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Film Music (slightly OT)

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kyjo
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« on: December 31, 2012, 09:00:03 pm »

I was just wondering what members here thought about film music. My favorite film music composer is John Williams (surprise, surprise ;D), whose scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, ET, Schindler's List, and others are among the most powerful and instantly memorable film scores ever written. His Star Wars soundtracks, in particular, are masterpieces-I think the music written for the first three films (that is, Episodes I-III ;D) is underrated compared to the music composed for the final three (Episodes IV-VI). My favorite tracks in Episodes I-III are the beautiful, passionate Anakin and Padme theme where, at the end, the cellos and basses play a slow, mysterious version of the Imperial March that foreshadows Anakin's fate. Gives me chills every time I hear it! Also the epic Duel of the Fates, a viscerally exciting track which is made even more dramatic by the addition of a wordless chorus. Sometimes, in the later episodes (especially V), it seems that the Imperial March gets played to death, but there are just as many gems in these scores too, not least the lyrical Leia's Theme which rises to an overwhelming climax which is pure goose bump material! Also Yoda's Theme, which is a mysteriously powerful track. Need I go on? You get the idea-Williams is a great film composer ;D

I also greatly enjoy Howard Shore's music for the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and the recently released The Hobbit). There are so many great moments in these scores, some of them hauntingly beautiful and others dark and frightening, just like the films themselves. These powerful scores keep me returning to the LOTR films, which I would still enjoy even without the music (but much less) ;D

Oh, and Hans Zimmer-great stuff! Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, etc-exciting and energetic scores that really get your blood flowing!

I haven't listened much to older film scores (by older I mean before, say, 1975). I've listened to some Korngold, Rozsa (Ben Hur is great!) and Herrmann, as well as some of those mini-piano concertos taken from film scores (e.g. the Warsaw Concerto), but not much else. Does anyone have any recommendations about what older film scores are good listening? I see Marco Polo has recorded a bunch of them. Also, there's Chandos' extensive British Film Music series, which I have not yet investigated.

Sorry for the rambling! In summary, the two things I would like to discuss are a)what are your favorite film scores and b)what older film scores do you recommend.

 :)
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logeny
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« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2012, 10:53:10 pm »

Can't choose one contemporary favorite.  "Out of Africa," "Schindler's List," "Scent of a Woman," are wonderful - but there are so many more.

Of the so-called "Golden Age" composers in Hollywood - mostly escapees from the Nazi era - the towering master is Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  His scores never have been equaled, in my opinion.

For a sample of some of Korngold's film music try this marvelous disc.  Especially recommended is the excerpt from "Of Human Bondage."

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kyjo
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« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2012, 11:15:00 pm »

Indeed, Korngold is a master as well as the founder of the "Golden Age" in film music :)

Your mention of Out of Africa reminded me that I forgot to mention John Barry-another one of my favorites :o His music for Dances with Wolves is achingly beautiful, conjuring up images of the majestic scenery of the American West :)

BTW I'm not expecting anyone to be able to able to list just one favorite (I certainly couldn't)! Members may list however many favorites they would like :)
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2013, 12:26:53 am »

Ah,Korngold! I was reading Dundonnell's post a bit earlier about his dislike of Rachmaninov. For some reason I thought of Korngold! ;D Like Rachmaninov his music is lush & romantic,but I like Korngold allot better than Rachmaninov (generally speaking) & I was trying to put my finger on why? Anyway this is a thread about his film music,so I won't pursue this much further. But if I like Korngold why aren't I as keen on Rachmaninov? You would think the two would go together? Not being a musician I can't really explain it,except that Korngolds orchestration is less gooey & mushy. Just comparing his Piano Concerto with Rachmaninov's. Korngold's harmonies seem 'spicier',more astringent. There is more 'fibre' for the mind to feed on! ;D

Anyway.........
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kyjo
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« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2013, 12:56:01 am »

I'm surprised so many people dislike Rachmaninov-Colin, John (aka Mirror Image) and now you, cilgwyn :o

...but enough about that. It is entirely possible to love Korngold and hate Rachmaninov (or the other way around) at the same time. While both late-romantic composers, Korngold and Rachmaninov are quite different. Rachmaninov's music is in the Slavic Romantic tradition of Tchaikovsky and focuses on memorable melodic writing rather than innovative and dazzling orchestration. Korngold's music, however, is in the German late-romantic tradition of Wagner and R. Strauss (not so much Mahler) and focuses more on complex orchestration than melodic writing. I'm not saying Rach was a bad orchestrator or that Korngold was a bad melodist-I'm just trying to emphasize that there are differences between the two composers. I wouldn't exactly call Korngold's harmonies "spicy", even in comparison to Rach. I truly hope this clumsily worded explanation answers your question, cilgwyn ;D

Is it possible to like Korngold but not care much for R. Strauss? It must be because I have, strangely (for someone who adores late-romantic music) never understood Strauss. He's one of those composers I don't quite "get"-though I love Wagner, Bruckner and Mahler, whom Strauss is often grouped with. His orchestral music often just seems like a bunch of bluster but without much depth or purpose. A great orchestrator maybe, but not a great composer IMHO. In other words, orchestration instead of music. There are quite a few composers who are more talented orchestrators than Strauss-Respighi, Sibelius and Ravel, just to name a few. The only works of his I've really enjoyed are the Burleske and Metamorphosen. I believe the reason why the latter is more successful than Strauss' other orchestral works is because it's just for strings, so Strauss doesn't have to worry about dazzling us with orchestration but can instead concentrate on musical substance. That's just my sincere opinion. I think I need to give Strauss another go to judge him fairly. Apologies if I have been rather harsh on Strauss :-[ Now I prepare to be hated by Strauss fans ;D

Sorry for the ramble! Now...back to film music! Strauss didn't write any ;D
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Toby Esterhase
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« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2013, 11:56:47 pm »

In Italy Film Music hasn't been plenitude evalutation.However Bruno Nicolai should
be more known:



as Angelo Lavagnino.
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kyjo
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« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2013, 12:13:27 am »

We also shouldn't forget Nino Rota, who worked versatilely (is that a word?) in both film and concert music. He is most famous for his scores to The Godfather and 8 1/2, amongst others. Here is an excellent disc featuring suites extracted from some of Rota's film scores conducted by Muti:



 :)
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Toby Esterhase
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« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2013, 02:09:48 am »

We also shouldn't forget Nino Rota, who worked versatilely (is that a word?) in both film and concert music. He is most famous for his scores to The Godfather and 8 1/2, amongst others. Here is an excellent disc featuring suites extracted from some of Rota's film scores conducted by Muti:

 :)

Dear Kyjo
Rota is a good example of that i was saying.For his conservative production he was labelled as "fascist" by L.Nono and also his popularity as film composer saved him from oblivion his orchestral output is largely absent from italian orchestras repertoire.
Concerning Lavagnino his Othello's funeral march is an impressive piece.
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guest224
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« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2013, 12:13:59 pm »

Fans of film music (and enthusiasts like me of Russian composers!) might be interested in a disc recently put out with recordings of film music by the Russian emigre composer Dmitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (1894-1979), called "The Greatest Film Scores of Dmitri Tiomkin"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greatest-Scores-Dmitri-Tiomkin-Kaufman/dp/B008CJ8RU6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357128355&sr=8-1

Its tracks include music from:

1. Cyrano de Bergerac - Overture
2. The Alamo – Suite – i. Overture ii. Davy Crockett iii. Battle iv. Epilogue
3. The Old Man and the Sea - Theme, Cubana and Finale
4. The Four Poster - Overture
5. Giant – Suite – i. Prelude ii. There’s Never Been Anyone Else But You iii. Finale
6. The Fall of the Roman Empire - The Fall of Love
7. High Noon - Do Not Forsake Me
8. Rawhide - Theme
9. The High and the Mighty - Suite
10. Hitchcock Suite  - Dial 'M' for Murder AND Strangers on a Train
11. Wild is the Wind - Theme
12. The Sundowners - Theme
13. Circus World - The John 'Duke' Wayne March
14. Land of the Pharaohs - Theme and Pharaoh's Procession
15. Friendly Persuasion - The Fair
16. Friendly Persuasion - Thee I Love
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kyjo
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« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2013, 08:05:58 pm »

Thanks, Christopher. I really need to investigate Tiomkin! I've put these discs on my want list, along with the one you mentioned:




 :)
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JimL
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« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2013, 08:19:48 pm »

You're forgetting all the fine film scores by one Bernard Herrmann, including several for Alfred Hitchcock, the score for Fahrenheit 451 he did for François Truffaut, and a particularly fine score for the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion/live action movie based on Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island (1961).  Being a bit of a science-fiction buff myself, there is also a marvelous score by Russell Garcia (who died in 2011) for George Pal's adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux.
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kyjo
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« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2013, 08:30:30 pm »

Quote from: kyjo link=topic=2176.msg8365#msg8365
Herrmann

I did mention Herrmann (whose name is spelled with two rs, by the way), albeit very briefly ;D You probably didn't see that I mentioned him because my first post was overlong, I admit ;D

Yes, he is definitely one the finest and most famous film score composers :) His music, with its uneasy atmosphere and distinctive textures, is immediately recognizable as being Herrmann. There are plenty of great recordings of his film music available, of which I recommend:



(the Eloquence recording contains two discs.)

Does anyone have any opinions on Chandos' British Film Music Series?

 :)
 
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JimL
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« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2013, 08:37:30 pm »

Oops!  I saw your reference when I re-read your post.  In one eye and out the other, perhaps?  And I corrected my spelling.  I also forgot about all those fine scores he did for the rest of those Ray Harryhausen movies (7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, etc.) as well as Journey to the Center of the Earth (starring, among others, James Mason and Pat Boone) and, of course, The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise), with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal.
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Elroel
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« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2013, 12:17:15 am »

Not to forget William Alwyn who wrote many music fot the film (The Fallen Idol; The history of Mr. Polly and 'Odd Man Out' spring in mind.
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albert
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« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2013, 09:48:58 am »

A list of movie scores I like a lot (apparently by composers not yet named):
Brian Easdale The Red Shoes ( almost a musical movie)
Malcolm Arnold The bridge on the River Kwai
Maurice Jarre Ryan's daughter
                   Lawrence of Arabia
Ennio Morricone Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
                  L'eredità Ferramonti

One by an already named composer
Nino Rota La strada (recycled into a ballet which comprises also some movie music not from "La strada": there are several recordings by Muti, Nezet-Seguin....)
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