I’ve been very bad at posting here recently, for which I appologise. But as I write this primarily for my own benefit rather than to attempt to say anything important, then I’m sure it’s not a problem.
I have been keeping busy though, and have managed to see a fair few comedy gigs over the past few weeks which I’ve neglected to tell you about. Never mind. They were good, and very funny and I enjoyed them lots.
Continuing my week/month/year/lifetime [delete as you think appropriate] of Doctor Who obsession, yesterday I was fortunate enough to find myself in the Royal Albert Hall for the Doctor Who Prom. I was excited when I first heard that there was going to be a Doctor Who themed Prom as part of the BBC’s Prom season, so I applied for tickets and headed down to London early Sunday morning to take my seat in a packed arena.
The programme was a mix of music, mostly pieces from the series composed by the brilliant Murray Gold, but interspersed with some well known classical pieces which all seemed to fit the intergalactic theme; there was Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to open the proceedings, along with Ride of the Valkyries (complete with the four horn players in horned helmets), Jupiter from Holst’s Planet Suite and Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets (those last two both always remind me of steam trains!).
The whole thing was introduced by Freema Agyeman, with help from Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri, an unexpected appearance from Catherine Tate (she wasn’t in the programme), and Julian Bleach complete in full Davros make-up. There were also regular appearances amongst the audience by Cybermen, Ood (who stood with arms raised at several points, in a circular building, echoing the episode), Judoon and Sontarans, which gave the younger ones something to watch while the orchestra was playing non-Who music (All the music from the series was accompanied by clips from the show, which I felt was a shame as it meant we didn’t get the close-ups of the orchestra on the screens at that point). And there was a wonderful moment when a Dalek appeared on stage to announce that they had travelled back in time to kidnap Henry Woodso that “from now on the Proms will only play DALEK MUSIC”, which made me chuckle!
There was also the specially filmed scene, Music of the Spheres. In this the Doctor, with help from a Graske, found a portal in the Tardis which allowed him to speak directly to the Albert Hall. I have to give credit to both Russell T Davies writing and David Tennant’s performance in that they had the timing of the audience’s responses to a T. The scene was brought to life more by the appearance of the Graske on stage (armed with a waterpistol to terrorise the orchestra) and the Doctor’s composition being thrown through the ‘portal’ so sheets of music floated onto the stage to be grabbed and handed round by the orchestra. There was also a wonderful message about music being for everyone (not just orchestras and pop stars) and how you just need to listen to hear the music within you. All good fun, which seemed to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
But for most of the morning the music was from the series, by composer Murray Gold (conducted by Ben Foster), and it was this that I’d come to see performed. And it was beautifully performed – from the opening ooo’s of Melanie Pappenheim’s vocals to the closing crescendo of the theme tune, it was all superb. I appreciate this music when it is used in the show, but to experience it live was a hairs on the back of the neck moment (and a few teary ones). Highlights for me were the Doomsday music, the Dalek and Davros themes (with added Dalek on stage seemingly conducting the orchestra) and the stunningly beautiful Song of Freedom from this year’s series (the Ood episode and Journey’s End, which I’ve mentioned I loved then) which was made all the more special by the child sitting next to me, who can’t have been more than four, holding his Tardis-shaped programme and turning it round and round, as though in flight. That’s the magic of Doctor Who!
Humphrey Lyttelton was chairman of my very favourite radio show. He always made me laugh, whether it was by reading his script, a witty ad-lib or just a look. And he always made time to say hello at the stage door when I was lucky enough to go to recordings or the tour. He was also a wonderful jazz musician and played his trumpet with such beauty, heart and soul.
He will be missed.
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