ALL DONE WITH MIRRORS op.51 (June 1968)

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The Avengers music Tara King era, by Howard Blake, 8 Aug 2011

At last the soundtrack to the final series of original Avengers has been issued. It is fantastic. It is a great release of some fantastic music.
It is generally well known that the composers for the Avengers were Johnny Dankworth (series one, two and three) and Laurie Johnson (series four and five). But it is often over looked that the main music for series six, (Tara King) came from Howard Blake. This is possibly because the main theme for series six was by Laurie Johnson carried over from series four and five.
This great release helps to put the record straight and give Howard Blake his rightful place on the map of the Avengers music history.

Laurie Johnson had composed music for episodes of the Avengers during the Emma Peel era but as the series moved into season six, now the Tara King Era, he was busy working on the music for a musical.
He needed help, and on the recommendation of Bernard Hermann Blake was hired to assist.

The double CD set begins with the main theme by Laurie Johnson. Then there are selections by Howard Blake of music from ten episodes: - "My wildest dreams", "Whoever shot poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?", "All done with mirrors", "Game", "Super secret cypher Snatch", "Noon Doomsday", "Wish you were here", "The Interrogators", "Take me to your leader" and "Who was that man I saw you with?". The whole programme ends with the main theme by Laurie Johnson.

The music is excellent and these are some good choices to include on a representational CD of the music composed by Blake for the show. The sound is also very good and compositions are very interesting and enjoyable. I particularly like the music to "Noon Doomsday" with its Mexican horn sound. There is also the Morse code feel of "its all done with mirrors", the swing genre of "The interrogators", the wah wah blues march sound of "take me to your leader" and the jazz atmosphere of "wildest dreams".
The music contained on this fabulous CD has only recently been re discovered. This is a unique release and it has been put together very well indeed.
Howard Blake, born in London, England, won the Hastings Festival Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and later became a Fellow there. Beginning as a composer and conductor for television and cinema, he eventually expanded his musical career to include ballet and theatre, composing scores for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Ballet Rambert, and The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.
He is best known as the composer for the highly acclaimed score for the animation film "The Snowman". He has also written a Piano Concerto and a Violin Concerto.
Blake is also renowned for his choral works, as well as songs and chamber music. With over 500 compositions to his credit, he was awarded an OBE in 1994 in recognition of his services to all forms of music.
Music for TV and Film is often ignored as serious music. Possibly because of the nature of the music being a backdrop to the visual element. But the music is an important part of these films and TV shows because they are often the crucial things that create the atmosphere of the piece.
In the case of The Avengers the music was especially commissioned for this series. Composers like howard Blake,Edwin Astley, Barry Grey and Laurie Johnson created some very original music and deserve to be respected as serious composers. Howard Blake has his own unique style.

If you are interested in music for films and television, The Avengers TV series or the music of Howard Blake you will like this release very much. I highly recommend it.