William Patrick Gowers (May 5, 1936 – December 30, 2014) was an English composer, best known for his film scores. He served as assistant conductor of the London Jazz Orchestra under Bill Russo. In 1964, he was music director for the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of "Marat/Sade" in the West End and New York. He later composed the score for the 1967 film adaptation of "Marat/Sade." In the 1970s, he ran the Studio for Electronic Music in Dartington and played keyboards for the New Swingle Singers.
Following his work on the film "Marat/Sade," Gowers began composing more extensively for feature films and documentaries. Another notable early film score he wrote was for Tony Richardson's "Hamlet" (1969). Other films for which he composed music include: "Thomas er Fredloes" (1968), "Balladen om Carl-Henning" (1969), "The Virgin and the Gypsy" (1970), "Giv Gud en Chance Om Soendagen" (1970), "The Boy Who Turned Yellow" (1972), "Farlige kys" (1972), "A Bigger Splash" (1974), "Children of Rage" (1975), "Stevie" (1978), "Whoops Apocalypse" (1986), and "Comic Act" (1998).
... Gowers explained his work "Rhapsody": "At that time, John Williams was considering what could be achieved by applying classical guitar techniques to the electric guitar. 'Rhapsody' aims to bring the two guitar types together in a single work, utilizing both their similarities and differences. In practice, it functions as a trio for one classical guitar and two electric guitars, accompanied by an electronic organ prepared in 16 tracks. For the concert, all the electric instruments are pre-recorded on magnetic tape, while the classical guitar is played live by the soloist. Naturally, achieving the right sonic balance between all these elements is challenging."
Regarding the "Concerto," he explained: "The instrumentation used finds its source in the Baroque Concerto Grosso, where a group of soloists, the Concertino, plays alternately with an ensemble that only appears in tutti. Here, the passages corresponding to the ensembles are those during which the guitar plays, and the solos of the Concertino are produced by violin, viola, cello, and alto saxophone or flute. The continuo is reserved for the organ, bass guitar, and percussion."