Royal Albert Hall, London
The death of John Barry in January robbed the cinema world of one of its most outstanding soundtrack composers. This one-off memorial concert, co-produced by his widow Laurie and long-time Barry devotee David Arnold, featured his scores, meticulously recreated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a fittingly magnificent tribute.
Barry may have been long associated with the James Bond themes, but his five Oscars were awarded for non-Bond projects and this evening emphasised the breadth and variety of his lush, extravagant compositions. His string-laden theme to the iconic 1965 spy thriller The Ipcress File, preceded here by a tearful video tribute from its star, Michael Caine, remains a sublime exercise in muted, suspenseful menace.
Arguably Barry's greatest talent was his ability to skirt sentimentality while scoring even the most mawkish Hollywood movies, and the London Philharmonic's sumptuous arrangements captured the epic sweep of his brooding scores to Born Free and Dances With Wolves. Their reading of his harmonica-driven theme to Midnight Cowboy emphasised the piece's eerie, pristine desolation, before middle England siren Rumer lent a halting vulnerability to Barry's timeless composition for Louis Armstrong, We Have All the Time in the World.
The evening's climax was inevitably all about Bond. Introduced by George Martin as "probably our greatest dramatic singer of all time," the reliably asbestos-lunged Shirley Bassey was a stentorian force of nature as she reprised her two 007 themes, Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger. It was a fine end to a flawless programme, and Bassey's deserved standing ovation doubled as a fond farewell to the maverick genius of John Barry.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/22/john-barry-memorial-concert
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