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Classic take on sound of silence
Carl Davis, artist in residence at Summer Music on the Shannon conducts the SMS orchestra as they accompny two Charlie Chaplin films in UCH
FANS OF music and film are in for a treat this weekend as world famous composer Carl Davis returns to Limerick in his capacity as artist in residence at the Summer Music on the Shannon festival.
Davis will be in Limerick to see the staging of his The Mermaid musical on Friday night by members of the SMS Youth Opera, but the highlight festival will be 'The Sound of Silence', which will see the acclaimed composer conduct the SMS orchestra through two Charlie Chaplin films, Easy Street and the Pawn Shop.
Davis, who has had a near 50 year career composing, conducting and performing music on stage, tv, radio and in film with artists ranging from Paul McCartney to the Royal Philharmonic, has found a niche in later life that seems to suit him and provides a magical experience for the audience.
This is composing the music for silent film and conducting an orchestra through live performance, with the film played out behind him as a backdrop.
It makes for a stunning sight, and Davis, while chiefly interested in early Chaplin films, has also done work on movies as diverse as Buster Keaton classics and James Bond themes.
"It turns out I have a particular aptitude for it, and I really enjoy the performing of them, because of the participation of the audience," says Davis from his UK home.
"For an orchestral musician who performs in front of an audience, the silent film experience is amazing, because the audience participate. You hear them laughing, their response is almost like the third element - you have the picture, the orchestra and the public."
Davis picked the two Chaplin films specifically for Limerick, as a result of the success of last year's concert, which saw the orchestra accompany 'The Rink' and 'The Immigrant'.
"That was a real hit last year, everybody enjoyed the format of the concert; short concert and then some films, and to me that is the magic combination," explains Davis.
"We are dipping into that treasure chest again, and coming up with two more fabulous Chaplins of the same style. It will be a barrel of laughs."
Although he never met Chaplin, the famous actor is never far from his mind when composing music for his films.
"Oh very much, from the 1930s on he created his own scores, so we have a textbook of what he liked and what he thought made the films work," says Davis.
"So when I write my own Chaplin music, or any comedy music I have an example in front of me of what choices to make. Chaplin never scored these early films, so I have a clean slate to work with."
While he has composed elements of the scores from scratch, he adds that he "quotes like mad, as is the tradition of silent film music", from other sources, from sources as varied as Gilbert and Sullivan and Haydn.
He is particularly keen about The Mermaid, which he wrote in 1976, as a "bribe".
"I actually wrote it for my own daughter Hanna, as a bribe to get her into a school we wanted her to go to," he laughs.
"Though it was written for children it has been done with a variety of ages and in a variety of locations, so from my experience last year I thought it would suit Limerick very much."
The SMS festival finishes this weekend. The Mermaid takes place on Friday in UCH, while the Sound of Music takes place on Saturday at 8pm. See www.uch.ie for details
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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