TSO shaken, not stirred by new Bond program
Audiences can enjoy evening at the orchestra listening to live movie theme songs
As far as British singer/songwriter Sam Smith is concerned, writing a James Bond movie theme song “is the most timeless, classiest thing there is to do.”
So he was delighted when producer Barbara Broccoli and director Sam Mendes selected him to create the theme for Spectre, which was released in Canada Nov. 6.
“Writing’s on the Wall,” sung by Smith, is a soaring love ballad with more than 43 million views on YouTube. Sung primarily in falsetto, he pleads, “If I risk it all, Could you break my fall?”
The Bond song has become as important to the film franchise as the vodka martini, the “Bond, James Bond” line and an evil nemesis.
“Thunderball,” “Diamonds are Forever,” “Goldfinger” and “Skyfall” — written and performed by Adele — all became memorable pieces of music. Even though Spectre has only been in theatres a few weeks, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is already offering it as part of an evening of James Bond music.
Audiences attending two concerts by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Friday and Saturday will have the chance to experience it with full orchestration under conductor John Morris Russell.
Singers Capathia Jenkins and Ron Bohmer will tackle the roster of songs made famous by singers ranging from Shirley Bassey to Tom Jones.
Jenkins says it’s a “challenge” to cover songs made famous by so many different singers but it’s a program she holds “in deep affection.”
TSO and singers Capathia Jenkins and Ron Bohmer will tackle roster of songs made famous by Adele, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones
Jenkins says she was happy to tackle Adele’s “Skyfall.”
“She allows me to dig deep into my bag of tricks,” laughs Jenkins, who ends the first segment of the program singing the bombastic “Diamonds Are Forever.”
“You can hear the audience getting ready to go on the ride.”
Most of the songs were written by John Barry and arranged by Nic Raine, including the ubiquitous theme of blaring trumpets and twangy steel guitar that haunts the soundtracks throughout the series, which began with Dr. No in 1962. Spectre is the 24th Bond movie.
The second half of the program includes theme music from television and movies including Peter Mancini’s theme from Peter Gunn and the Pink Panther, Isaac Hayes’ Shaft and Lalo Shifrin’s Mission Impossible theme.
Conductor John Morris Russell picked the pieces based on their common “spy-fi” vibe with the Bond movies. The Bond songs were chosen to reflect the different eras from the early spy riffs and California beach sound to Skyfall’s story-telling. Russell says the singers really get a workout, particularly in the Bassey pieces and Tom Jones’ “Thunderball.”
The story goes that Jones passed out in the recording studio while holding that last, long note. Russell isn’t surprised, saying Bohmer has to hold that note for 30 seconds. He joked that Bohmer almost passed out when he learned the song was added to the program.