Gatwick on the Orient Express: the music
A ticket on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul will set you back £50,000, whereas, for only £35, you can take the Gatwick Express all the way from Brighton to Victoria AND back! Admittedly, one might argue that the former journey passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, and Sofia might be a little more glamourous, but, hey, don’t rule out the delights of Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Hassocks and Preston Park. And you can’t argue that Gatwick Airport is a gateway to the whole world.
But what if, through music, we could transform the £35 journey into something much more magical? Gatwick on the Orient Express (or, more correctly, Orient on the Gatwick Express) is a concert with live music, immersive theatre, and a party — and, yes, it will take place on the Gatwick Express.
I’ve been putting together a playlist (see below) of material for Gatwick on the Orient Express. The idea is to mix train-related songs with those that have a connection (however loose) with the cities that the Orient Express stops at.
There are plenty of songs with the word “train” in the title, but having used Jeff Golub’s “Train Keeps a Rolling” as part of the Brighton Blue project, I was keen to use it again, along with others with a jazz/fusion quality. I feel very lucky that Joe Zawinul created a tune called Orient Express, and it would be criminal not to include it. Likewise, Trains by Steps Ahead and Last Train Home by Pat Metheney. The final song in this section will be a composite to be called “The Gat” and will use elements from Jimmy Smith’s The Cat which is not really in the style of the others, and “Flyers Direct” which is, and includes some of the chromatic and chordal elements found in the former.
The rest of the playlist is more tentative and will certainly change over the next few months. But here is a brief explanation of what else is here and why. The three songs with the title “Petite Fleur” are for Paris. Sidney Bechet wrote the original in 1952, and it is a staple of “trad jazz” and “gipsy swing” bands. The version on this list by Juliet Varnedoe has the makings of something I could adapt, but as interestingly, I have found two other songs with the same title that lend themselves to a mash-up. Watch this space. Alternatively, there is a lovely jazz version of Gnossienne by Parisienne Eric Satie. Tempting.
For such a wonderful city, finding material for Strasbourg has not been easy (and I should add, as a nod to the catastrophic decision to Brexit, our Gatwick Express journey will not be stopping at East Croydon — its designated twin!) There is potential for mashing up the only song with Strasbourg in the title (not strictly true, as there are several that refer to Strasbourg St Denis, which, as you will all know, is in Paris). Potential candidates for the mash-up: Ode to Joy, as it is the theme song of the EU, and La Marseillaise, which was written by Claude Rouget de Lisle, who was from Strasbourg. I have an idea to include the intro to All You Need is Love which was recorded as Britain’s contribution to “Our World” — the first broadcast by satellite to 400 million people in 25 countries. Further irony, perhaps.
Munich is next and, no, oom-pah music will not be a part of my show. Instead, I have opted for the music of Carl Orff (born in Munich on 10 July 1895). Carmina Burana would be an obvious choice, but I have opted for a short piece, Gassenhauer (meaning a lively dance). This tune is from a set called the Orff Schulwerk and is an approach to music education for children. This has links with the Budapest section below, where I am thinking of using works by Bartok, who was also an educator. Gassenhauer, as in the example on my playlist, uses tuned percussion such as xylophones or marimbas and will lend itself to being jazzed up (sorry, Carl).
Vienna and Mahler go hand in hand, and in the era when the Secession was happening, as you may remember, there was a lot going on in art, architecture, and psychology. And there is a precedent for jazzing up Mahler. There is a wonderful album by Uri Caine, and I have chosen a piece called Des Knaben Wunderhorn (the boy’s magic horn) as the foundation for what I might work on. There is a great section at 2:13 which is just voice with percussion. This also links into Zawinal’s Orient Express, and, of course, Zawinul came from Vienna. I might also include elements from some of the other songs on the album, particularly Kindertortlieder 4.
We arrive in Budapest and are fortunate to have a great example of Bartok’s Allegro Barbero (the title is a jab at Bartók’s critics who called him a ‘barbarian’) jazzed up by Peter Sarik—definitely something I can use. As I mentioned, I like the educational link between Orff and Bartok. The latter is famous for “For Children,” a set of pieces that I struggled with on the piano as a child.
Belgrade. I HAVE NOTHING. Someone, please help. There is Belgrade by Sebastian Busto, but I don’t see the connection either in the music or the artist, who is Argentinian (although rhythmically, I quite like the piece). Belgrade Train is a great song title but sadly no use here. Type “Belgrade” into Spotify and see if you can come up with something appropriate.
Sofia has the famous Bulgarian Voices, and it would be great to do something with these. I have included Dian Solo, Ivan Shopov, and Triagaida, all with some ideas, but I think as we approach the end of the journey, something more is needed. Ideas — the Pat Metheney song but with the sitar replaced with the Bulgarian Voices (there is a very good set of samples that I will shortly experiment with (https://bityl.co/RML0), and there will be more on this in a future post.
Our journey will end in Istanbul, and I was hugely helped by watching the film “CROSSING THE BRIDGE — THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL” (synopsis from MUBI: German musician Alexander Hacke sets out with his mobile recording studio to capture Istanbul’s musical diversity and construct a portrait of Turkish music. His journey leads him to discover a broad spectrum, ranging from rock and classical arabesque to modern electronic and hip-hop.). The last three songs were discovered via the film, and something along the lines of Istanbul 1:26 A.M. is exactly what we need for a finale.
Here’s the playlist. There are around 25 songs at the moment, so scroll down to have a listen.
