“What makes my job very interesting is to continually encounter new stories, new people”

The word versatility acquires a new shine when one uses it to describe the awesome repertoire of master film composer Patrick Doyle. By infusing verve into cinematic canvases as lush and diverse as Sense and Sensibility and Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, the two-time Oscar nominated Scottish artiste has given us only a glimpse into his enduring musical genius.
Down in Doha to be part of the Doha Film Institute’s new thematic series ‘A Symphony of Films’, Doyle thrilled the audience in a scintillating live concert yesterday that coursed through some of the finest compositions of his career, and also marked the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare with Doyle’s compositions for films based on the works of the Bard including Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Henry V and As You Like It, with actor-director Sir Kenneth Branagh.
  Best known for his works on Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Thor, Cinderella, Carlito’s Way and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, among others, Doyle also conducted a master-class for film and music enthusiasts in Qatar on the weekend.

In a career spanning more than 25 years, the recipient of the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award for “outstanding achievements and contributions to the world of film and television music” has composed nearly 50 renowned feature film scores. Community caught up with Doyle for a long chat:

What do you think brings out the best in you when it comes to scoring Shakespeare’s works?
The stories by Shakespeare are so amazing. The characters are so rich. The philosophies are so enlightening and inspiring. Be it in revealing the inconceivable foibles that a man has or the characters he created, there is a very rich palate for any composer. There’s so much natural music in it. The job of the film composer is, apart from capturing the emotion and the drama, also to help the audience by making this very beautiful and intellectual material be more accessible. The music can bring people closer to this strange language, which is not an everyday language really. Unless you are a Shakespeare scholar, the music usually helps in adding another dimension and making it more accessible.

Tell us about the creative preparation it takes for you to start composing a film’s soundtrack.
There are so many different ways that you embark on a new project. When you get a call from the director or the production team, they say the film is set in this place and time and the story is such. That’s when you immediately start thinking about what that score could be. From that very moment, the ideas come in. Then, they will maybe send you a script or send you that after a meeting and then you read it, discuss it, and all this changes from film to film. What makes my job very interesting is to continually encounter new stories, new people. That’s what keeps things fresh. One day we are doing animation, another day live action, and another day thriller.

How varied is your approach to films that you take up — say, from a gangster movie like Carlito’s Way to an entirely different world of Cinderella?
When I composed for the film Jack Ryan, for example, I did a lot of research into electronic sounds, modern and contemporary sounds as the film is set in contemporary Russia. I wanted the music to reflect contemporary Russia as a music can stand in for contemporary New York but without clichés. Even though the backdrop for the animated film Brave was from my culture, I still went back to Gallic music and traditional Scottish music, just to refresh my mind. For Carlito’s Way, I didn’t do any research. I just read the story and it came to me. I knew the score had to be slightly more jazzy. It has a lot of source music in it, like pop music from the ’70s, and hence the music inhabits a cool jazzy world. Eventually, all you have is your instinct. You have to be very bold when you are writing. You have to be brave. You have to be able to say — this is what I have written, what do you think?

How much time does the research part of the work take?
It depends. You have to just take as it comes. For Cinderella, I started working on it in 2013 and worked on it on and off, for a year and a half. Sometimes, a lot of films arrive at the same time from friends and new offers. I always make sure that I can deal with them all. Also, I continually invest in new sounds and new samples, which you just have to as a composer. I just re-upgraded my entire sounds set. My Internet now is 150 times faster than the normal one. I should have done this two-three years ago but I had no time. You have to keep joining the 21st century as you go along.

In 1997, you were diagnosed with Leukemia, which you fortunately made a full recovery from. How did that phase change your life and your music and your approach to music?
I suppose I am more careful now about what jobs I do. If I find myself investing too much stress in something, I pull back. I am fortunate to have survived and my body now has its own warning system. It’s just a feeling based on which my body won’t allow me to go there now. It’s a psychological, physical thing that kicks in; I can’t quantify it but it’s a flashing light that says — Don’t do this! A few years ago, I was working on a project, the director of which was not in a good place himself and would often shout to make his point. So I had this very strong feeling and I immediately said — Stop. I told him that he better find another composer because this is unacceptable behaviour in my office. He didn’t find another composer, and he changed his behaviour. I am a man of 63; nobody shouts at me. You make your point, you don’t shout. We never spoke again and the other people in the team knew that he was wrong. So I got rid of the elephant in the room. Maybe 20 years ago, I would have dealt with it differently, but now I have no tolerance for unacceptable behaviour. That’s because I believe people have a duty of care in the workplace.

What is your word of advice for a young, upcoming composer?
My advice to a young composer or anybody for that matter is that you have to have your limit. You must work till you drop to do the best job possible but in an atmosphere of conviviality and civility. Tension is fine and everyone is stressed to a degree, but there’s a limit. One must remember that.