Music in the key of sea
TOP CONDUCTOR MATTHEW FREEMAN TALKS TO MARION McMULLEN ALL ABOUT BLUE PLANET II’S UPCOMING ARENA TOUR
You’ve worked on the Abba show, been Shirley Bassey’s musical director and you’re presently working on the George Michael tour. How does working on the Blue Planet II arena shows compare? THE common denominator is the commitment and passion that one has and wants to give to all these projects. There’s something very worthwhile on each show among that diversity.
I’m conducting the Abba concert in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic orchestra in May, that’s always wonderful, a fantastic atmosphere.
The George Michael tour is across the UK and I’m arranging that currently, spending a lot of time listening to George and working out where the arrangements fit within that music without getting in the way.
It’s a real joy to immerse yourself in multiple genres. The Blue Planet II score will also sound so much bigger live than it perhaps does on the television series. The impact of having a large number of players performing through a huge PA system will give the music so much more majesty that you might otherwise expect. What’s it been like working with Anita Rani as the show host? (LAUGHS out loud) Oh god, it’s been so difficult working with Anita – just kidding! She really has a fantastic sense of humour, a real natural sense of what to say. She’s a genuinely great choice as a narrator, is able to inform and entertain at the same time, unique qualities that a narrator needs. She’ll be throwing things at me whilst on stage, so I’ll really have to be on my toes. It will be really great. Where do you find you work best? MY partner has a fabulous old Victorian farmhouse in Hereford and my favourite work space is the top room which has a fantastic view across to Wales. So I like to go there and work. Some of the Blue Planet II score has been prepared while gazing out at Wales! What can an audience expect from the show? WELL as cosy as it is watching Blue Planet II at home on your sofa with a high definition TV screen, seeing the footage in these huge arenas on an enormous LED screen, to see that colour, those underwater worlds so closely photographed, accompanied by an 80-piece orchestra through a huge PA system, it really is a phenomenal and powerful experience. The senses are bombarded visually with images that the public are perhaps not so familiar with.
There was a statistic recently that 10 people have walked on the moon but only three people have been down to the depths of our oceans. Will people find themselves somehow transported? IT’S something I believe you will think about afterwards. It’s one of those performances and experiences that you find yourself assimilating several days later.
Blue Planet II takes us into an undiscovered, unknown world where we see shapes, colours and experiences that are absolutely captivating. We have extraordinary visuals, heightened with music that take the viewer to another level. What can you tell us about the orchestra for the arena tour? THE orchestra on this tour is the City of Prague Philharmonic orchestra. There is, of course, a great tradition of classical music in Prague, a centre for Mozart, a rich musical area. You feel that the players are imbued with this culture which results in a sensitivity and wonderful commitment when they perform.
We have about 45 strings, full woodwinds, brass and a 16-piece choir so we really have the all the elements to create a big sound.
There will also be emotive moments when the choir perform by themselves. What big projects have you and the orchestra been involved with? WHEN you go the City of Prague orchestra’s studio, the walls are covered with plaques and gold disks of successful recordings they have been part of. They’ve performed on many movie, television and soundtrack works. What are the moments of high drama in the arena show? WHEN you’re deep on the sea bed, it’s fairly tranquil. We do have some dark and eerie scenes with Bobbit worms and other more frantic chase scenes with moray eels and octopus chasing crabs for dinner. To be fair I was born in Norfolk and was brought up eating Norfolk crabs so can relate to their appetites! Are people more aware now of the issues facing the planet? THE recent appearance of Sir David Attenborough at the world economic forum meeting in Davos has further heightened the awakening that the Planet Earth and Blue Planet series have driven from their first broadcasts. It’s all come together in a very powerful way as though this is a moment of destiny if you like. To take that subject matter into a live arena context and present this show is always going to be an emotional experience.
The Blue Planet II score will also sound so much bigger live than it perhaps does on the television series. Matthew Freeman