Carl Davis (October 28, 1936 – August 3, 2023) was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes, notably the landmark ITV seriesThe World at War (1973) and BBC'sPride and Prejudice (1995), and he created new scores for concert and cinema performances of vintage silent movies and composed many film, ballet and concert scores that were performed worldwide, including theLiverpool Oratorio in 1991, in collaboration withPaul McCartney.[1] Davis's publisher wasFaber Music.[2]
Carl Davis was born inBrooklyn, New York, on October 28, 1936,[3][4] to Jewish parents,[5] Sara (née Perlmutter) and Isadore Davis.[6] He studied composition withPaul Nordoff andHugo Kauder, and subsequently withPer Nørgard in Copenhagen. He attendedBard College, inAnnandale-on-Hudson, New York.[7] His early work in the US provided valuable conducting experience with organisations such as theNew York City Opera and theRobert Shaw Chorale. In 1959, the revueDiversions, of which he was co-author, won an off-Broadway award and subsequently travelled to theEdinburgh Festival in 1961. As a direct result of its success there, Davis was commissioned byNed Sherrin to compose music for the original British version ofThat Was the Week That Was. Other radio and TV commissions followed and Davis's UK career was launched.[3]
Davis achieved early prominence with the title music for theBBC's anthology play seriesThe Wednesday Play and later forPlay for Today.[8] For the critically acclaimed and popular successPride and Prejudice (1995) Davis used period classical music as his inspiration, in particular Beethoven'sSeptet E flat major, Op. 20 and a theme strongly reminiscent of the finale of hisEmperor Concerto.[9]
Although Carl Davis wrote several substantial orchestral and concertante pieces – including the symphonicA Circle of Stones for full orchestra in 1997 – the core of his work outside of film and television was drama and dance, particularly musicals and ballet. He continued to actively compose over the last decade of his life,[17] during which he produced four large scale dance works:Nijinsky (2016) andChaplin, the Tramp (2019), both for the Slovak National Ballet inBratislava;The Great Gatsby for thePittsburgh Ballet Theatre (2019); and most recently the two-actLe Fantôme et Christine, fromGaston Leroux's 1911 novel, which develops themes he first composed for the 1925 silent moviePhantom of the Opera. This received its premiere by theShanghai Ballet on May 11, 2023.[34] Other works include:
The Lady of the Camellias – La Dame Aux Camelias is a ballet in two acts and was first performed at theCroatian National Theatre, Zagreb by the Croatian National Theatre Ballet in 2008.[43]
The Last Train to Tomorrow for children's choir, actors and orchestra, based on the wartimeKindertransport rescue effort of children from Nazi-controlled territory, was premiered by theHallé Orchestra and Children's Choir in 2012.[44]
Lipizzaner is a ballet for chamber orchestra commissioned byNorthern Ballet Theatre. It premiered in November 1989 at the Manchester Palace.[45]
The Liverpool Oratorio. In 1991, Davis andPaul McCartney collaborated on an eight-movement choral work, recorded to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Loosely based on McCartney's own life, theLiverpool Oratorio was jointly composed by Davis and McCartney and conducted by Davis.[17]
The Mermaid is a musical set to text by Hiawyn Oram, based on the fairy tale byHans Christian Andersen. Composed in 2003, it received its debut performance at Fairfield Preparatory School: Loughborough Endowed Schools in 2011.[46]
Davis married the British actressJean Boht on December 28, 1970.[47] They had two daughters, filmmakers Hannah Louise (born 1972) and Jessie Jo (born 1974).[47] Davis also composed music for his daughter Hannah's filmsMothers & Daughters (2004) andThe Understudy (2008). Davis and his wife were executive producers on the latter, and they appeared in the film as a married couple, the Davidovitches.[48][49]
Davis died from a brain haemorrhage inOxford on August 3, 2023, aged 86.[2] His wife Jean Boht died a month later on September 12, 2023, aged 91, having suffered fromvascular dementia andAlzheimer's disease.[50]
^Miller, Mark A.; Johnson, Tom (2009).The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948–2003. McFarland & Company. p. 226.ISBN978-0786446919.
