Very sad news that John Barry has died suddenly following a heart attack. He was 77. Barry managed to be an impressively self contradictory composer (in the best possible way), becoming famous through his band, the John Barry Seven, yet you'd never imagine based on those records that it could be the same composer who could write Dances with Wolves or The Lion In Winter. Yet, perversely, his style was so distinctive that you could pretty well always tell a Barry score after only a few notes.
Perhaps embarrassingly, I was not originally enamoured of Barry's music; even more strange as he's one of those cult film composers with far wider appeal than the 37 people on the planet who love film music. However, with some gentle persuasion and a sampling of his finest scores, notably Dances With Wolves, it didn't take too much time for me to change my mind. Even worse, however, his Bond scores took a bit longer for me to get into, but they were certainly worth it. Where today's action scores can be so frantic, Barry rarely let his music get too busy. Even the later Bonds had a level of class and elegance that one rarely hears any more.
I had the pleasure of seeing him conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra about a decade ago, confirming his position as one of those rare composers who can fill a two hour concert programme with nothing but hits, most of which even the casual listener would recognise. I am sure that more dedicated and knowledgeable fans will write plenty in the days to come, but Barry's legacy was cemented years ago and having composed some of the best known music for cinema over 40 years, he won't be forgotten any time soon.
For those fans who are yet to indulge in some of cinema's lushest and most memorable music, you could do worse than to pick up the composer conducted compilation Moviola, which is just about the most sumptuous sounding film music compilation ever released. For a more extensive and varied starting point, Silva's John Barry: The Collection - 40 Years in Film Music is hard to beat, From Zulu to Enigma, it samples a surprisingly large proportion of his work. The music itself is, of course, wonderful, but it's rare to hear a composer's style evolve so organically over their career.
Good night JB.
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