Howard Blake - Agatha (Music Inspired by the Motion Picture) '2020

Tracks list

Dragon’s Domain Records will be releasing AGATHA – MUSIC INSPIRED
BY THE MOTION PICTURE featuring music composed and conducted by Howard Blake
(THE DUELLISTS, THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS, THE SNOWMAN) but ultimately not used
for the 1979 feature film directed by Michael Apted (21 Up series, GORILLAS IN
THE MIST, THUNDERHEART, ENIGMA) and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman,
Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse and Celia Gregory.

In 1926, legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. To
this day, no one knows the details of what she did during that period of time.
AGATHA presents a fictional account of Christie’s time away, showing her
as a woman fleeing from her own life following the death of her mother and the
announcement from her husband that he’s leaving her. Fleeing to a spa in
Harrowgate while the whole country is looking for her, American reporter Wally
Stanton (Hoffman) finds her and ultimately tries to help her.

Howard David Blake was born in the London borough of Enfield in 1938. At the age
of eighteen, he was awarded the Hastings Festival Scholarship and attended the
Royal Academy of Music where he studied piano and composition. His interest in
the cinema led him to a number of outside jobs and he worked as a projectionist
at the National Film Theatre. Turning down a second scholarship from the British
Film Institute, Blake instead became a piano session player, arranger and
orchestrator at Abbey Road and other studios for several composers, including
Stanley Myers, Quincy Jones and Bernard Herrmann. It was Herrmann who introduced
Blake to Laurie Johnson, staff composer for THE AVENGERS, leading to his first
television scoring assignment in 1967. His work in television and advertising
music continued and his frequent collaboration with celebrated commercials
director Ridley Scott led to his scoring of the director’s debut feature
THE DUELLISTS in 1977.

Blake’s most prolific film composing period followed with a string of
features including THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS, S.O.S. TITANIC, FLASH GORDON, THE
LORDS OF DISCIPLINE. In 1982, Blake accepted the invitation to write the music
and lyrics for an animated film, THE SNOWMAN. Instantly hailed as a classic, the
score topped the British pop charts and the concert work is still regularly
performed around the world each Christmas.

In 1989, he won the BFI Anthony Asquith Award for Best Musical Score for A MONTH
IN THE COUNTRY. Since the mid-1980s, Howard Blake has been the Musical Director
of the Sinfonia of London, a leading film session orchestra. The composer was
awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1994 for his artistic contributions
in music.

Dragon’s Domain Records presents the world premiere release of Howard
Blake’s music for AGATHA. While his music was ultimately not used in the
film, it was composed during one of his most prolific years and worthy of
preservation. The booklet contains liner notes written by noted author Randall
Larson, including insights by composer Howard Blake on the creation of the
score.

Tracklist:
01. Howard Blake - Prelude (3:01)
02. Howard Blake - Look at Me / Breakfast / Agatha in Bed / Car Accident (4:48)
03. Howard Blake - Agatha on Train / Agatha’s Room (3:01)
04. Howard Blake - Pierrots Old School Tie / Certainly Not (2:45)
05. Howard Blake - Schnee (2:32)
06. Howard Blake - Yes Sir / Date (1:18)
07. Howard Blake - Following Baths (2:53)
08. Howard Blake - Agatha and Wally (4:07)
09. Howard Blake - Wally on the Phone / Appointment Book (1:54)
10. Howard Blake - Agatha Asleep (3:29)
11. Howard Blake - Therapy Room Door (2:05)
12. Howard Blake - The Notebook and Climax (5:53)
13. Howard Blake - They Dont Believe / Closing (6:07)
14. Howard Blake - Dixieland Stomp (0:41)

Related artists