Podcast: ANNE WITH AN E composers Amin Bhatia & Ari Posner

January 30, 2020 | By

Slight erratum…

L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables has been adapted several times for the big and small screens, starting as a silent in 1919, and most amusingly as a pair of RKO features, Anne of Green Gables (1934) and Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) – amusingly, because it was billed as a “Classic of American Literature.”

A 1952 British TV series followed before the CBC decided to launch a trio of teleplays – a French version in 1957, and two English versions in 1956 and 1958, with the former written and the latter directed by actor-humorist Don Harron.

The BBC took a crack at a series in 1972 and 1975, a Japanese anime followed in 1975, but it was Kevin Sullivan’s productions in teleplay and series form with Megan Follows as Anne that made the classic of Canadian literature a mega-hit and ongoing home video best-seller.

Spin-offs Road to Avonlea (1990-1996) and Emily of the New Moon (2000) shored up Sullivan Films’ L.M. Montgomery catalogue, and although Anne has appeared in further incarnations, perhaps the most striking is Anne with an E (2018-2019), giving the character a darker shade.

Composer Amin Bhatia

As developed by Breaking Bad’s Moira Walley-Beckett, the CBC-Netflix production ran for 3 seasons, and the music by veteran composers Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner is available digitally and on disc from Varese Sarabande.

As you’ll hear in our detailed conversation, the elegant scores echo Anne’s Celtic roots and evoke the striking landscape of Prince Edward Island, and features a wealth of Canadian musicians.

Composer Ari Posner

Bhatia and Posner’s collaborations span roughly two decades (Flashpoint, X Company, Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War), and their background in long-running TV enabled the pair to meet the demands of the format’s tight scheduling.

Discussed in the half-hour podcast are aspects of scoring, characters, the importance of the music editor, deadlines, changing technology, plus other candid thoughts, and the podcast is available via GooglePlay, iTunes, Libsyn, SoundCloud, and Stitcher channels. A CD review will follow Monday, in tandem with a short Instagram podcast teaser.

Thanks for reading,

 

 

Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com

 

 

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Category: Articles, EDITOR'S BLOG, FILM MUSIC, INTERVIEWS, podcast

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