What could be better than an evening of live orchestral music as a community and family-friendly event?

Film music is different. It’s meant to enhance our film watching experience and to support the movie plot on various levels. But does it exist outside these applications? Is it enjoyable as music for its own sake without reference to context?

It’s a question that our Philharmonic Orchestra, under Kate Kayaian, answered Saturday night. And the answer is: absolutely.

The evening started with Klaus Badelt’s Pirates of the Caribbean. This was a complex orchestral composition involving all parts of the orchestra with special emphasis on percussion, bass and brass.

Starting off with jaunty sea-shanty echoes on bowed violins, the music swells into a mighty and full-throated version of a Greensleeves-sounding theme interrupted by chaotic percussion ending in a frantic 9/8 scramble, slowing again to a tender version of the theme before another explosion.

It’s an exciting and imaginative orchestral piece and I think it stands on its own completely. But does it immediately evoke scenes from the movie?

Not really. This is also true of Howard Shore’s 2002 score for The Lord of the Rings. With its strong dramatic content and portentous atmosphere. It’s a great piece of ambience. It’s still good music.

On the other hand Monty Norman’s James Bond themes, first aired 60 years ago, have become inseparable from the films.

The orchestra blended together themes from four early Bond movies, immediately and expertly whisking us back to total recall of Dr No, Goldfinger and other early Sean Connery roles.

Another example from the same era was Lalo Schifrin’s 1966 Mission Impossible theme. Written In a tricky and tumbling 5/4 time, this brash and brassy big city theme was perfect for the TV series as well as for the later films.

There’s a third type of film music: music that has been simply taken from non-film sources and put to use in film because it creates atmosphere.

The orchestra played two examples: Carlos Gardel’s 1935 Tango Por Una Cabeza and Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe. Gardel’s piece has been used in 1992 (Scent of a Woman), 1993 (Schindler’s List), and 1994 (True Lies).

Our Philharmonic stressed the more romantic and softer side of the piece by arranging it for strings only.

Marricone’s straightforward but emotionally heart-rending piece was given a superb rendition by oboist Alicia Maloney together with the strings.

And finally, there’s music scored by major composers for the performance of their own works which happen to become films.

Phantom of the Opera, for example, makes liberal use of all orchestral resources. Our Philharmonic rose magnificently to this challenge with explosive force.

As an added bonus, Joy T Barnum sang Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from the same work. Her voice is an operatic soprano with precise articulation and control.

We finished the evening with a rousing medley of John Williams’ pure film music: from Jaws to Star Wars, his music is instantly recognisable and an integral part of our cinematic enjoyment.

Thank you, Bermuda Philharmonic, for your skill and hard work in creating such a memorable “Night at the Movies”.

A Night at the Movies, the Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2023 Summer Pops Concert, took place on Saturday under the direction of Kate Kayaian