The Music of Endeavour

(orchestral music) (audience clapping) - [Narrator] As he takes the podium, a hush falls over the auditorium.

(orchestral music) (clapping) - We're in Abbey Road, a famous studio, studio two which is obviously referenced for many of the Beatles, as famous tracks were recorded here.

So the, the whole place is steeped in an enormous amount of history.

It's just one of those places that wherever you go, wherever you talk to somebody will know something about Abbey Road.

It's gone through so many incarnations over the years but I'm lucky enough to work with some of the world's finest musicians within these walls.

And it, it never feels like work.

There's such an energy that the place brings and it's a bit like a, a kind of very microcosmic family here.

You never know who you're gonna meet.

I've seen Wrigley Scott at the bar.

You've seen Paul McCartney walking down the one of the corridors.

It's, it's, it's a crazy place.

It's a place where great music is made with minimum fuss and that's why I love working here.

Sean and I had early discussions about having a a sort of a bubble and a vibe and energy about this and we've never done a school like this before for Endeavor and it's been one of those projects and I've worked on, this is the 34th one, and obviously I worked with Barry years ago on the early ones and I've composed 20 something of them now myself.

And they've, there's been a a growth and a development of them and every time you think Endeavor can't take a more creative or interesting approach, it can.

(orchestral music) As we are embarking upon the final journey of Morse this is a time where the storytelling I'm doing for the first time is a series wide.

We're starting to look at themes across films.

One that leads into two that leads into the final scenes where we say goodbye to Morse forever really and pick him up in 1986 again as John Thor.

So I feel an enormous amount of weight for like I used to watch the program with my mum years ago and here I am in the final days of recording the last few episodes.

It's just is, is, it's an amazing experience and all of us with the Alamo and all the musicians that have grown up over the past 30 years with these characters are, it's a, it's a great moment.

It's, I don't think anything like this has happened in television before.

36 years of feature film length history is, is quite incredible.

And an amazing fan base as well.

(orchestral music) Barrington Pheloung, well known Australian composer who who resided in the UK for, for many, many years.

Created the, the infamous Morse theme.

(orchestral music) He was definitely involved in changing the way that people score for television at a time when things weren't really orchestral.

Writing Lewis and Endeavor, he always instilled a very relaxed and a very friendly vibe.

That's something we've always carried through that level of, you know, family.

Endeavor and Morse has always had the sound of Oxford something that's typic, typically British.

Where I'm taking it now is, is far more towards making them a bit like more feature film.

For me to really write the best music, I've gotta have an emotional reaction to it when I see it.

- Whoa.

Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- You should be getting to the church on time, ey?

- [Matthew] The relationships between all the parties involved and the constant pulling and the constant tensions.

You know, when you stand up there, in front of the world's finest musicians and friends, you you sometimes have to pinch yourself.

Those moments today where I just lost myself completely you're just, you are in the moment with the music and when that takes you, you know you've got something special.

It's like we're leaving a legacy now.

And that's, that's the legacy of Morse.

(orchestral music) Wonderful.