Stephen Daltry, music composer
I really enjoyed exploring “The Lost World of Mr
Hardy” even if my own fishing experience is limited to
catching mackerel in Lyme Bay at twelve. I grew up on the other end of
Hadrian’s Wall from Alnwick, up on the Solway Firth and I
will always remember watching the half-net fishermen there. However, I
feel a strong connection with the landscape and people of this film.
Nature has always been important to me. It is no coincidence that I am
influenced by composers like Debussy and Delius. They also had a very
strong connection with nature.
For me part of the profound nature of music is that it can transport you back to the past and propel you forward. The stories and skills of people like fly dresser Ken Middlemist are important and fascinating to me. They are the voices of a disappearing world and it is rewarding if my music can underline this.
I met Andy at the National Film School, where I studied composing for films, and wrote the music for his short drama “Katarzyna” which was followed by several corporate films together and then his drama “English Goodbye” in 1999. Andy has a strong connection to nature too, which shows in his films. The characters are always influenced by their surrounding, landscape speaks for them, reveals their thoughts. Maybe that is why our working relationship has grown; it is driven by a similar force.
I specialise mainly in documentaries -”The Hunt” (BBC/ZDF, Winner of the Cultural Prix Italia 99), two films about Princess Diana for ITV, films about Catherine Cookson and Oscar Wilde and I am currently composing for a film about the life of Grand Duchess Charlotte for Luxembourg cinema and TV.
