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Just read an informative and shocking interview with the conductor--shocking because the project has Laurie Barry's endorsement and had access to Barry's written scores. I couldn't link the interview, so I've copied it here. Lots about Barry's musical style.
The CD was scheduled for 2023.
Echoing Richard May's post from earlier this year: Has anybody heard anything?
Conductor Anthony Gabriele in interview with violinist and club member Sergej Novoselic
I am Sergej Novoselic, member of the "James
Bond Club Switzerland" and professional violinist
playing in various orchestras. In June 2021 I was
able to join the City Light Symphony Orchestra in
the renowned, acoustically brilliant concert hall of
the KKL Luzern for a special project: Over the
course of five days, we recorded numerous film
music highlights by the famous composer John
Barry (1933–2011), including many of his most
iconic melodies for the James Bond films. The
program was complemented by several other Bond
film scores composed by Monty Norman, David
Arnold, and Marvin Hamlisch, among others.
During the recording sessions, I was continually
inspired by conductor Anthony Gabriele's
profound knowledge of John Barry's music. This
prompted me to sit down with Anthony after the
recording sessions and talk with him at length
about the work of five-time Academy Award
winner John Barry and, in particular, his music for
the James Bond films.
Conductor Anthony Gabriele
Sergej Novoselic: What is the basis of your personal fascination with John Barry's musical language,
and how long have you been exploring and conducting his music?
Anthony Gabriele: What fascinates me about John Barry is the artistic fusion between his classical music
training during his younger years in York, England – choral singing, piano lessons, musical training in
sacred music with Francis Jackson, the Master of Music at York Cathedral – and his work with jazz and
dance bands after World War II. That wonderful relationship between traditional classical music and jazz
harmonies and rhythms. Apart from that, I'm a big James Bond fan, so I know all his Bond music, and I love
numerous other compositions of his from the 1970s and 1980s. This then led me to look into his early work
of the 1960s. Someone who composed eleven Bond scores between 1963 ("From Russia With Love") and
1987 ("The Living Daylights") doesn't just do it out of the blue. I discovered his older, quirkier pieces
from the 1960s, where he really played out his jazzy stylings. His music is not complicated, but there are
moments when it is complex.
On our sheet music, in addition to John Barry's name, there are often those of Nicholas Dodd and Nic
Raine. Who are they?
Dodd and Raine are conductors, composers and orchestrators (an orchestrator prepares a "pre-sketched"
composition in detail for the various orchestral instruments). They both conducted numerous compositions
by Barry when he was no longer able to do so himself. Dodd also worked, among other things, as an
orchestrator for composer David Arnold on his music for "Casino Royale" (2005).
So John Barry and David Arnold had the same orchestrator?
Yes. David Arnold composed the music for five Bond films – from "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997 to
"Quantum of Solace" in 2008 – and it was important to him that his film music reflected that familiar
British sound. So it was natural for him to collaborate with Dodd, especially since Dodd himself did
excellent Barry-authorised re-orchestrations of old Barry compositions, so he was familiar with his stylings.
This came about in this way: In the last ten
years of his life, John Barry no longer
wrote much film music, but focused on
incidental music. He released such music
in 1998 with the album "The Beyondness
of Things". Alongside this activity,
however, he also reworked earlier
compositions. He knew that his music was
played in concert halls, often with a
symphony orchestra. But his earlier pieces
had rarely been written originally for such
an instrumentation.
Nevertheless, they were played, re-orchestrated by other musicians and composers. These new versions of
his pieces did not always represent John Barry's original musical intentions. Sure, the melodies were there,
but the timbres may have been significantly different. In the context of these new recordings of his music,
producers Pirmin Zängerle and Tommy Pearson and I together wanted to ensure that these new recordings
of many of his best-known melodies were as close as possible to John Barry's originals in sound and effect.
During the last five years of his life, Barry made selections from his compositions that would be heard in
concert halls in the future in symphonic form. He thus curated his works for the concert hall himself and
handpicked them.
I'll gladly give you an example: Large parts of his music for the film "Body Heat" (1981) were originally
recorded with synthesisers. For our recording, the synthesiser passages were re-orchestrated by Nicholas
Dodd for two flutes and a clarinet. Dodd exquisitely succeeded in transforming the synthesiser sound of the
time, and with it that seductive, bluesy, sultry mood, into a modern, fresh orchestral sound. Many of these
pieces are exact transcriptions, just as John Barry wanted it. This was possible, because co-producer Tommy
Pearson had access to numerous original handwritten scores by John Barry – thanks to Barry's widow,
Laurie Barry, who provided access.
Nevertheless, there was also score material that was stored in archives to which we did not have access. In
these cases – for example, in relation to some of the re-recorded music from "Dances With Wolves" (1990) – co-producer Pearson made meticulous transcriptions himself, based on Barry's original recordings.
So we recorded music for the CD "Spotlight on John Barry" at the KKL Luzern from June 21 to 26, 2021,
some of which was re-written for symphony orchestra by John Barry himself, some of which was re
orchestrated by Dodd and Raine and authorised by Barry, and some of which was re-transcribed by Tommy
Pearson.
Nic Raine's orchestration is lusher, heavier in sound. He adds more of the same instruments, making the
sound "fatter," fuller. For the new recordings, we reduced these sounds, some of which are a bit too
voluminous orchestrated. Barry composes very transparently. He uses voluminous, fat, big textures very
effectively, but sparsely; only when he wants such as in the themes for the character of John Dunbar from
"Dances With Wolves" or the iconic main theme from "Out of Africa" (1985). Here, the music captures
the big emotions and the expansive landscape. Melancholic, pensive emotions, such as in "Somewhere in
Time" (1980), meanwhile, Barry captures in transparent, reflective, fragile, delicate sounds.
Although John Barry often uses very short motifs – 2- or 4-bar phrases repeated in different
instrumentations – he uses these simple ideas very effectively. Often you need to hear just 2, 3 or 4 notes
and you know what movie, what landscape you are in. Barry was able to create soundscapes with high
recognition value with just a few notes. His music has an unmistakable style.
Tell me how you
perceive his way of
forming melodies.
They are not
ordinary melodies.
Taken in isolation,
they are cleverly
constructed in
structure, but they
sound completely
natural in the
context...
... of the score!
Structurally, it’s
interesting how Barry
Conductor Anthony Gabriele (l.) in interview with violinist Sergej Novoselic
writes. Each piece has a structure like a song: verse – verses – bridge – chorus – coda. He sticks to that
because he knows that structure works. His melodies are always balanced. there‘s a question-phrase and the
answer-phrase. The piece We Have All the Time in the World from "On Her Majesty's Secret
Service" (1969) is a perfect example of this. Because this composition has the structure of a song – it was,
after all, later made into a song, sung by Louis Armstrong – short melodies work here. Barry didn't have to
write a long 12-bar melody. Now, Diamonds Are Forever on the 1971 Bond film of the same name has a 10
bar phrase, but here the whole composition is designed for long phrases. In Goldfinger, everything is built
on fifth chords, and he works a lot with chromatic sequences. This creates a restless, unsettling mood.
Chromaticism instead clichéd diminished chords. He also builds his melodies on stretching intervals, as in
"Out of Africa." A single phrase stretches over an octave and a half! He doesn't try to be overly
sophisticated, but creates sophisticated, stylish music with harmonies and simple, effective motifs!
We approach his work from an academic point of view. Meanwhile, on YouTube, someone wrote the
following about his main theme for the movie "Chaplin" (1992): "This theme evokes feelings of
regret, success, tragedy, loneliness, lost love and the passing of time." And all this in just 3 minutes of
play and with melodies that still take their time to develop!
What also fascinates me is John Barry's distinct inclusion of rests in his music. During our recordings
in the KKL Luzern, you paid very close attention to the fact that we also "play out" the rests exactly.
Music with rests for action-packed Bond films, which are themselves rest-less. A "slow" approach by a
"slow" composer, one might almost think in parts.
The "slowness" aspect in the music is a clever illusion, because used correctly, a restrained musical
approach creates additional tension, and depending on the scene, that is exactly what it needs. The music
doesn't always have to be fast and furious, but it does have to have constant energy...
... also thanks to the deliberate play of rests.
Exactly. Because some of the music is "big
band" style – the percussion plays on
continuously and you have to breathe within
the phrase. This is what keeps the tension. In
the case of other music, maybe you could
leave out the tied-over eighth note, maybe
play a trill a little longer, or put in a long
breath. But in the case of Barry's music, it's
different because the phrases are short. If you
don't play through them with energy, and
don't pay meticulous attention to the rests,
the next phrase is delayed, so the music
actually slows down. If this effect sets in, you
have stretched it too much in the playing.
There are too many gaps and you lose the context. Very importantly, if music is stretched in character and
you keep slowing it down as you play, you're effectively choking it off. So, whenever possible, you have to
think about the next bar while playing and go into it without delay. Never stop. Even though Barry works
with short phrases, as a musician you always have to think in context – a long phrase, so to speak.
As violinists, we have become accustomed to phrasing (i.e., playing a melodic line to its end and
lowering the volume on the last note, for example). In slower music, we do this automatically. We are
not used to holding the note intensely and rhythmically until the break.
Yes, the distinct rhythmic playing and holding the notes out to the second is often found in the playing of a
brass band. John Barry learned to play the trumpet in the early 1950s and he completed his military service
in the Army band. So his compositional inclination for brass band music is no accident. He had his own
brass band, called "The John Barry Seven." The rhythm in his music therefore has a pronounced role. With
the rhythm he not only organises his music, but this gives it energy. With it he keeps "the motor of the
composition running", which makes it easier to play and why the music does not sound leisurely! Sustained,
constant tension and dramatic energy. For John Barry's driving music is not actually fast. Maybe he
sometimes lets sixteenths sound, plays triplets, but there is never any actual rush.
How do you think John Barry differs from other film composers?
Humanity and warmth. His music is not overly complicated, not boastful or elaborate. Barry doesn't use too
many "words" to tell the story through his music. While some composers use a lot of gimmicks, compose
and orchestrate (too) densely, he does not. His music is characterised by warmth and humanity, while
remaining transparent and working with simple elements. Listen to the music of Verdi and Puccini -
composers who understood human behaviour, their circumstances and emotions, and captured them in
touching music.... John Barry has also mastered this. When you hear the first flickering sounds in the music
of "Out of Africa", one immediately feels the rising heat and then the sonorous brass start...
... yes, "the warm blanket", as you used to say during the recordings.
Exactly, that's it. This music is like a big hug, where you feel the heat, the sultriness, the leisureliness. But
the music always keeps the energy, because it goes "somewhere", because it has a rhythm.
Back to James Bond and the iconic, distinctive Bond chords. In Sean Connery, John Barry uses large
minor-note chords (common jazz chord progression). Later, for the Bond films with Roger Moore,
Barry used only simple minor chords. The upper jazzy part of a chord that makes up the
aforementioned non-chord was gone. What remained was the British seriousness.
Yes, he composed for several Bond films, and his music also responded to the particular personalities of the
actors who played Bond.
Even when George Lazenby filled the role of the secret agent, at the beginning of the theme to "On
Her Majesty's Secret Service," Barry uses no less than four minor-note chords to open the piece, every
other one in inversion so that the 4-note melody appears above it, played by a trumpet. Just so the
audience could be sure they were watching a Bond film, despite a new actor. This is a brilliant move -
notes of the same chord overlapping differently in an undefined key.
But now to another piece in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" something else in this context: the
voice difficulties in Ski Chase. Double flutes and oboes....
... and very high notes played on clarinets. It is almost impossible to find a clean recording of this moment of
music, but Barry composed this intentionally, in favour of the incision in the sound. For the playing of the
music, it creates problems because of the wide intervals. There is nothing in the middle to support. One can
make adjustments, but that would be cheating. For our recording for "Spotlight on John Barry," we did it
the way he composed it. It's about the charm of his orchestrations, not just a wall-to-wall sound. The bottom
line is that this part almost has a brutal quality to it, so I really wanted to get it right.
When you compare the Bond compositions of John Barry with those of David Arnold, what do you
notice?
I think David Arnold took great pains to keep his Bond film music British in sound and to pay homage to
John Barry. There are moments in his music where one is strongly reminded of John Barry - for example, the
alto flute playing in the piece: City of Lovers from "Casino Royale" – with its nebulous and ethereal
atmosphere. Arnold was very respectful of the fact that he would be following in very big footsteps with his
Bond involvement in "Tomorrow Never Dies." Whereby he enjoyed Barry's trust, because after all Barry
recommended him to producer Barbara Broccoli. David Arnold is a great composer. He has his own ideas,
but if you listen to his first two Bond compositions for "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997) and "The World is
Not Enough" (1999), you know it's Bond music. He didn't stray too far from the musical franchise because
he knew it wouldn't work otherwise. John Barry put a distinctive musical stamp on Bond. He didn't copy
Barry, but gently moved from Barry to his own "soul" and gave the character and the films a new character
and a more modern feel. For me, of all the other Bond composers, he has done the best work.
Violinist Sergej Novoselic
Many film composers who don't have a classical
background often use mediants which simply
sound uneasy or dramatic, including David
Arnold and Marvin Hamlisch. Do you think
Marvin Hamlisch, who scored "The Spy Who
Loved Me" in 1977, is a “kitschy” or dedicated
composer?
That's a dangerous question. I'd say a little bit of
both. Hamlisch has composed the music for
numerous Broadway shows and their film
adaptations. His composition Ride to Atlantis from
“The Spy Who Loved Me” has an intentional
cheesiness to it and fits into that underwater
sequence in the film. Meanwhile, the piece The Tanker from the same film sounds deliberately structured
and monstrous. He must have spent a lot of time composing it. Pieces like this and others form a perfect
counterbalance to each other. It works!
Finally, a few words about the collaboration with the City Light Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra
is characterised by the fact that it consists largely of young musicians. This seems to inspire you.
Yes, I like the energy. These young musicians want to learn, to hear stories. They appreciate the story
behind something. They don't want to just play music and go home. "Older" orchestra members are always
polite, but often just want to know how to play. I think if you know how the composer felt when he wrote the
piece, or maybe have an idea of what inspired the composer to write it, it affects the playing positively. It
helps to find the way to play the appropriate music. Of course, you don't want to bore the orchestra with
these stories, because we don't have time for that....
... and it jeopardises concentration and focus at best.
Exactly, but if I as a conductor notice that the playing is not "getting there" where I want it to be, then I have
to find something to take out of my "bag" that I can use and tell. Usually the playing is more substantially
concise after that. That's why I like younger orchestras, for their youthful ambition. 80% of this music I
don't think any of them have played or heard before. It's new to them and it challenges them. I think that's
important. The way they look at rhythm, rests, and phrasing is very valuable to them. Nevertheless, I
naturally also value "older" people in the orchestra who, with their experience, their often already existing
knowledge of this music, and their natural feeling for it, can correctly set the direction. Then I have the
feeling that I am not alone. (laughs)
When we started the first rehearsals, I was surprised and thought:
Wow, this project is in very good hands.
It's a passion project for me, which unfortunately had to be postponed several times. Now, however, we have
had time to approach it properly, carefully and respectfully. Proven John Barry expert Jon Burlingame will
write the liner notes for the CD booklet and Laurie Barry will write an introduction. She herself gave the
green light to this project because she felt "it was really about John."
Spotlight on John Barry
Scheduled for release in 2023
Format: Digital and CD
Label: Prospero Classical
Producers: Tommy Pearson, Pirmin Zängerle
Orchestra: City Light Symphony Orchestra, Luzern
Soloists: Valentine Michaud (Alto Saxophone), Olivier Ker Ourio (Harmonica)
Conductor & Artistic Direction: Anthony Gabriele
Text: Jon Burlingame
Foreword: Laurie Barry
Photos: z.V. Priska Ketterer (CLO-Archive) & Sergej Novoselic / Portrait Sergej Novoselic: © Kaupo Kikka
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