So in case you didn’t know, Glasgow’s got a brand new shiny venue called the SSE Hydro (or just The Hydro to the locals) and after having hosted the likes of Rod Stewart & Fleetwood Mac the previous week, another spectacle was to grace the halls, in the form of Danny Elfman’s Music From The Films of Tim Burton, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers & conducted by John Mauceri.
After a small delay due to issues earlier in the day, the show got underway opening with music from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1995) accompanied by a montage of footage and concept art from the films that would be represented during the show.
The first half of the show would take into account mainly some of Burton’s older films. From some recent, it was into some of Burton’s earliest work, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Beetlejuice (1988) before heading over to the spooky Sleepy Hollow (1999) and an alien invasion in Mars Attacks! (1996). Next we’re taken to the colourful world of Big Fish (2003) before finishing the first half off with music from Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
After a short interval, the second half of the evening took into consideration more recent collaborations kicking off with Planet Of The Apes (2001) and then 2005’s Corpse Bride. Two more recent collaborations in Dark Shadows (2012) and Frankenweenie (2012) before heading into a much loved, and probably well known film, Edward Scissorhands (1990).
Another well known film is probably the stop motion tale The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) where Elfman himself made an appearance on stage to a cheer that would normally be heard at a pop concert. Performing Jack’s Lament, the infamous What’s This?, Jack’s Obsession & Poor Jack. Leaving the stage, it’s time for another film, Alice In Wonderland (2010) with Harry Jackson taking on the role of soloist. So that’s that….or maybe not, as Elfman returns to the stage with another roar of appreciation and performs Oogie Boogie’s Song with a little help from Mauceri assisting as Santa.
The night as a whole was fantastic. Glasgow was the only Scottish date for this show. A celebration of the collaborations between Elfman & Burton, the show showcased the music well, accompanied in part by footage and concept art from the films, and when this disappeared, all you had to do was close your eyes and you were there in the film. The music seemed to flow from one film to another without too much difficulty (all the music had been re-arranged by Elfman himself for this event) Although only our first experience of something like this, we’d no doubt do it again in a heartbeat (Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy, we looking at you to come back to Scotland!) and we’d like to see an actual film with a live orchestra (seems to be a thing common at the Royal Albert Hall in London). Overall, a great night to share with others in a new venue and opportunity to see a great score composer.
Photos: © Vhari Lannigan
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