Sunday 8 February 2015

MUSIC IS THE FOOD OF LOVE SO PLAY ON..........AND WHO WILL WIN THE MUSIC AWARD TONIGHT

This is my first blog entirely about music. Music is my passion.
Tonight is the BAFTA's, one of my favourite UK events, and I am lucky to be invited each year.

I am often asked what pieces of music I love most and the following are the keys to keep my sanity holding the reigns to my universe' It is the unspoken word, the note that moves me or does not. I have loved music all my life,  it invaded my life at the early age of about five when I had to stand up and sing at school endlessly in choirs and solo. Singing Sister Angelica, Puccini at school at about twelve started my path to further exploration. Playing the piano especially the work of Bach's  two part inventions,  starting with  C, played here by Gould. This touched my soul despite my school girl ability, it has been with me throughout my life.  The earliest pop music I listened to that I can remember was that of the Beetles, but I loved Handel, I loved Purcell and I loved Jazz, Miles Davies. When most people were singing  the lyrics of the latest bands I would quickly lap up the tunes by Purcell. I loved singing "When I am laid"from Dido Aeneas. actually I equate music with sex.  Later, I loved The Velvet Underground the craziness of Andy Warhol, the dark perversions of this man who was neither well dressed or outspoken grabbed my attention. He was so out of fashion that he was in. I loved him and the androgyny of Patti Smith too.  Then there was Lou Reed who for me was a magician.
I was obsessed by film composer Maurice Jarre who wrote the music for Dr Zhivago and The Damned and Bernie Hermann. These were my two favourite music writers. The piece that Bernie wrote from my Grandfather, Sidney Gilliat's film Endless Night filled me with foreboding. I loved the music of Frances Lai for Bilitis, the naive sexuality of young girls explored by his brilliant writing.
There are so many scores I have enjoyed, Amelie  by Yann Tiersen, The English Patient by Gabriel Jared; St Trinian's by Malcolm Arnold; The Mission,  Romeo and Juliet score by Nino Rota original. So many that I have listened to non stop. Without composers and their compositions I would have not lived life, what turns me on is music, unlike the spoken word, it rarely hurts, it is deeper than that.
My mother and my son both love Opera and of course I do too, but I truly love the music of film more. Borrowed often from great old composers, Beethoven's 9th,  in Clockwork Orange created havoc in a film that was both banned and slated.


Through music I have discovered my Neverland, Michael Nyman's score for the soul searching film by Jane Campion The Piano to Alexandre Desplat's music for Lust Caution, exploring sexual betrayal. I am a true fan of these open minded geniuses that write with passion. There are so many more to mention but there we are, a blog is a blog. Replying the question I was asked this morning, "If music be the food of love, play on....." Duke Orsino from Twelfth Night by Shakespeare.



Tonight at the BAFTA's  it is the music scores that will hold my attention, they make a film.
BAFTA SCORES TONIGHT
What should have won tonight probably won't and some have not been nominated.
Birdman's score by Antonio Sanchez.  It was the most imaginative.
The most complete, brilliant and prolific scores today are by Alexandre Desplat, so tonight he may have a chance. Of course there is Hans Zimmer too..
Who will win is anybody's guess? Johan Johansson score for Theory of Everything is without a doubt, in my opinion, beautiful, but I prefer Desplat's original. At my music school they would tell him off.  I hear phrases from Benjamin Button, Kings Speech and so on. The director obviously wanted  Desplat to score and got someone to copy it. Easy to do. I did the same with my film, The gun the cake and the butterfly.
Here is the complete list of BAFTA nominees from The Telegraph.

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