'No Surprises’ by Radiohead is an iconic music video. In it we see frontman Thom Yorke submerged under water for a nail-bitingly long length of time, musing on the banality of life. “That looks dangerous” we thought. “Let’s do that…but with Handel.” In our latest digital adventure, we play with genre expectations in this parody of Radiohead’s 'No Surprises' music video featuring baritone James Newby singing Handel’s Cara Pianta from Apollo e Dafne.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? We want to explore the effect of taking one of the biggest cultural influences of the 90s, Radiohead, and combining it with one of the biggest cultural phenomena of the 1700s, Handel to produce a piece of film that celebrates the enduring power of music, whatever the age.
WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN THE TWO PIECES OF MUSIC? Handel’s Cara Pianta is the final setting in the story of a narcissist, Apollo, who expresses strong, unrequited love for a woman, Dafne. While being chased by Apollo, Dafne cries for help and is transformed into a laurel bush. Seeing this, Apollo breaks down with grief. Radiohead’s 'No Surprises' is similarly tinged with sarrow as the singer contemplates the futility of life. As the water level rises over the singer, there is a visceral sense of claustrophobia, of grief and loss; and the moment that the water subsides feels like the release into a new life of wise manhood. Love Radiohead. Love Handel. Love Music.
JAMES NEWBY BARITONE “As my time in the Rising Star scheme was coming to a close, the OAE’s Chief Executive, Crispin Woodhead, asked me to participate in this tricky but extremely exciting challenge. To prepare for this video, I’d been practicing holding my breath for prolonged periods of time and I was confident it would be a one-take-wonder. However, I hadn’t accounted for the freezing cold water direct from the hosepipe. The first attempt I only managed to stay underwater for 5 seconds; the shock of the cold and the panic watching the water rise around me cut my breath completely. Take two and three were better, but still way off the required amount of time. After a couple of hours sat in a paddling pool in my swimwear, we needed to warm up; we had a cup of tea and I started Googling ‘holding your breath underwater’ and ‘Freediving for Dummies’. I discovered the technique of getting rid of all your air before breathing in deeply and then gulping extra air into your lungs before going under. We gave it a go and finally we managed it! You can see in the video the sheer concentration as well as the discomfort and panic in my face which fits so perfectly with the mood and content of the song. The final result has an intensity that’s perhaps hard to recreate without actual risk of death!"
ABOUT JAMES NEWBY BARITONE James Newby is currently a BBC New Generation Artist (2018-2021), an EHCO Rising Star for the 20-21 season (nominated by the Barbican Hall) and an Ensemble member of Staatsoper Hannover (2019-2021). Although still in his twenties, James is already the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2016 Kathleen Ferrier Award, the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera Voice Fellowship (2016), the Richard Tauber Prize (for best interpretation of a Schubert Lied), overall Third Prize at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn International Song Competition (2015), the Trinity Gold Medal (2017), Glyndebourne’s prestigious John Christie Award (2017) and a Rising Star for Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s 20172019 scheme. James enjoys a busy schedule as a recitalist with appearances at the Wigmore Hall including a shared recital with Dame Sarah Connolly, Leeds Lieder, Oxford Lieder and Perth International Arts Festival, Australia working with pianists Joseph Middleton, Simon Lepper, Garry Matthewman and Panaretos Kyriatzidis. In concert James has appeared at the BBC Proms singing Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music conducted by Sakari Oramo, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Douglas Boyd (Berlioz), Gabrieli Consort (Purcell), La Nuova Musica and RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Bach). Performances with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have included ‘Christus’ in the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s The Judas Passion; the role of Apollo in Handel’s Apollo e Dafne under Jonathan Cohen, St Matthew Passion under John Butt and various Bach Cantatas as part of the OAE’s ‘Bach, the Universe and Everything’ series at Kings Place, London. He recently made debuts with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century (Handel’s Messiah) and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Juanjo Mena as part of the Cincinnati May Festival. James studies with Robert Dean. Photo credit Gerard Collett
This film was made possible thanks to the generous support of Gramophone Magazine
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