's a love
scene, let's get some soggy violins out". John Barry steps back and observes
something deeper.
I greatly admire composers who look at their films as carefully
as John Barry, who use melodies as obsessively as Barry. In fact I admire
those who can even write melodies in the first place. Not many can. Almost
none of the so-called modern greats can. I also admire composers who seek
music out of the ordinary. I am bored silly of film music that is the same
old 80 piece Wagner. I like composers who explore jazz, or minimalism,
or even pop if it's applied in the correct context.
Out with the bland but noisy Hollywood action score. Bring back
versatile, melodic scores that invoke intimacy. In other words, bring back
the old Barry!
Yes, there is diversity. But I think you'll find John Barry is more
powerfully admired than you think.
