CommanderBond.net
  1. Carl Davis shaken and stirred by the music of James Bond

    By Devin Zydel on 2009-06-26

    After just recently overseeing the spectacular ‘Bond, James Bond’ concert with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (read CommanderBond.net’s report here), conductor/composer Carl Davis is already preparing for his next date with 007.

    The North Wales Daily Post reports that Davis will be conducting Welsh National Orchestra in the ‘Licenced to Thrill’ concert, which will take place on Sunday, 12 July as part of Llangollen 2009 in Wales. He’ll be accompanied by soloists Mary Carewe and Simon Bowman as well as Goldfinger Bond girl Honor Blackman, who’ll be hosting the event.

    ‘The music is terrific,’ enthuses Carl. ‘It’s very dramatic and very sensual with compelling tunes. You hear one and that’s fine. But when you hear the series and you see how it’s spot on the style of the time. They always wanted to be cutting edge.’

    He continues: ‘So you had rather crooning songs at the start (such as From Russia With Love by Matt Monro), then it went rock and roll with Roger Moore (Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and the Wings), then it got rhythm and blues with Timothy Dalton (Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight) and Pierce Brosnan and now it’s really raunchy and raw. So you can almost tell the history of music in the last 40 years. From the start of the Sixties to the moment Paul McCartney is writing a title song for them.’

    Davis also spoke about working alongside Simon and Mary. ‘He’s fabulous. He’s a real theatre creature. He’s done Phantom, he’s done Les Mis, he’s done Miss Saigon. He brings a lot of characterisation to the songs. Simon and Mary are so good they really make you forget the originals.’

    ‘[Simon and Mary have] got to move with the styles. I think they’ll find it fun. And we will have come from doing it at Chichester Cathedral.’

    Tickets for this Bond-themed concert vary in price from £16 to £39. The concert will begin at 7:45pm.

    For further details on the ‘Licenced to Thrill’ concert, see this CBn article.

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