Ginger Baker in Africa

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Fela Kuti, Ginger Baker, Tony Palmer

In many respects, drummer Ginger Baker (1939 – )
has led a peripatetic and tragic life. Anyone wishing to
learn about it is encouraged to watch
“Beware of Mr. Baker,” a film released in 2012.
The 1971 film, “Ginger Baker in Africa,” directed and
edited by Tony Palmer isn’t so much a documentary
as it is a series of vignettes with footage of Baker,
during what was probably his first African sojourn.
Much of his subsequent life would be spent there.

Baker serves as the narrator of this crudely made film
which was newly re-released on DVD, under the Eagle
Vision label. The 54-minute film basically depicts Baker
and one or two of his friends traveling south by car,
from Algeria in North Africa to Lagos, Nigeria. Baker’s
narrative is delivered in a quasi-poetic style which
was almost reminiscent of his song,
“Pressed, Rat and Warthog,” from Cream’s
“Wheels of Fire” album. Throughout the film, an
African percussion soundtrack dominates, with footage
of tribal dancers in various states of frenzy. Clearly,
Baker enjoys playing with these musicians, either
at his drum set or on a “talking drum.” There’s even
footage of him interacting with Nigerian composer and
multi-instrumentalist, Fela Kuti.

There’s no comparison between this film and
Tony Palmer’s later endeavors on the lives of composers,
such as Gustav Holst, Benjamin Britten and
Ralph Vaughan-Williams. It’s best to view it as a slice
of Ginger Baker’s fascinating life; an important “page” of it,
if you will. Although it has been digitally remastered in
recent years, Baker’s voice and the overall sound quality
is nonetheless primitive. However, fans of the drummer
will still want to watch this DVD. I’m glad that I did.

Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was / Tony Palmer

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Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Tony Palmer

I’m so glad that I watched Tony Palmer’s “A Time There Was,”
his 1979 film about composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976),
released in 2006 under the Isolde Films/KULTUR label. This
101-minute DVD portrait was as good as any biography
I’ve seen devoted to a composer and/or musician, particularly
because much of the narrative was provided by Britten’s
longtime muse and companion, tenor Peter Pears (1910-1986).
In fact, it was Pears who asked Tony Palmer (1941 – ) to
helm a film in Britten’s memory. Having seen some of his
portraits of other composers, including John Adams,
Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan-Williams, I can understand
why his filmmaking is held in high esteem.

As with his other biographies, Palmer used interview footage
with close associates to enliven his subject. Among others,
I was treated to reminiscences from Britten’s siblings, his
housekeeper, Miss Hudson, and Rita Thomson, the nurse
who cared for him near the end of his life. In addition to Pears,
other musical luminaries weighing in for this film included conductor/composer/teacher Leonard Bernstein,
guitarist Julian Bream, composer/conductor Imogen Holst
and former General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera,
Rudolph Bing. Performance film clips of Britten’s works
were interspersed throughout and featured artists,
such as mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker and
pianist Sviatoslav Richter, among others.

In fact, the film is also replete with both black-and-white
and color footage of Britten himself in domestic and
professional capacities, thereby providing a well-rounded
picture of the man. While watching him disclose his working
methods and musical inspirations, I felt that I was taken
into his mind and soul.

At first, I thought it was unfortunate that the majority
of the musical examples were vocal and felt that more
of his instrumental pieces might have balanced this
biography. However, when reconsidering those works
thought to be Britten’s greatest, I realized that the
majority of them tended to involve the human voice,
in some capacity. This minor quibble aside, Tony Palmer
deserves to be commended for doing such a fine job
with this film. I’d give it an “A.”

André Previn: The Kindness of Strangers

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André George Previn, Tony Palmer

Although released in 2009, Tony Palmer’s film about
André Previn (1929 – ), “The Kindness of Strangers,” was
actually shot in the 12 months prior to the 1998 premiere
of Previn’s first opera, “A Streetcar Named Desire.” According
to Palmer’s comments in the accompanying liner notes,
the postponement of the original DVD release was
delayed due to a negligent film distributor who “… cut 30
minutes of footage without consulting me or Previn …”
Apparently, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC)
also felt that this film “… didn’t add anything to our
understanding of him.” Nevertheless, the film was finally
available in its original form and remastered, just in time for
Previn’s 80^th birthday.

Although a great deal of the focus of this film was on the
upcoming “Streetcar” premiere, there was also a generous
discussion of André Previn’s peripatetic, multifaceted career
on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, interspersed with archival
film footage and photographs. He narrated a lot of the footage
himself, candidly expressing his thoughts about these various
aspects of his musical life. This included a discussion of his
childhood in Europe, venturing to America and eventually
Hollywood, where he cut his musical teeth by composing,
arranging and conducting film scores in “the system.” Previn
believed that this was excellent training for his future endeavors.
At the same time, the film devotes footage to his “other career”
as a noted Jazz pianist, with film footage of Previn playing
with bassist Ray Brown at the Blue Note Club in New York City.

One of the points made in this 118-minute documentary highlights
Previn’s ability to feel at home in the United States, England,
Vienna, or wherever his career takes him while he embraces
multiple musical styles, from film scoring to Jazz and Classical
genres, assuming different roles of musician, conductor,
pianist, composer or television personality. In fact, I’ve always
maintained that André Previn has distinguished himself in
more genres and in more performance capacities than any
other musician, and is the greatest “multi-tasker.”

Other personalities featured on this disc include soprano
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, members of the Emerson Quartet,
soprano Renee Fleming, baritone Rodney Gilfry, and
second-generation Pop/Rhythm and Blues star, Natalie Cole.
As the aforementioned focus was on the premiere of “Streetcar,”
the latter portion of the film featured rehearsal footage and
interviews with the San Francisco Opera technical staff,
along with its director, Lotfi Mansouri. When questioned,
Previn addressed the unique challenges he faced while
composing this opera, as well as the musical and technical
changes that were made while bringing the project to fruition.

I believe that this is a wonderful portrait of a remarkable
musician, and director Tony Palmer’s approach enables
the viewer to get inside the mind of his main subject, as
well as that of those who are fortunate enough to work with
him. In addition to Palmer’s films about Gustav Holst and
Ralph Vaughan-Williams, I’d rate this DVD among the best
I’ve seen, and highly recommend it. This man knows how
to make a movie!

“O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams”

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Ralph Vaughan Williams, Tony Palmer

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) loomed large as a
composer in Britain, during the first half of the 20th Century
and beyond. Tony Palmer’s film, “O Thou Transcendent: The
Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams,” takes an in-depth look at the
life of this great composer and icon of British music. It was
released on DVD during 2008, the 50th anniversary of his
death, by the FIVE label which is a part of Isolde Films. It’s a
nice companion piece to Palmer’s equally important biography
of Gustav Holst (1874-1934), which was released around
the same time by the same label.

Speaking of Holst (1874-1934), this film delves into the
friendship between these two men who met in college in
1894, as well as their mutual interest in collecting authentic
English folk songs, and they would also critique each other’s
compositions. Vaughan Williams took it a bit further in that
he incorporated many of his findings, while editing the music
within the English Hymnal for the Church of England. He
completed this project in 1906.

Vaughan Williams’ love of English folk music and the folk
tradition permeates much of his music, and it is sometimes
difficult to tell when he used actual folk tunes and when
his music merely sounded like he did, a factor that he
was aware of and freely acknowledged.

As a composer, he began rather late, publishing his first work
in 1902. During the 1890’s he studied with Max Bruch
(1838-1920) and also spent a few months in Paris during
1908, under the tutelage of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937).
Throughout his long life, Vaughan Williams wrote prolifically
in practically every genre. An agnostic, much of his music is
nevertheless written for the church or for religious occasions.
In this film, it was noted that it’s practically impossible to
truly understand English music without acknowledging the
role of the church in English musical life. Indeed, this was
true for much of Vaughan Williams’ music, which was either
directly or indirectly inspired by religious themes and topics.

Although he had a privileged upbringing and therefore
didn’t need to worry about monetary concerns, he still
chose a rather humble lifestyle, even volunteering to serve
in the infantry and the Ambulance Corps in World War I. This
two and one-half hour documentary by Tony Palmer discusses
the myriad events of Vaughan Williams’ life, and has interviews
with an impressive list of musical luminaries, such as
Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Michael Tippett, Sir David Willcocks,
Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Lady Barbirolli, wife of Sir John Barbirolli,
Andre Previn, Mark-Anthony Turnage, John Adams, and
Vaughan Williams’ second wife and biographer, Ursula Vaughan
Williams (1911-2008).

Copious musical examples, including excerpts from eight of his
nine symphonies were performed by a wide variety of musicians,
including Sir Adrian Boult, Jordi Savall, Thomas Allen, Simon
Keenlyside and Joan Rodgers. Orchestras and ensembles
performing on this DVD include the London Philharmonic,
English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Chorus, and Gloucester
Cathedral Choir, to name just a few.

Like the aforementioned documentary on Gustav Holst,
“O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams”
is also a very thorough piece of film making, and I can’t imagine
it being superseded any time soon. In my humble opinion,
it’s essential viewing.

Holst: In the Bleak Midwinter

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Gustav Holst, Tony Palmer

Tony Palmer’s “Holst: In the Bleak Midwinter” is a generous
two-hour and 17-minute film which is apparently the first one
devoted to the life of Gustav Holst (1874-1934). It is a
handsomely budgeted project that was released in 2001 by
the Gonzo Multimedia label, and includes input from his
daughter, Imogen (1907-1984), as well as numerous people
in the British music world.

This classy biographical portrait of a largely misunderstood
composer is punctuated with copious musical examples from
Holst’s roughly 200 compositions, taking the viewer from his
childhood in rural England to his death from cancer when
59-years old. It should be noted that his true name was
originally “Gustavus von Holst,” reflecting his German ancestry.

This film also discusses his study of the trombone, “to help
with his asthma,” and his early musical careers as an organist
and choirmaster. While a student at the Royal College of
Music, he befriended composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958) in 1895, and shared his interest in the English folk
song tradition. In fact, these two composers would critique each
other’s works throughout the years. To allow time for
composition, Holst was a true working musician, holding
multiple teaching positions. These jobs included positions as
the Music Master at St. Paul’s Girl’s School in 1905 and as
Director of Music at Morley College during 1907.

Holst also developed a deep interest in Indian culture
and Eastern mysticism and taught himself Sanskrit.  His
hatred of Imperialism and his Socialist political leanings were
also discussed. As with many other composers, his earliest
music reflected the strong influence of Richard Wagner and
Johannes Brahms.  However, unlike other famous British
composers who stayed close to home throughout their lives,
Holst was an inveterate rambler who cycled into the Sahara
Desert, and spent time living on a street of brothels in Algiers,
among other places. Naturally, many of these Eastern and
international influences were reflected in his music, and his
mature style often included a healthy dose of Hindu
spiritualism. He later developed a highly original compositional
style with a distinct harmonic vocabulary, coupled with a knack
for clarity in his voicings, and a revolutionary approach to rhythm.
Holst was a prolific composer in all genres, and was one of the
first well known composers who seriously considered the
possibilities of the wind band, thereby composing several
works for it.

Accented by newsreel footage of the Great War, this film covers
many aspects of Holst’s life. Both professional and amateur
musical organizations are featured, including the Savaria
Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tamas Vasary, the Royal
College of Music Orchestra conducted by Sian Edwards, the
BBC Symphony Chorus conducted by Stephen Jackson, the
Besses O’ Th’ Barn Band conducted by James Holt, and many
others. All of them perform large chunks of Holst’s music,
including a complete “Mars” from his most famous work,
“The Planets,” which he composed between 1914 and 1916.

This movie definitely fills a void, providing a well-rounded
portrait of a composer who was relatively unknown and
under appreciated during his lifetime. There’s much more to
Gustav Holst than “The Planets!” In my opinion, kudos
should be given to Tony Palmer for his work on this highly
recommended project.