According to Christopher Gunning's Facebook post, composer Patrick Gowers has passed away.
Patrick Gowers was probably best known for his British Television work (Sherlock Holmes, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People, etc.).
According to Mr. Gunning, "He suffered a devastating stroke some 7-8 years ago, and remained partially paralysed; the last few years of his life were thus spent in a nursing home; he was well looked after but felt desperately depressed and frustrated."
Such a sad loss to ring in the new year.
I was especially fond of his score for the Glenda Jackson film, STEVIE, about poet Stevie Smith.
Extremely sad news. Gowers found the perfect musical voice for Granada's superlative SHERLOCK HOLMES series -- I hope more of his work on it gets released someday -- and I'm also very fond of SMILEY'S PEOPLE. (In response to the original post, TINKER was actually scored by Geoffrey Burgon.)
Here is his beautiful "Libera Me," written for the SHERLOCK series (and based on its main theme):
Extremely sad news. Gowers found the perfect musical voice for Granada's superlative SHERLOCK HOLMES series -- I hope more of his work on it gets released someday -- and I'm also very fond of SMILEY'S PEOPLE. (In response to the original post, TINKER was actually scored by Geoffrey Burgon.)
This is very sad. This was a composer of the very best calibre.
Someone has taken the time to post all Gowers' main variations on the Sherlock Holmes theme, and they're sublime. Don't let it be said these composers don't exist today: they're just under-utilised.
He has a masterly chameleon facility for this theme:
Here is his beautiful "Libera Me," written for the SHERLOCK [HOLMES] series (and based on its main theme):
It's the first piece that came to mind when I read the news of his death. I'm particularly fond of The Priory School, with all its repressed emotion, drab settings, but undeniable beauty beneath all of it (with sensitive direction by future Shakespeare in Love director John Madden)
Very sorry to hear this, and also that he had been suffering after a stroke. He had such a wonderfully fluid compositional style. Broody and profound, sometimes akin to Jerry Fielding's work for films like Straw Dogs.
His Holmes scores were consistently excellent, but equally good was his work for a UK TV show called Forever Green, where his somewhat dark and luscious music lent an air of depth to an otherwise lightweight but pleasant rural drama. I would catch a moment or two of that show with his music and think to myself "My god, they don't know what they've got here".
It's so often the case that the industry has a wonderful talent in its midst, yet doesn't quite know what to do with it. He certainly should have done more. But the music he left is rewarding enough.
His Holmes scores were consistently excellent, but equally good was his work for a UK TV show called Forever Green, where his somewhat dark and luscious music lent an air of depth to an otherwise lightweight but pleasant rural drama.
I have never encountered that series, but your post inspired me to look it up and I found this YouTube video. Very nice, indeed!
I hope you don't mind, but I had to share perhaps one of the best moments of Patrick Gower's career, the piece he wrote for THE FINAL PROBLEM entitled "The Death of Sherlock Holmes", it starts at about 47:15 and pretty much sums up my feelings at Mr. Gowers passing.. My He rest in peace:
I hope you don't mind, but I had to share perhaps one of the best moments of Patrick Gower's career, the piece he wrote for THE FINAL PROBLEM entitled "The Death of Sherlock Holmes", it starts at about 47:15 and pretty much sums up my feelings at Mr. Gowers passing..
Here is his beautiful "Libera Me," written for the SHERLOCK series (and based on its main theme):
Whoops ... sorry Wedge: I also linked to that vid because I hadn't seen yours.
The series always gave him some free reign usually towards the Finales, where he could develop the main theme in fascinating ways, always immaculately convincing.
