Click here to sign the guestbook 1 from 2 January 20, 2012 - 12:09 PM India from Malta   I much preefr informative articles like this to that high brow literature. 3 July 24, 2011 - 05:50 PM Stephen James from United Kingdom   I grew up with J B and his music ,from the 6=5special days right up to his sad passing ,my late father also loved his wonderful magic hits and soundtracks that will live on forever.The world has lost one of the greatest talents of all time ,we salute you JB .The cinema of today ,will no longer have your lovely melodies that you so painstaking composed with your heart and soul. Nobody today comes near to you with your magic. RIP j 4 June 21, 2011 - 12:00 PM Andrew Elis from United Kingdom   (continuation of previous entry) From this very short and extremely insignificant conversation I instantly got the impression of a very modest and humble man. I never did know John Barry the man, but I knew John Barry the music, and probably I should have realised earlier that was all I really needed to know. Rest in peace John Barry, but your music will live forever. 5 June 21, 2011 - 11:57 AM Andrew Ellis from United Kingdom   As the evening of The John Barry Memorial Concert approached, I had mixed feelings about it. I would always look forward to a concert of John Barry’s music, but the concert was only happening because the man whose music I had listened to with veneration for 49 years (when I first heard ‘Hit & Miss at the age of 6) had passed away. Additionally it was to be an evening filled with many guest artists and celebrities, so this was something else to be looked forward to, but with a feeling of guilt because of that. On the other hand this was an evening not only to celebrate the life and music of John Barry, but also to say thank you. However the evening was fantastic, yes it was tinged with sadness, but it was not something that anyone needed to feel guilty about because they enjoyed it. Shirley Bassey’s performance was of course electric with her holding the last note of Goldfinger longer than I had heard her do for many years, and who could forget David Arnold plying the James Bond theme on the electric guitar every bit as good as Vic Flick. But the star of the show was of course John Barry’s music which was (as always) brilliant, proving again and again that his music was able not to just live within the film it was composed for but to have a life of it’s own, in short his music has a soul. This is of course something that everyone in the audience (including myself) already knew and I felt very privileged to be a part of that audience, and in the smallest of ways to have contributed to the evening. Often through the years I had wondered what it would be like to meet John Barry and perhaps getting to know the man. I did talk to him once at the stage door of the Royal Albert Hall after The Comeback Concert in 1998. I managed to mumble a few words of thanks for which he told me I was very kind. From this very short and extremely insignificant conversation I instantly got the impression of a very modest and humble man. I never did know John Barry the man, b... 6 May 28, 2011 - 12:12 AM Paul E D Skelley from United Kingdom   John Barry is by far my favourite classical composer especially his movie themes. I would have loved to have seen him live again. A well deserved tribute concert. A brilliant inspiring man and legend. 7 May 20, 2011 - 12:00 PM Manuel Quadreny Cortés from Spain   Enhorabuena por su web.La música de Barry es maravillosa y vivirá para siempre entre nosotros. 8 February 28, 2011 - 12:18 PM Frank Langhanke from Germany   Man hört nur mit dem Herzen gut. Das Wesentliche ist für die Augen unsichtbar. SEINE Musik hat uns berührt und bewegt. Seine Werke bleiben für uns unvergessen. In vielen Herzen verankert: Die Musik von John Barry. Wir übermitteln heute unser aufrichtiges Beileid zum Verlust des grössten Meisters der Filmmusik. Danke , Thank you very much Mr. John Barry R.I.P Danke aus Deutschland Familie F.Langhanke 9 February 05, 2011 - 05:14 PM Eric Mahady from United States   Thank you. 10 February 05, 2011 - 12:15 PM Paul Ward from United Kingdom   A true legend John Barry RIP 11 February 05, 2011 - 04:53 AM mike murdoch from New Zealand   Sincerest sympathys to the family of this truly great man, your music is unforgettable, rip JB 12 February 04, 2011 - 03:07 PM RON CURRY from United Kingdom   GOD BLESS JB 13 February 04, 2011 - 01:48 PM Ron Curry from United Kingdom   (continued) his own random thoughts for the function of the music. To enrich the music was John Barry the Conductor. Mr Barry always conducted his own work. Watching Mr Barry conduct in recording sessions, his body swaying, his baton jabbing and coaxing, this was the fun of the game for him. To finally stand in a Studio and conduct his finished score with the detail and subtleties that only he could give his music. Thank you for the music John. © Ron Curry MBE 14 February 04, 2011 - 01:46 PM Ron Curry from United Kingdom   In Memoriam John Barry I am glad to have this opportunity to express my great admiration and respect for John Barry's music scores. I first met Mr Barry at C T S Studios, Bayswater, London in December 1971 when he was scoring Sir Carol Reed's "Follow Me". To my mind there were two John Barrys, the Composer and the Conductor, each culminating in musical style. The work starting from subject matter, a film in rough cut after plotting musical cues with the then director and editor, the weeks and sometimes months of isolation when composing for a project, pulling the elements together however diverse, following his instincts being stylistic as only he could do it to "get a fix" from the blank manuscript paper. The work structured with musical intentions, the character of the writing of the music trenchancy and direction of the scoring and cross referencing, building layer upon layer of musical textures creating complex sounds all starting as dots on paper. As if game-like, notation written with the help of a metronome and a stopwatch, musical colours exchanged from one instrument to another to be given a new life as it fades to be picked up by another musical bridge, to grow and then fade in spacious lyricism using his musicianship and interpretative imagination to bring his written "cues" to fit the confines of time restrictions. Writing from one chord to another almost key changing. The melody staying in the logical sense but changes are happening like undercurrents taking the music into another mode his perfection of attach and clarity of harmonies and tone. His feelings and moods, the theme and variations in his music are written structurally for film sequences, a score full of thematic motifs which can still retain its value as music when presented as a separate form. Divorced from the film. His impact and depth of emotion with feeling not sentimentality for both orchestra and voices, for a non film work (The Beyondness of Things) using hi... 15 February 04, 2011 - 06:52 AM Calvin from United States   Deepest condolences to the Barry family. He is at peace. His music and style will live on ! Thank you, John for your unique music in the films that have touched my life. 16 February 03, 2011 - 09:05 PM Terry Lindsay from United States   I just found the news by accident that John had died. My sincerest sympathy to his family and friends. His music has made life so much more beautiful. 17 February 03, 2011 - 02:15 PM Peter Stanhope from United Kingdom   Continuation of posting below: Over the years, as history tells, the John Barry Seven gave way to John Barry the movie composer after having first been asked to 'rework' Monty Normans original James Bond theme tune. That lead to other film music being scored for a whole series of Bond movies and then many other Hollywood and British block-busters including Born Free, Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa, Chaplin and many more. Wonderful music - almost classical, symphonic in its own way. At the beginning of the new Millennium I got to meet up with Barry again, here in York. I had nominated him for the Honorary Freedom of the City of York. After doing battle with the City Fathers of the day (they were a lefty bunch back then which did not like 'honours') I eventually got them to bestow the Honorary Freedom of the City on Dr. John Barry OBE at a ceremony held in the Georgian Assembly Rooms. This was in June of 2002 and I and my wife Jean got to meet John again, and his wife Laurie, and had photos taken on that memorable occasion. It was a great event for a great man and he was clearly humbled by the historic significance of the occasion. A touch of irony was that the honour was bestowed on him by the Lord Mayor standing on the very same stage that Barry had sat on almost 50 years before as a young trumpeter playing in the dance band which used to play at the Assembly Rooms every Saturday - and that was where I had first asked Jean out to a dance in 1958 ! So the great man is gone but his great music will live on forever. I regard it as being a great honour to have known him, if only briefly, during his lifetime. If you like John Barrys music I can recommend no better collection than his "Moviola" album which contains many of his most haunting and emotional film themes. Peter Stanhope. 18 February 03, 2011 - 02:11 PM Peter Stanhope from United Kingdom   You may not know the man, but you will almost certainly know his music. John Barry OBE, a Honorary Freeman of York, is being remembered worldwide following his recent death at 77 yrs. I feel very fortunate in that I did meet the man, when both of us were quite young, and I have adored his music from so many award winning films. I came to first know John Barry Prendergast when I used to hang around back-stage at the Rialto cinema in York in the late 1950's during Sunday concerts on the stage. These shows starred some of the biggest names in music at that time, from jazz to skiffle, from big bands to individual singers. Lonnie Donegan, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Chris Barber, Dickie Valentine, Sarah Vaughan and, yes, even the Beatles - all performed on the stage at the Rialto. Back-stage Barry (as we called him) used to regale the arriving audience with his favourite music played over the PA system from a turntable with LP's behind the stage curtains. His favourites were Stan Kenton - then a major American big-band - as he had studied through a correspondence course with Bill Russo, a trombonist with this band. I was there taking photographs of all the stars for my own interest and personal collection. As a late teenager I had the run of the whole cinema, by kind permission of Barry's father, Jack Xavier Prendergast who owned it. I met and photographed all those greats and had a wonderful time most Sunday evenings. At a time in the late 50's Barry decided to start his own rock band - the John Barry Seven - and his father asked me if I would take some photos of them for 'front of house' pictures. So I was the first person to photograph the John Barry Seven before they went on to success and other London photographers. Over the years, as history tells, the John Barry Seven gave way to John Barry the movie composer after having first been asked to 'rework' Monty Normans original James Bond opening theme tune. That lead to other film musi... 19 February 02, 2011 - 10:30 PM David Barrios from Chile   Thank you from the botton of my heart, thank you for all your talent and beauty you give us through your music, go in peace, and the shine of heaven is waiting for you and your beautiful soul. 20 February 02, 2011 - 10:20 PM Adrienne Foster from United States   I never had the honor of meeting this incredibly versatile composer, but I wish I did. I love his music and listen to it almost every day. As writer, I like to play instrumental stuff while I work, so I usually end up playing movie soundtracks. His work is my favorite. I love the Bond soundtracks and the movies aren't the same without his distinctive horns and strings. OTOH, "Mary's Theme," from Mary Queen of Scots, has to be the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard. My condolences to his family. It's rough losing a loved one. The rest of the world will miss him, too. [Top] Page # 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  [Bottom]

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