Distinguished composer and conductor – and former Selsey resident – Carl Davis will show you how at the Chichester Festivities when he brings the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera to Chichester Cathedral for a night entitled The Music of James Bond 007 (next Tuesday, 8pm), featuring vocalist Mary Carewe.

Hit themes including Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Nobody Does It Better, From Russia With Love, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, Casino Royale and The Look Of Love will be included – songs which trace the Bond timeline.

As Carl says, as a collection, they achieve what all good film music should: they set the tone of each film as committed, sexy and attractively ruthless.

"If you took one of the films, you would think it's a bit light, but if you take a historical view of the cycle of films that started in the early 60s and is still going strong, you get 20-odd films which tallies up to a good number of scores and songs. And some of them are just ravishing."

The point is they always tried to be cutting edge in their moment, a reflection of their now: "They would stick very closely to their theme."

As Carl says, inevitably there was terrific trauma in the films and the music when the Iron Curtain came down and Russia was no longer the traditional enemy. The films changed – and inevitably so did the music – when the big baddie transformed into a more general terrorist threat.

"The music always mirrors the times."

The early songs started off very jazzy, sometimes very croonerish (Matt Monro – From Russia With Love); and they passed through iconic singers (Bassey) and composers (McCartney) through to the present day, Another Way To Die.

Carl admits the latter was one which initially left him indifferent, but something happened when he put it to the orchestral/vocal test: "Now I would defend it to the death," Carl laughs.

The point is that it was right for its time – and right for the film.

"I will be moving through them all chronologically, though at one point I go back on myself to do a little Roger Moore tribute."

Carl's Selsey connection came about through his wife, the actress Jean Boht when she was working at Chichester Festival Theatre, where Carl himself has contributed several scores (A Month In The Country, The Taming Of The Shrew, etc).

Selsey gave him the sea air he wanted: "It was one of those things where having a very active life in town, so to speak, I must say that what happened when I arrived at Selsey was within seven minutes I was fast asleep. It was a marvellous atmosphere – very therapeutic!"

Tickets through www.chifest.org.uk

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