Carl davis biography

3 August 2023, 16:21

Described as a ‘true polymath of music’, Carl Davis leaves a substantial legacy of music including over 100 television soundtracks, and internationally performed ballets.

American-born conductor and composer Carl Davis CBE has died at 86, following a brain haemorrhage.

Davis, who has resided in the UK since 1961, was a driving force behind the resurgence of silent films.

He scored more than 50 of them, and wrote the soundtracks for some of Britain’s most beloved television dramas.

Some of these landmark soundtracks include The World at War, the 1995 TV adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth, and the 1998 film adaption of Goodnight Mr. Tom. He also wrote the theme tune for the 2006 World Cup, an arrangement of Handel’sSee the Conquering Hero Comes.

His score for the 1981 film The French Lieutenant’s Woman won him both a BAFTA and Ivor Novello A Carl Davis's Biography - The HistoryMakers TYP