1977 was a big year for John Williams. He wrote the scores to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as well as a certain space opera set a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. It would be remiss of me not to include both of these immense scores, different as they are. … Continue reading A John Williams Score for Every Year of my Life 8a – Close Encounters
Author: Adam Tucker Art
The Gifts of the Pandemic
I was asked this morning what I consider to be the gifts to myself of the pandemic and resultant lockdowns this year. A strange question, to be sure. But not a ridiculous one. Many of us have found something important this year - maybe something we'd forgotten, or lost, has been rediscovered - like a … Continue reading The Gifts of the Pandemic
A new little musical venture – The Moons of Jupiter
I've started composing some pieces to represent the moons of Jupiter. I won't be writing pieces for every single one of them, because there are quite a few! Seventy-nine at the last count. But the main ones, whose names you may have heard of, such as Thebe, Callisto, Ganymede, Io, Europa, and Amalthea - they … Continue reading A new little musical venture – The Moons of Jupiter
A John Williams Score for every year of my life 7 – 1976 the Missouri Breaks
I know very little about the film which gave birth to this choice of score by John Williams. I know that it is a Western film which starred Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, but that's only because they appear on the album artwork. Having looked at Wikipedia's entry on the film, I see that it … Continue reading A John Williams Score for every year of my life 7 – 1976 the Missouri Breaks
A John Williams Score for Every Year of My Life – 1975 Jaws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BePfzCOMRZQ&list=OLAK5uy_knTCF7Agg3xAnZ4xzhdDsgq2OvaMzYBrI It has to be done. Whilst I am a great fan of the other score of 1975 which Williams wrote for "The Eiger Sanction", I couldn't not devote this blog entry to the stroke of absolute mastery which is Jaws. As a teacher, I often use the theme from Jaws to illustrate how composers … Continue reading A John Williams Score for Every Year of My Life – 1975 Jaws
A John Williams Work for Every Year of my Life 5 – 1974 Earthquake
For this post I want to zoom in on one part of the score to Earthquake which struck me as soon as I heard it some years ago - the main theme. It encapsulates so much of the time, with upbeat funky additions to the mix, and that wonderful soaring John Williams horn melody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQ19CKA21U&list=PLpN8xN3JSwkSyeJsW_gFkqqqNmlWFLorI … Continue reading A John Williams Work for Every Year of my Life 5 – 1974 Earthquake
The Lord of the Rings and other things
I've reawakened my long dormant soundcloud account, and I intend to use it often to showcase my new compositions as well as some of my older ones. https://soundcloud.com/adam-tucker-composer My Soiundcloud page. Visit it to listen to my take on the world which Tolkien gave us in The Lord of the Rings. https://soundcloud.com/adam-tucker-composer/sets/the-lord-of-the-rings I've also uploaded … Continue reading The Lord of the Rings and other things
Where did it all start? And where is it going?
My son asked me the other day (because even at 15 he seems to mistakenly think that I am a fount of all wisdom - until I ask him to do something of course!) when humans started to write. I answered that even the cavepeople drew on the walls - imbuing their drawings with meaning. … Continue reading Where did it all start? And where is it going?
A John Williams Work for every Year of my Life 4: Cinderella Liberty
In some ways John Williams' music for Cinderella Liberty was a departure from the style he was beginning to make his own in the early seventies; certainly in the context of the soundtracks which he'd composed in the years before, such as Jane Eyre, the Cowboys, it almost feels like a different composer. It is … Continue reading A John Williams Work for every Year of my Life 4: Cinderella Liberty
The Stories in a Face
I find people's faces endlessly fascinating. A face doesn't have to be beautiful to be memorable. Sometimes it is the imperfections in a face which give it it's character. But what is really fascinating is the way that a face tells the story of it's journey through life. A child's face is often almost like … Continue reading The Stories in a Face
Gloria!
About 20 years ago I wrote a setting of the Gloria for SATB choir and orchestra. It has yet to receive it's first live performance, but I present it here, performed by the wonderful instrument sounds of the Spitfire Audio orchestral instruments, and the very clever EW Symphonic Choirs - a sample library of full … Continue reading Gloria!
Return to Jane Eyre
I've been working on a piano transcription of the Theme from Jane Eyre, my choice of John Williams Score from 1970. I've just posted it to youtube. There will be more to follow - I'm going to do a number of John Williams themes - especially some of his less well-known ones, or at least … Continue reading Return to Jane Eyre
A John Williams Work for every year of my life 3: The Cowboys (1972)
John Williams was 40 when he wrote the music to the Mark Rydell film, "The Cowboys". In the same year, he produced what has to be his most avant-garde score for the Robert Altman film, "Images". I just want to briefly look at his work on this latter film before taking a more in depth … Continue reading A John Williams Work for every year of my life 3: The Cowboys (1972)
A John Williams work for every year of my life 2: The Fiddler on the Roof.
In 1971 John Williams won his first Oscar, for his adaptation and incidental music for "Fiddler on the Roof". I can not claim to know this film, or the musical, well at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZK4e08uW1Y When I was in secondary school I remember singing "Sunrise, Sunset" in the school choir. That was the extent of my … Continue reading A John Williams work for every year of my life 2: The Fiddler on the Roof.
A Special Commission
Every commission is special. Of course it is - if someone asks you (and pays you) to paint a particular scene, or pet, or person, its because the subject matter is important. That's why I love to paint commissions. It's terrifying at the same time, because you just never know if what you produce will … Continue reading A Special Commission
The Faces of those Who Knew him
I've been working for a number of years on a series of dramatic monologues (most of which I have performed myself) from the point of view of people who came into contact with a certain historical person. Some loved him, some hated him, and i have tried to capture that dichotomy in the different readings. … Continue reading The Faces of those Who Knew him
A John Williams work for every year of my life (almost)
I fell in love , as so many people did, with the music of John Williams as a child, without knowing anything about the man who gave us so much incredible memorable music. His main themes are amongst some of the most recognisable and hummable tunes in musical history. But it's not just his main … Continue reading A John Williams work for every year of my life (almost)
Our Minds Need Ideas
So very true.
Branding
Recently I've been trying to improve my presence on the web. That's important if I'm going to make my work more accessible and well-known. One blog I read recently suggested that every artist (and musician, I'm sure) needs a sign of their brand, a logo if you like. So I sat down and designed one … Continue reading Branding
What’s in a lyric?
The cover for my musical based on Dracula Well if you want to live, hear the warning I give,And don’t you go to Castle DraculaYoung man, lend me an ear, don’t go anywhere nearAnd please don’t go, sir please don’t go I write musicals. Musicals for performance by Primary aged children. But I happen to … Continue reading What’s in a lyric?
Why did I ever start this???
There are a few pieces of artwork over the years which have almost defeated me. Like an unruly toddler who embarrasses you when you take them to the supermarket. I could quite cheerfully have left these to sit forgotten in some dark corner. They're the paintings which I got halfway through and thought "Why, oh … Continue reading Why did I ever start this???
Leaving my Mark
I always thought I'd be rich and famous by the time I was 30. I thought I'd be "discovered". And here I am, entering my second half century, and still not there. Yes, I make some money out of my paintings, out of my music. But not enough to pay the mortgage. Not enough to … Continue reading Leaving my Mark
Life Imitating Art
I painted a sea-scene a few years ago from a photograph given to me by a friend. I loved the painting when I'd finished it - it's always been one of my favourites. It has just the right amount of land, of sea, and sky. It has movement in the waves, and those wonderful pillars … Continue reading Life Imitating Art
My Pre-Raphaelite Phase
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I was deeply enamoured with the group of Victorian artists who styled themselves as the Pre-Raphaelites. They were very much of the belief that contemporary Victorian art was morally and technically deficient, and stated that a return to the purity of artists before the high … Continue reading My Pre-Raphaelite Phase
Creating the Theme for “The Hidden Shrine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaO1ZybzNXM&list=PLXqtkFPzn3L9u48N25Sl1KkRSozlUcgIF&index=1 When I was commissioned to compose the music for this short TV film, I was told that it was a Victorian ghost story. How could I resist?! As I was sent snippets of the film as it was assembled, it became clear that this was a film about love and loss. At it's heart, … Continue reading Creating the Theme for “The Hidden Shrine”
Those Who Can, Do. Those Who Can’t, Teach
I remember when I was a young aspirational primary school teacher, fresh out of university, being told this by an old gentleman. I was outraged to say the least. So after 25 years in the profession, what are my thoughts nowadays? Is there any truth to this old saying? Well, in one sense, there is. … Continue reading Those Who Can, Do. Those Who Can’t, Teach
Where does it come from?
I've been asked quite often how I go about writing a new piece of music. People it seems are often fascinated with the process a composer, especially a songwriter, go through to create something. And the answer is... I don't know. If I'm writing a song, do the lyrics come first or the music? Sometimes … Continue reading Where does it come from?
Breathing Life into a painting
The painting on the left is how the painting on the right started life. It was painted from a source photo which was taken on a drab dull day, but I loved the scene. So i painted it, but I never felt that it worked. It was just too... well, drab and dull. But then … Continue reading Breathing Life into a painting
Art in a Time of Pandemic
It's been hard for creatives this year. It's been hard for everyone. But for the many many people who depend on selling artwork, or creating live performances, it's been really hard. In the past few years, I've used Open Studios as the main forum for selling my original paintings. Where I would normally sell 30 … Continue reading Art in a Time of Pandemic