After the Oscars, I met Ken Branagh and Emma Thompson for tea and toast
MARION McMULLEN finds award-winning composer Patrick Doyle really knows the score when it comes to movie success
You’ve collaborated with SIr Kenneth Branagh on a number of projects. How did you meet?
WE first met at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith when he asked me to be the composer and musical director for a production of Twelfth Night, starring Richard Briers, as part of his newly formed Renaissance Theatre Company.
What amazed me about Ken was that, having discussed in detail at our first meeting how he envisaged the play, it was exactly as I had imagined. He knew what he wanted but he manages to slot everyone into his work, allowing each person to have his or her own voice.
The production was outstanding, as were the reviews, particularly for Richard Briers. Ken knew Richard was a great classical actor as well as a great comic actor and he was right.
Watching Ken work for the first time, I realised that he was the finest director I had come across, especially for actors.
What was it like working together on the movie Henry V?
IT was my first film and it was an extraordinary transformation in my career path. It launched my career as a film composer.
I played the part of Alexander Court and spent six glorious weeks in the company of some of the greatest British actors of all time, including Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson, Brian Blessed and Paul Schofield.
I knew then that the film would be a huge success and, of course, Ken carried the full weight of it brilliantly on his shoulders, both as lead actor and director. The film is as fresh today as it was then.
What do you remember about the recording of the music?
I HAD the tremendous joy and honour of working with conductor Simon Rattle and we got on like a house on fire.
The recording sessions with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Wembley were a joy and the atmosphere was electric. Everyone had such fun and Simon and the orchestra could not have been more supportive. Even after more than 55 films, nothing touches the extraordinary feeling of hearing your first film score.
You’ve won awards including two Oscars, two Golden Globes and a Bafta. What is your strongest memory of the awards nights?
MEETING Ken Branagh and Emma Thompson at the Bel-Air Hotel bar (after the Oscars), where we kicked off our shoes and had toast and tea, swapping Oscar stories.
I love old cars and, bizarrely, on the night of the Oscars for Sense and Sensibility, the studio provided a stretch limo in the style of a 1930s extended white Rolls Royce, with black runner boards on either side.
There is soon to be a nationwide screening of London stage hit The Winter’s Tale. How did you approach the score?
I, AS always since Henry V, spent time with the actors, watching and studying the work in progress. The score and songs evolved along with the play and the performances.
There are always edits, additions and constant changes as a new show emerges and settles. I worked with my son Patrick Neil and his contribution was invaluable to some of the sonorities and the arrangements.
You’ve worked on many major films. What are your highlights?
EVERY film with Ken is special, particularly Much Ado About Nothing.
I have been very lucky in that I have worked with some of the greatest film directors over the last 20 years, including Brian de Palma, Alfonso Cuáron, Mike Newell, Robert Altman, Chen Kaige, Ang Lee and Régis Wargnier. Each of these directors made great demands of me and, of course, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sticks out.
Sense and Sensibility was a great highlight, working with Emma Thompson so closely, and being Oscar-nominated for this glorious picture. Carlito’s Way with Brian de Palma has become a cult favourite with each generation discovering this masterpiece.
What is your earliest musical memory?
I REMEMBER, at the age of four, I taught myself to play the melody of Catch A Falling Star, sung by Perry Como, in thirds on a small toy glockenspiel with two wooden clothes pegs. I also remember, at the same age, listening to the BBC television test card music in the late 50s and secretly conducting it!
What was the first record you bought?
A 78 RECORD of the William Tell overture from Paddy’s Market in Glasgow. The only pop single I ever bought was a song sung by Andy Fairweather Low – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice – who had a terrific voice if you listen to the recording now. It was a big hit in the West of Scotland where I came from.
Do you come from a musical family?
Hear Patrick’s latest score as The Winter’s Tale comes to cinemas
I COME from an extraordinary family of singers and two of my daughters are terrific singers.
I and the rest of the family were encouraged to sing before we could speak. I have an abiding memory from an early age listening to my mother singing constantly while she managed the house, particularly as she stood at the sink peeling potatoes for a very large family of, eventually, 13 children.
What is your favourite Kenneth Branagh story?
KEN is someone who is very positive, affirmative, gets things done and is a real problem solver.
One day, I considered calling Ken to ask for his advice, as I had a couple of major decisions to make under pressure on a production. In the end I didn’t call him and dealt with it myself. But a few weeks later, I met him in Los Angeles and said “I almost called you because I wondered with all my problems ‘What would Ken Branagh do here?” And Ken replied “Funnily enough, I woke up this morning, and the same thing happened to me, and I thought ‘What would Ken Branagh do here?’”
What makes you smile?
EVERYTHING. Life can be very annoying, but in retrospect, funny.
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter’s Tale will be in cinemas nationwide for one night only on December 4.
Go to branaghtheatre.live for details and to find your nearest screening.