Hans Zimmer Revealed
The Documentary
 


It was a huge night for the capacity crowd at London’s Hammersmith Apollo last night, as Hans Zimmer presented his first ever concert. But of course, I hear you cry, he’s been ‘in concert’ before – namely in Ghent – but this was different. ‘Hans Zimmer Revealed’ was not Zimmer arranged for orchestra, but Zimmer by Zimmer, exactly how he intended his music to be heard. Those previous live shows were merely the practice run. To call it a concert even takes a little away from what happened last night, for this was not a gentrified ‘classical’ setting, this was an ‘event’, a real show. At times it felt like an immense prog-rock spectacle, with sound and light very much at the core of the experience and Hans front and centre, revelling in his new found status as rock god.
The theatre was buzzing with excited shouts, impromptu applause and a number of ovations as Hans and Friends reproduced, wonderfully faithfully, suites and themes from the composer’s tremendous body of work. It started small, with Hans on piano and a couple of instrumentalists (including Richard Harvey on woodwinds and Nick Glennie Smith on keyboards), performing his infectious theme from Driving Miss Daisy; as the music swelled a curtain rose to reveal a second layer of musicians (drums kit, a battery of percussion, string quartet..) for the brilliantly rambunctious theme from Sherlock Holmes. As the opening super-suite moved into the theme from Madagascar yet another curtain rose to reveal a large string and brass section. But that wasn’t it; a final curtain elevated to reveal the Crouch End Festival Chorus, who added vocals to the brilliant ‘Roll Tide’ from Crimson Tide. They then sang their hearts out in the dazzling ’160BPM’, the set piece of Hans’ score for Angels & Demons and a high point of the first half.
The crowd went wild for Gladiator, of course, and whole I’ve heard music from the score in concert countless times (heck I’ve heard the whole score love to,picture twice this year alone)’ I have never heard it performed so faithfully. This was the genuine article, with bold brass, synths, strings, percussion and a female vocal. Sadly Lisa Gerrard was unable to join Hans for this new live adventure and she was missed; however, Miriam Blennerhassett did a marvellous job (though her lip synching to a small section of ‘Now We Are Free’ was a bit of a surprise).
The generous first half continued to impress with ‘Chevaliers de Sangreal’ from The Da Vinci Code and a fantastic suite from The Lion King, featuring original vocalist Lebo M. It ended with what Hans called a ‘a small cello concerto for cellist Tristan Schulze, Arrr’… It was of course music from Hans’ various Pirates of the Caribbean scores and the crowd went wild; with the light show, thumping bass, guitars, orchestra and synths going crazy, it felt like a bizarre dream where film music was actually cool… Who am I kidding? This was SO cool.
Once again Part Two began with a look back to older titles, with the wonderfully simple and oh-so copied theme from True Romance, the always brilliant Rain Man and the oft-overlooked Green Card getting things going in fine fashion. From there Hans & Co took on the big stuff, the light show getting more intense and creative, spilling out into the auditorium. Man of Steel came and went, but The Thin Red Line lingered and got under the skin…
The band already impressive band was increased by one, in the shape of guitarist Johnny Marr, who provided throng and thump for the remainder of the programme. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a score I’m not overly familiar with, but I have to admit that it was a bit of a spectacle. Violinist Aleksey Igudesman laid down his fiddle and performed the vocals, as key baddie ‘Electro’; it felt more like a Prodigy gig at this point, but it was certainly impressive. To officially round off the evening, the band presented a lengthy suite from The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises, which was of course awesome. Hans’ take on the twisted nature of Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’, rooted in a kind of punk-inspired musical anarchy, made for one hell of a live experience. With the music dying out, Hans took to the microphone and introduced the ‘final’ number… His personal tribute to the victims of the Aurora massacre, simply called ‘Aurora’. It was an emotional end to a barnstorming night, as the choir, band and soloist Czarina Russell bared their souls.
We stood, we cheered and clapped… But of course there was at least one thing left unplayed. Inception. Hans and Friends didn’t disappoint, as the curtain rose once again and they played the true ending to their show; a thrilling, throbbing, suite of music from that brilliant masterpiece. It ended with ‘Time’, naturally, and with a wave of the hand, ours was at an end. What a night. - Source: Michael Beek