Viva Brighton Issue #48 February 2017

FILM
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There Will Be Blood
...but no click track
Hugh Brunt, conductor
of the London
Contemporary
Orchestra, lifts the
veil on the marriage
of music and
cinematography in
their live treatment
of There Will Be Blood,
rumbling the Dome
this month.
It’s one of the great modern original
soundtracks (according to Tarantino). A live version
of There Will Be Blood took time to organise
with the studio and the producers; then we got
a mix of the film with the music stripped out, so
the sound effects and dialogue still come through
the speakers. There’s not only Jonny Greenwood’s
score, but excerpts from Brahms’ Violin Concerto in
D and a piece by Arvo Pärt called Fratres, for cello
and piano.
We don’t perform with a click track - a guide
that keeps us in sync with the film - or a time code
on the screen. No ‘safety harness’ - which means a
lot more preparation (we watch the film dozens of
times - it’s a bit of a treat). But it means the more
romantic music, such as the Brahms, can really
breathe, as long as it’s clear where we need to be. It’s
an old-school way of doing it - as it was with silent
films. But it feels like the authentic way.
When I first saw There Will Be Blood, it had
such a visceral effect on me; there’s some earthy,
raw sounds Jonny draws from the string orchestra.
The counterpoint is the sensitive moments using
just a string quartet or quintet. That balance is
beautifully achieved - there are intimate character
portraits reflected musically and the darker, expansive
material works
so well with the wide
landscape, the shots of
the hills. It’s wonderfully
paced too; it knows
when to bubble with
ominous undercurrent
and when to amplify
something on screen.
An Ondes Martenot
- which features
heavily in There Will Be Blood - is a very rare, early
electronic instrument invented by Maurice Martenot
in 1928. When played well, as it is by Cynthia
Millar, who’ll be at the Dome, it has the same feel
as the human voice. Only one note can be played
at a time, and there’s a lot of sensitivity controlling
the vibrato - it’s a beautiful, haunting sound. I could
only name five or six players around the world who
specialise in it; it’s very difficult to play, and the
instruments are hard to acquire.
Jonny has said he was inspired by the music of
Penderecki, who will take a large string orchestra
and look to emulate electronic sounds acoustically.
It’s really interesting. You get the colour of
the electronic sonority, but with humans making
the sounds.
For live film projects, conductors are more
artisans than artists; the main responsibility is
making sure the music is in sync with the film,
and to be musical within those parameters. Pacing
sections correctly, bringing in players, making sure
that the balance is right, creating dramatic tension
but not overpowering an important line of dialogue
or sound effects - that’s what the conductor ought
to be doing! Amy Holtz
Brighton Dome, Monday 6th, 7.30pm
© Stuart Leech. Courtesy of Miramax and Park Circus 6
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