HANS ZIMMER REVEALED
I have been fortunate to attend a plethora of different music themed events focused around film, movie scores or a particular composer’s repertoire but I can quite honestly say that I have never experienced something as majestic, powerful and exhilarating as the World Premiere of HANS ZIMMER REVEALED at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Seeing Hans perform in Ghent was a spectacle but this raised the bar to a whole new level. There are not many composers that would have fans travelling across the globe for a concert. Fans from Japan, Hungary, Italy, France, Russia, Australia and America were all in attendance and it was soon easy to see why they had ventured so far.
Billed as an evening of Hans presenting ‘his music, his way’ and with his band of friends it was easy to see why these two concerts sold out in a very small window of opportunity for his hard-core of followers. Zimmer has an absolute immense and somewhat fanatical group base who labour furiously on social media to argue the toss over what score is the best, which track fits the best with the picture, which earlier score his latest has developed from etc.. However, being a simple fan who quite simply adores listening to music, meeting composers, fans and wanting an immersive experience I was interested to see how this was going to staged; and more importantly how would he be able to whittle down so many fantastic scores into a 2 hour concert.
The choice of title HANS ZIMMER REVEALED was suitably apt as what the whooping, cheering, screaming and clapping audience got was an out of body experience that could quite simply have been sold to them as ‘BEING HANS ZIMMER’. The whole evening was a very personal insight into the working mind and creativity of an enigmatic and richly layered composer. Like viewing the artistic development of a 19th century painter who explored new ideas, challenged the norm and wanted to leave an endearing mark on the world; similarly here we could watch the deeply textured musical layers of Zimmer’s past, present and future. From gentle and playful scores such as Green Card and True Romance through to the bombastic ear-gasm scores of The Dark Knight or Inception it is possible to explore the instrument developments, musical palette and textured journey that has led Hans Zimmer to where he is today: an icon within the industry. Zimmer has a heart and spirit for his music that is shown in a number of unique ways; this concert being one of those.
Lights Out! and cue the percussion of Satnam Ramgotra ably assisted by his Angels setting the rhythm and building the anticipation for Hans’ entrance to the stage. Dressed in black and proudly striding to his musical weapons of choice the roof was raised with enthusiastic and elated noise, very quickly settling to a lull as the music kicked in to overdrive. A very modest stage set-up of upright piano, synth, string section, Nick Glennie-Smith on keyboards and accordian, Richard Harvey and his eclectic woodwind instruments supported by Guthrie Govan on guitar and Czarina Russell (on a range of digital and analogue equipment) gave an insight into what possibly could be an intimate evening with the maestro... how wrong we were! What was in store for the audience was nothing short of an unveiling. From the opening cue of Driving Miss Daisy the stage was peeled away curtain by curtain and enhanced by a beautiful light show to reveal yet more musicians. Driving Miss Daisy was certainly a great cue to open with due to its catchy melody and fun vibe that it radiates. Seamlessly blending into Discombobulate from Sherlock the audience were introduced not only to a banjo playing Zimmer, but also to his two stringed accompanists Ann-Marie Simpson and Aleksey Igudesman who lit the stage up with their own performance abilities (the tone and speed the cue was performed at was nothing but exceptional). Igudesman wearing a deerstalker reminded me of the fantastic YouTube clip featuring Lorne Balfe when the film was first released and it was evident that Hans had an entertainer in his band to enthuse the crowd... costume changes and differing headwear became the theme for the evening with Aleksey! The opening suite of the show was rounded off with the fun and playful Madagascar theme featuring Hans on piano and the whole band of friends in full swing.
More rapturous applause met with Zimmer coming to the microphone to introduce the evening that lay ahead and how grateful he was to be performing with his friends and colleagues, paying special thanks to Glennie-Smith and Harvey whom he said ‘started out on this incredible journey with him and who he is indebted to’.
The evening featured a number of personal anecdotes from Zimmer as he recalled favourite conversations, special memories and what it meant to be a composer in the industry and how grateful he is to the people that have shaped him. He talked fondly of working with Tony Scott and how a week of conversations about the musical direction for Crimson Tide led to not a single note being written; that is until famed Music Editor Bob Badami simply stated ‘How about we just let Hans write some music?’
And cue the choir!
A small ensemble from the Crouch End Festival Chorus launched into their deepest Russian tones as Hans stripped off the black frock coat and took up residency at his programmed synthesiser for Roll Tide. This is what I had been looking forward to the most, watching Zimmer enter his familiar habitat of electronic toys and blending the more harmonious strands of voice, strings and percussion. A powerful cue that left you feeling the bass beat against your chest... this was the music I grew up as a young fan listening to and suddenly it was like being a 5 year old at Christmas, left wondering what the next present delivered would be.
The answer was Angels and Demons; utilising the choir and electronic samples to perfection for 160bpm. The minimalist repetition built with energy and fervour to the grand crescendo. Fan favourite Gladiator featured and I never tire of listening to the score of this film. Hans recalled speaking with Lisa Gerrard about collaborating on the score and how she was not enthusiastic having just finished work on another Russell Crowe picture ‘The Insider’. After sending a copy of the film to her the story shifted... Gerrard was on board and on her way to LA to work on the score. The Royal Albert Hall recently hosted a full orchestral evening of Gladiator featuring Lisa Gerrard and unfortunately the crowd were not treated to a reprise of her vocal talent. Miriam Blennerhassett stepped up to fill big shoes and looked comfortable as she set the reflective tone for The Battle, later returning for a sampled version of Now We Are Free. Zimmer took to the acoustic guitar to perform the Spanish element of the cue and throughout the evening we were treated to a range of instruments in Zimmer’s more than capable hands.
The first half of the show also featured Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code and Zimmer let the audience understand where the inspiration for his Chevaliers de Sangreal came from. ‘When you are alone in the Louvre looking at the Mona Lisa at 2am you can’t help but have a moment of inspiration and beauty’.
The highlight of the concert had to be The Lion King featuring the vocals of Lebo M. and Czarina Russell before the chorus launched us into the plains of Africa with an uplifting spirit and a passionate rendition of Circle of Life. Zimmer stated at the end this was the first time that Lebo M. had performed The Lion King live and that the film was special as his music was inspired by and dedicated to his daughter Zoe, a touching tribute and a special moment for everyone in the audience to have seen such a beautiful delivery of the main cues in a lush suite format.
The first half was rounded off with an amusing cello Concerto entitled ‘Arrrr’ which featured cellist Tristan Schulze opening a mournful suite of music from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. It did not take long before the chorus, strings, percussion, synths, guitars, timpani and brass all merged together to make a breath-taking cacophony of musical goodness. The light show and sounds made you feel like you were travelling through the neurons of Zimmer’s ever active musical brain and what a way to leave the audience for the well deserved and required Intermission.
True Romance (supported by a beautifully choreographed and pulsating light sequence) opened the second half of the show following a pattern of highlighting some respected and older material, and this was quickly followed by cues from Rain Man and Green Card (the 90s being a peek time for Zimmer’s creativity and opportunities in Hollywood). I would have loved to have heard a Days of Thunder, Broken Arrow or The Rock selection thrown in for good measure and I can only hope that if Zimmer embarks on future tours with his brilliant repertoire that we will be graced with such classic sounds. However, we were not left disappointed as this was when the flashing lights, hum of speakers and modern Zimmer went into overdrive (stopping short of shutting down the whole national grid for power). Mel ‘the man of a thousand modules’ Wesson who was an early collaborator with Hans in his formative London years as well as on his Hollywood material was on the wings of the stage adding his carefully selected and meticulously crafted soundscapes to the ensemble.
The Man of Steel laid the foundations for the epic side of Zimmer’s palette and featured the heavy percussion of Satnam and his Angels followed succinctly by Zimmer controlling an organic synthesiser pattern and manipulated sound sets. For any composer (whether established or aspiring) in the audience it would have been very hard to have not been moved and become self reflective at their own artistic development by the cue from Thin Red Line. It built itself up in a nebulous form before hitting the audience with the power and beauty of a supreme minimalist composition.
Spiderman 2 saw the arrival of another invited guest, Johnny Marr who many will recognise from The Smiths as well as Zimmer’s Inception score. It seems as though Zimmer has an aura that draws a strange mix of different talent together and the result is the creation of a modern avant-garde film music movement. Although the cue that featured violinist Igudesman on vocals as Electro was not a traditional concert piece of music it certainly highlighted what a group of musicians can create to challenge boundaries and expectations. Vey loud, bright and explosive in nature but you could not help but feel absolute admiration for what the musicians had just unleashed on you. There is no phrase I can really use to describe this cue but if I really had to then this was a ‘smorgasbord of musical expressionism’.
The light show continued as we ventured into the darkly gothic and twisted world of Christophe Nolan’s Batman trilogy (Batman Begins / The Dark Knight / The Dark Knight Rises). Zimmer once more reflecte, discussing his collaboration with the Director and trust that developed between them during the process of creating the scores. James Newton Howard was credited with bringing beauty whilst Zimmer described himself as the one who brought the ‘twisted anarchy’ to the scores. Progressive and symbiotic the cues blended together, even featuring Hans on vocals as he performed the Bane chant of ‘Deshi Basara’. As the music softened (not something you would expect from this concert) Hans returned to the microphone to explain the personal anguish felt when during publicity for The Dark Knight Rises he discovered the horror that had occurred in the town of Aurora. His coping mechanism was to write a solemn requiem piece to honour those that lost their lives on that terrible night. The choir, Blennerhassett, and the entire band came together for a heart rendering performance that saw the curtain close and synchronised applause from the audience.
Cheering, screaming, whistles, applause and chanting showed that the audience were hungry for more. It was obvious that something special was happening behind the curtain and the occasional glimpse through the moving material was eventually revealed as the curtain raised, a pulsating modular system lit up Mel Wesson and the band with Johnny Marr launched into the fan favourite suite from Inception... if only there was more TIME!
A brilliant evening, a unique evening and an evening that allowed fans, industry professionals and curious observers to witness a spectacle that will remain firmly engrained in their memories. With a thank you to the band and a huge thank you to the audience Zimmer simply raised his hands and looked to the sky before waving goodnight...
Hans I thank you for taking us on this personal musical journey, this intimate insight into your processes, musings and collaborations and I wholeheartedly look forward to when you next treat us all to a memorable and respective exhibition of your art.
CONCERT PROGRAM
Driving Miss Daisy / Sherlock / Madagascar
Crimson Tide
Angels and Demons
Gladiator
The Da Vinci Code
The Lion King
Pirates of the Caribbean
INTERMISSION
True Romance
Rain Man / Green Card
Man of Steel
Thin Red Line
Spiderman
Dark Knight
ENCORE
Inception Suite
THE BAND
Miriam Blnnerhassett
Yolanda Charles
Nick Glennie-Smith
Guthrie Govan
Richard Harvey
Andrew Kawczynski
Aleksey Igudesman
Gary Kettle
Johnny Marr
Steve Mazzaro
Lebo M.
Satnam Ramgotra
Mary Scully
Ann Marie Simpson
Frank Ricotti
Czarina Russell
Tristan Schulze
David Temple
Mel Wesson
Hans Zimmer
