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Marcus

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Everything posted by Marcus

  1. To me, it's already on par with "Hook" and the Potter scores (although it's difficult to compare, given BFG's smaller scope)
  2. Broxton's review seems on point. Much of the criticism I've read seems more concerned with lamenting what the score is not, rather than focusing on (and dare I say: celebrating!) what it is. I predict it's TFA all over again...
  3. After finally receiving the CD today, and still only halfway through the score, I have to say I'm completely BLOWN AWAY! This score is an absolute treasure trove of orchestral brilliance; Williams' writing is as effervescent as ever, and there's a concert musical freshness and sense of discovery and invention to this music that is pretty peerless. Just take something as delightful as "Dream Jars": It's absolutely astonishing in its originality of concept, and probably one of Williams' most virtuosic -and virtuosically written- pieces of film music ever. I mean: 2 and a half minutes just for the flute section soli! Who else would write something like this for film today? Who else could pull it off? This score ASTONISHES me. And I'm only 9 tracks in.
  4. The greatest thing my first composition teacher taught me when I was about 17 was to never be discouraged by the great standards of the composers I admired (chiefly Shostakovich, Ravel and Williams at the time). So many fledgling artists feel burdened by their forebears, and see their achievements as something unattainable. In my experience, what continues to be the curse of most imitators, isn't so much their adherence to existing models, but rather their failure to gain so deep an insight as to become liberated from the model, yet at the same time becoming empowered by "growing through" ones source of influence.
  5. Well, I think rather than be discouraged, one should find inspiration in this sort of extreme mastery and virtuosity. It is a craft, and can be mastered through very hard work, of course. But to be fair, in the field of contemporary orchestral film music, Williams IS without peer in terms of pure craftsmanship. There's much more to his game than just technique; there's an artistry -a power of spirit and mind, and a playful panache- that feels far removed from other film musical fare. What I so admire is Williams' willingness to always invest so much effort into details and layers of complexity most audiences -and even experienced listeners- won't ever notice or catch. And it's done solely in the service of art, wich I find humbling and very beautiful: At 84, he still wants to prove his worth as a composer, and go whatever extra mile a project seems to offer in order to do so. He is still discovering, still pushing himself... It reminds me of something Haydn reportedly said very late in life, reflecting on a long and illustrious career, and the fact that his time was running out: "And to think that only now am I beginning to understand how to write for woodwinds"... Williams elevates and ennobles anything he scores. Not simply because he is one of the greatest composers of our time, but because he puts so much effort, expertise, and, frankly, love and care into everything he crafts. He is still in relentless pursuit of excellence. I am more than impressed. I am deeply grateful.
  6. Great find! Such a phenomenal motivic tour de force, not to mention absolutely stunningly orchestrated. Still not too impressed with the performance, though. It's slower than it ought to be, and at the present tempo, it ends up sounding a bit too "deliberate" and pedantic. Also, the soloist's cadenzas are a literal cornucopia of missed musical opportunities... Should have been played much more playfully... But the piece is great fun, and one can only hope other pianists discover it and use it as the powerhouse concertante vehicle it has the potential to become!
  7. To me, what's so striking about these samples, is precisely their freshness: Already, there are textures, colors and combinations we haven't quite heard before, and there's a concert musical playfulness to them that suggests Williams really had fun with this score. It sounds vibrant, vitalized, and full of virtuosic vigor!
  8. Delighted to play the part, if only to have a bit of fun on behalf of your forum persona! As the perpetual cynic of most things Williams, you tread dangerously close to self-parody...
  9. A shopworn comment, if there ever was one...
  10. Sounds fabulous! At 84, Williams still writes with more energy than anyone else in the business, and with an elegance and panache that is simply unmatched. Loving every second of these samples; even from just 30 second glimpses, there's a sense of rejuvenation and freshness to this music that is just remarkable. What a precious, precious gift!
  11. Thanks for sharing! The two four-note motifs are actually inversions of each other, although the one that begins with the descending minor second cleverly relates to Snoke as well. The cue you've shared seems to build towards Han & Kylo Ren's confrontation ("Ben!"), and the fantastic climax based on the Force theme is probably what was referenced in the reports of Williams asking the trombones to give him something "louder than anything Verdi's got".
  12. It is indeed a variation, altering both the rhythm and the harmonic content, but retaining the melodic contour.
  13. What I especially like about "March of the Resistance", is how consciously stark and austere it is. There's very little of the pomp or opulence usually afforded such marches in Williams' ouvre. A gritty fugal piece, it eschews most of the frills and heraldics that typically accompany similar fare (as evidenced by the remarkably barren percussion setup -only timpani, with a few splashes of piatti and suspended cymbal- , as well as by the general avoidance of flourishes and other brilliant gestures), and instead gains a ruggedness that seems a perfect musical match for its on screen counterpart. The one truly great flourish it does contain, though, -the great trumpet and trombone (+tuba) fanfare towards the end of the march- , is one of the cleverest variations yet on the Rebel Fanfare!
  14. Had to look this up on YouTube. The string lines, and the overall handling of sonic elements (timbral and textural combinations), make it clear to me this wouldn't have been penned by JW. It's more a matter of the sum of it, and not necessarily the particulars, although there are also specific elements that stick out as foreign to Williams' style. The string writing, the harmonic writing (especially in the ostinato)... Generally, although the textures are fairly busy, this music is less complex than similar music by JW. Also, there are a couple of more "elusive" qualities missing: A sense of orchestral panache, of idiomatic flair (Williams always by design finds ways to "showcase" sections of the orchestra more specifically; this track feels like it was conceived with a more "generic" soundscape in mind), and of a certain playful elegance, even in a more agitated piece like this.
  15. It's quite clever: The broad, lyrical cantilena actually spells out "B(b)-F-G", in that it emphasizes the tonic, fifth and major 6th. Loving all that I've glimpsed so far.
  16. (Just to clarify, given that there seems to be some confusion regarding what the term actually means, and what constitutes a "suite":) A "suite" is a collection of several (usually shorter) pieces, historically (pre 19th Century) movements in different dance forms (gavotte, gigue, sarabande etc). Later, it has come to signify any selection of multiple pieces culled from a larger body of score. A film music concert suite is a succession of music from (different parts of) the film score arranged for concert performance. If only one segment of the score (a theme, a set piece etc) is arranged in this fashion, it is a merely a concert arrangement, not a suite. Typically, a suite will consist of several different parts of the score strung together, whereas a concert arrangement often has a narrower focus. "Jedi Steps & Finale" is technically a concert suite, even with a short prologue from the score proper overlapping with the end credits. "Harry's Wondrous World" is a good example of a single movement suite (although it may also function as a Finale to a larger suite; see next paragraph). Other suites may consist of several concert arrangements designed as separate movements that constitute a larger whole. Williams has designed many of these, prominently for the Harry Potter scores, as well as for some of the Star Wars scores.
  17. I hear that chord as a sort of bi-chord, with a Bbsus2 on top of a D major chord (no 5th). But it can be read many ways, of course. Isn't it interesting how our perception of such chords as separate entities says so much about our own "tonal experience"?
  18. Okay; listening through the OST just now, a quick few statements: Track 1, @ ca. 01.47 (right with the ostinato), and again @ ca. 04.11 Track 20, @ ca. 00.29 The motif in question is clearly related to Snoke's music...
  19. No. It's neither of Ren's themes. It's a separate, sinister four-note motif; two falling notes followed by two rising ones (b3-2-4-b5, if you speak music). It's heard throughout the score. Hope someone can beat me to the timestamps..
  20. Well, if you persistently can't remember Rey's theme, then I suppose that can't be helped. But I'm not sure Williams is to blame. To my mind, what struck me immediately, was how beautifully sculpted the theme is, and how very carefully structured it is (all of it revolving around the interval of a minor third). I also found the D-E (4th to 5th) melodic cadence of the first phrase very beautiful, and quintessentially williams-esque; it's a sort of musical equivalent to what in poetry is referred to as a feminine cadence (two syllables, instead of a monosyllabic, harder ending). Perhaps you expected a different, broader or simpler theme. But that's the thing with character themes: They're supposed to reflect characters, and as such, I think what Williams wrote is just about as perfect a musical depiction of Rey's character as I can imagine. And I LOVE that it caught me a bit by surprise. (I also think the undulating minor third intro motif is about as catchy a hook as anything the Star Wars scores have offered)
  21. I don't think this emotionality is what Williams was aiming for in "Rey's Theme" at all, though. Your example, which seems heavily influenced by Goldsmith's "The Edge", is very broad and direct, really putting emphasis on the sort of "open plain wonder" (later just another musical shorthand for big moments) that has become culturally embedded in the minor tonic - major subdominant progression. For Williams, that progression is simply there as a passing reference to the Force theme. The core of Rey's theme is about something else entirely: driven-ness and self-discovery, musically made present through the ever-shifting guises of the main melody, as well as the omnipresent undulating minor third motif.
  22. Keep writing! Letting puzzles like this trigger your musical imagination is a wonderful exercise! Williams "Kylo Ren" motifs are pretty tough to take on, though, as they're imbued with such an expert take on who that character is, and what he's about. There's a very good reason why there's no fully fledged "big bad" Kylo Ren villain's march: Kylo Ren is a young, very conflicted character. The two motifs for him reflect both his ominous presence and the underlying tragedy of his transformation. The way we end up musically portraying characters and human characteristics has everything to do with our own sense of empathy, and our personal response, based on personal experience. Being a young composer, Kylo Ren very likely comes across as both "big" and "bad" to your mind, whereas Williams scores him the way he perceives him.
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