Philip Glass

I know Philip Glass mainly through his film work, having been introduced to his marvellously unique and hypnotic style by way of Paul Schrader’s Mishima:  a Life in Four Chapters. Indeed, this was his first real foray into cinema, although he had been very successful with the mating of music and image in the earlier documentary film Koyaanisquatsi.

He is instantly recognisable, even if you didn’t realise at first that he was involved.  I recall my ears pricking up and saying, Hey wait a minute on hearing the soundtrack to The Truman Show.

I always think that the score for Candyman is my favourite but that is usually until I listen to Kundun again; or The Hours; or…you get the idea.

Unfortunately my one experience of seeing him live wasn’t a successful one.  Along with the Kronos Quartet he was performing his score for the 1931 Tod Browning classic Dracula at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.  Philip Glass and Bela Lugosi from the Golden Age of Horror Cinema?  I was salivating.  Drooling at the mouth, I tells ya! How could this be anything other than a sublime outing?

Unfortunately it was done with the musicians standing in silhouette behind the screen, clearly visible through the film’s images and competing with the dialogue. It just didn’t work, although the film is available on DVD now and in that format the score works well. On top of that some of the complete tossers in the audience had to show the rest of us how sophisticated they were by laughing loudly every time the great Lugosi uttered his lines or a clearly fake bat flew around. Why on earth a person would shell out thirty Euros if he can’t enjoy one of these great old movies is beyond me.  Really, they should just be killed on general principles.

Anyway, hope that you enjoy the theme from Candyman. You can read up on the movie itself elsewhere on this blog.

 

Author: Charley Brady

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