Patrick Gowers - Sherlock Holmes: Music from the Granada Television (2000) [Re-Up]

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Patrick Gowers - Sherlock Holmes: Music from the Granada Television (2000) [Re-Up]

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Patrick Gowers' score for the Grenada Television series about A. Conan Doyle's consulting detective has become almost as closely linked to Sherlock Holmes in the minds of fans as star Jeremy Brett (1933-1995). But those with no interest in Holmes can also enjoy this recording. Gowers' musical eloquence is richly displayed in these widely diverse, yet cohesive, tracks.

Gowers begins the recording with "221B Baker Street," the vivacious theme (performed on Holmes' instrument, the violin, by Kenneth Sillito) that brings to mind Holmes' classic alarm call, "Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot. Not a word!" The cohesiveness of the album comes from Gowers' variations on this theme found throughout the rest of the recording. But the diversity within this cohesiveness is what is remarkable. Gowers' compositions range from the energetic and mysterious to the introspective and poignant, from the noble quality of an Elgar-like march ("The Illustrious Lord Bellinger") to the surrealistic, synthesized sounds of "The Bar of Gold, Upper Swandam Lane." And on the way, it touches upon hints of a Negro spiritual, Christmas carols, and the liquescent sounds of English cathedral music ("Libera Me"). All the while, the composer never lets listeners forget the gas-lit London streets, the dark and murky Thames, and the fog-shrouded moors that were the heart of Holmes' detective dominion. Gowers not only composed these pieces, but also conducted the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, the Gabrieli String Quartet, and the Wren Orchestra of London. The performances are excellent, as is the quality of the recording. It should be noted that this recording contains "The Death of Sherlock Holmes." This track has special significance for Holmes' aficionados, as Gowers' daughter, Katherine, played the composition on the violin at Jeremy Brett's funeral (during which performance, it was reported, many a tear was shed). This fact not only illustrates how Brett came to epitomize Holmes, but also how immensely successful Patrick Gowers was in composing a score that conveys the ethos of one of the most famous characters in all fiction.

Review by Peter Ditzel, Allmusic.com

At last! Producer John Yap has delivered this thoroughly satisfying compilation of Patrick Gowers’ splendid music from Granada Television’s acclaimed Sherlock Holmes series. To many–perhaps most–Holmes fans, Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Holmes; and anyone who enjoyed his uniquely insightful and always fascinating embodiment of this brilliant, enigmatic, self-possessed character would have to agree that Gowers’ music perfectly captured the many facets of Holmes and his intriguing, often exotic world. The fun begins with the famous theme, a sturdy and fertile melody that Gowers masterfully exploits in innumerable ways to enhance, enliven, and illustrate scenes or to suggest a person’s character or mood. In fact, most of material for the show’s music consists of variations on this theme–but what clever and inventive variations they are! The disc’s 19 tracks give a good idea of the range of musical styles and moods that Gowers used–clever, often subtle, but always affecting influences from Bach and Brahms to Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Bernstein–but with such a preponderance of original touches that you realize the depth of this composer’s own distinguished artistry, which, by the way, extends to legitimate compositions beyond his work for television.

Although the music presented here is not a unified work, the individual selections go together like any well-conceived album of high-quality material by a single composer. Gowers employs everything from full orchestra (the exciting “River Chase” from The Sign of Four) to a cappella chorus (an ingenious thematic setting of the Libera me text that has the clear ring of Tallis or Gibbons) to solo violin with orchestra, in the beautiful Wagner/Richard Strauss-like “Irene Adler” from the episode A Scandal in Bohemia (which deceptively begins with a quote from Handel’s aria “Dove sei”).

In keeping with the fact that the violin was Holmes’ own instrument, solo violin music plays a significant role in the series, exemplified in what may be the musical highlight of all of the episodes, the plaintive and poignant reflection on “The Death of Sherlock Holmes”. It was this piece, heard as part of the show many years ago, that set me hoping that someday a recording of Gowers’ music would be issued.

There are many more examples of Gowers’ creative versatility–too many to list here; but hearing this music again makes you appreciate all the more what can result when first-rate artists are allowed to fully collaborate on a worthy project. The wonderful thing about the Holmes series was that the music never was merely a backdrop, and these excellent performances–especially from violinist Kenneth Sillito–which are the ones Gowers himself conducted for the show, demonstrate why it was such an integral part of our enjoyment and of the series’ success. Don’t miss this one.

Review by David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

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Patrick Gowers - Sherlock Holmes: Music from the Granada Television (2000) [Re-Up]

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Patrick Gowers - Sherlock Holmes: Music from the Granada Television (2000) [Re-Up]

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Patrick Gowers - Sherlock Holmes: Music from the Granada Television (2000) [Re-Up]

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