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The Official Heartwood Thread


Dixon Hill

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Speaking about the Yo-Yo album, right?

Yeah, it's a nice piece. Once again trees get the inspiration flowing from ol' Johnny. It's also a more 'open' piece after the rather challenging "Three Pieces for Solo Cello", which have too much grit for their own good, IMO.

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Yeah, I think it was pretty much an 'album piece' from the get-go as Williams needed material to fill up the Yo-Yo disc once the project was launched -- inspired by a book about trees that he got around this time. I've never heard of any public performances of the work myself.

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It took a while for me to get this piece as it is somewhat introverted but I have grown to love the haunting mood painting Williams does in Heartwood. The slow rising sonorities at the beginning and the lovely cello solo parts. While not programmatic the piece has always sparked my imagination.

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Which is absolutely criminal. The score should be published as well. This piece's relative anonymity is much more egregious to me than that of the symphony or piano sonata or 7 For Luck.

Well, at least we have a recording of Heartwood, unlike the others. But yeah, I know what you mean.

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It took a while for me to get this piece as it is somewhat introverted

Are you an extravert?

When the mood strikes me.

I took a listen to this piece just now and I have to say I really love the whole spectrum of moods it goes through in its running time ending in a vintage Williams conjured sense of serenity and peace.

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How can you know that?

If the fanfaric stuff is where Williams' "true heart" lies, then wouldn't he be writing more of that stuff right now, instead of music like this?

It may be the music that you prefer, but that doesn't mean that's the music that Williams truly speaks through.

But we have been through this argument before. JWFan is a flat circle after all!

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How can you know that?

If the fanfaric stuff is where Williams' "true heart" lies, then wouldn't he be writing more of that stuff right now, instead of music like this?

It may be the music that you prefer, but that doesn't mean that's the music that Williams truly speaks through.

But we have been through this argument before. JWFan is a flat circle after all!

It may not be where his 'true heart' lies, whatever that means, but it could be called his forte.
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Sure. But the implication was that that was the kind of music Willaims enjoys writing most, which is something I'd argue against.

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It's subjective really. If you enjoy his fanfare/blockbuster stuff most, that's cool. You'd probably consider that his forte. I've personally found more enjoyment in other facets of his musical voice.

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It works both ways, but the point is that the films/franchises are what penetrate popular culture and the music piggybacks along with it, whether or not it had a fundamental role in how good the things were in the first place.

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Big brassy numbers, sweeping love themes, and catchy hooks are attention getters for the general public. They're more easily recyclable in other mediums as well (TV spots, commercials, etc), further reinforcing their popularity and association with that composer. It's completely natural for any composer to be known for those types of moments in their output. Beethoven is known primarily for the opening of his 5th symphony and the ode to joy. That's not an accident.

As hard has it is to believe, these things may not necessarily come completely natural to him.

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  • 1 month later...

Very well!

Sharky, Ludwig, karelm, tedfud... whoever! Let's begin by tracking the primary motives in the piece and sketching out a rough form, shall we?

I'll also reiterate my most asked question, knowing the answer... doesn't anyone have access to this score?

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OK I'll wax poetic for you TGP!

I think I have from the start associated this music with the colour blue. I guess it is the way all these sonorities paint images of forest (yes this association comes from the title of the piece) in the slowly setting dusk (purely from JWs wonderful atmospheric orchestrations). I love how Williams initially just mood paints with the orchestra and the sounds keep building into that slight crescendo of slightly dissonant chords from the ensemble. It takes some time for the cello to come in and then it is suddenly there gently singing atop these wafting layers of sound, winding nimbly on in solo rumination.

The noble yearning passage starting around 7:15 that then grows into a passionate exclamation and that gorgeous surging string line is tremendously beautiful and keeps building and building almost fiercely. And then it comes back to the cello. Yo-Yo Ma's performance is warm and resonant as usual and I mean here resonating with the listener emotionally. There is such warmth to his playing (here and elsewhere on the album) and I think Williams really knows the performer and his strengths in and out so he instinctively writes such beautiful passages for cello in singing register specifically to Ma.

As with many of Williams's concert works the ending is has such eloquent feel of inevitability and I would not want to say resignation but rather of serene acceptance. The lingering peaceful mood of the last cello phrases is vintage JW, akin to ending the piece with a warm smile.

Above I said it already but this piece took a while to open to me but it has become a favourite of mine over the years.

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Wonderful!

The opening harmonies always give me an image of a misty, rainy forest, similarly, though if there's a coloristic association for me it's more of several shades of green.

Love how he takes his time opening the piece, with more than three minutes going by before the soloist enters. And that entrance is one of the most sublime musical moments I'm aware of. I hesitate to say anything more about it.

Incidentally this piece features the only orchestrational decision of Williams' that makes me raise my eyebrows a bit. Maybe it's just that I hold the piece to such a high standard, the slightest thing sticks out... but it always seems a bit jarring to have that slight violin solo a few bars before the cello enters. It's just slightly odd to hear a solo string voice other than the featured one.

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Incidentally this piece features the only orchestrational decision of Williams' that makes me raise my eyebrows a bit. Maybe it's just that I hold the piece to such a high standard, the slightest thing sticks out... but it always seems a bit jarring to have that slight violin solo a few bars before the cello enters. It's just slightly odd to hear a solo string voice other than the featured one.

Ah I actually noted the same thing as I listened to the piece just now. I have to admit I wondered about that decision myself this time around. It felt odd as it is such a short cameo anyway. I guess JW thought cello needed to be heralded by another string solo.

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That's it! The piece sucks. Close the thread.

You are one fickle customer!

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Not enough fanfares! He is most himself when writing fanfares!

Btw I am now listening to the 3 Pieces for Solo Cello from the Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams album. I guess my tastes have changed as I also really dig these pieces now.

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Yes, Fanfare For Ten Year Olds is much closer to his heart. You can tell.

Or better yet -- "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis". I don't know WHAT he was thinking with that one.

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Yes, Fanfare For Ten Year Olds is much closer to his heart. You can tell.

Or better yet -- "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis". I don't know WHAT he was thinking with that one.

Michael Dukakis obviously.

I am envious I haven't had a fanfare composed for me by John Williams.

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Did Williams have a "Rock Us Dukakis" bumper sticker?

I am sure this will be the most burning question in the mind of the Williams scholars of the future. This and no other.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I was able to get the William Guion book from the local public library, the one that inspired this piece. Anyone else seen this? Actually a very nice book. Never read any Rumi poetry before, but it is nice, and of course the pictures are gorgeous. Interestingly, despite Guion featuring many color photos on his website, this book is entirely in black and white. Perhaps that informed JW's choice of darker, more mysterious colors rather than an outwardly joyful tone. 

 

Anyway, here's the cover (sorry for these being out of order):

 

IMG_20170228_160835593.jpg

 

Page near the end:

 

IMG_20170228_161013408.jpg

 

 

First page:

 

IMG_20170228_161113507.jpg

 

Last page:

 

 

IMG_20170228_161052680.jpg

 

EDIT: @TheGreyPilgrim, you might be interested. 

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