BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Martin Phipps may have been raised by a musical family – his godfather was Benjamin Britten, after all, and his parents acted as Britten’s concert agents.
But it took Phipps years of study toward a drama degree before he pursued his career in music. And now with two BAFTAs and three Ivor Novello awards to his name, the War and Peace television and film composer proved he chose the right path.
Phipps wrote his first TV score Eureka in 2002. He’s since worked with Radiohead’s Laundry Studios on Peaky Blinders, and with Hans Zimmer for the acclaimed film Woman in Gold. The composer talks us through his latest musical offering War and Peace, the TV mini-series starring Gillian Anderson and Paul Dano.
UPDATE JUNE 2022: Martin Phipps’ work with Hans Zimmer on The Crown achieved #65 in the ABC Classic 100 Countdown: Music for the Screen.
Hi Martin, fantastic to chat with you about War and Peace. Tell us when you first encountered the epic story – or was it through this experience with Tom Harper?
I’d never read the book so I had very few preconceptions about the story of War and Peace. To be honest, when Tom Harper the director approached me, I wasn’t that keen on being involved. I’d done a lot of TV period drama over the years and was keen to concentrate on film at at this time. However, Tom kept coming back to me and sent me the scripts and I was seduced by his vision for the project. With such an epic canvas and such a fantastic cast of characters, in the end it was impossible to refuse.
Your score isn’t an intrusive one, and the use of vocals seems an eerie echo of history. What was your inspiration?
My inspiration for the score was, on the one hand, Russian vocal music; and on the other, very simple, tuneful orchestral music by a composer called Zbigniew Preisner. Overall, I wanted the music to encapsulate the very personal story of these characters set in the huge epic landscape of Russia in that period of time. My original conversations with Tom were about creating a huge male choir vocal landscape backed by pounding electronic synths. This was to be counterbalanced by some very small, very intimate simple piano and vocal melodies to represent the personal lives of the characters. I wasn’t interested in being faithful to the music of the period, though I think it’s important to give the score a timeless feel so that the viewer is not jarred too much.
What role do you feel nationalism plays in this score?
Much like historical context, I wasn’t interested either in representing Russia or Russian music in a faithful way. However, the all-male vocal sound we used is obviously very evocative of that nation. For obvious reasons, the characters can’t talk in fake Russian accents so the music does have a role in lending the series a different type of accent.
There are times when your music sounds contemporary, as opposed to the music of Tolstoy’s era – is this a strategic juxtaposition? How do you go about composing for a period classic such as this?
For me, it’s very important that the music represents the emotional journey of the characters and their relationship with their environment, and is not about period detail. Therefore, the music I write is not about recreating the music of the time, but about my emotional response to the experiences of these characters. Yes of course we use references such as the male voices or big orchestral ballroom music, but in the end I would not want the music to be stuck in any particular era.
After two decades making music – especially for television – you’ve started to move into film scoring. Why the change of focus?
Ultimately, I prefer the medium of film – just that, on the whole, you have more time and less music to write! I like the idea that a film can do all it needs to say in two hours and the focused, distilling process that this requires. However, TV is going through a golden era at the moment and is challenging film at its own game in many departments. Also, musically, the long form can produce challenges and inspirations in its own right.
You’ve talked about growing up in a musical family – to what extend did the works of your godfather Benjamin Britten influence your own?
My parents were concert agents for Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears, and I have absolutely no doubt that growing up in that environment surrounded by their music and their passion for music had a huge effect on me. The irony is: I have very average musical talents (I’m a terrible pianist!). However, what I do have is an ear for what works and what doesn’t, and for what sounds good and what could be better – and that is something that I’m sure I developed in my childhood. I also did a drama degree at college, which helped me gain an understanding of how drama works emotionally.
Any parting words for emerging composers?
My advice to up-and-coming film and TV composers is: don’t surround yourself with other musicians, but with people making films and TV (I married a drama producer!). These are the people who are going to give you a job. Seek out directors making short films and producers making low budget features and get friendly!
Image supplied.
