THE BFG OST ALBUM Discussion

[Bespin 8,472]

Considering the huge success of the movie and the way all the medias cheers about JW' latest score... do you still think there will be a FYC album?

 

Geez, where is the FF button to skip directly to Ready Player One?

[Incanus 5,713]

53 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

Yes, it sounds very Copland-esque (much like Saving Private Ryan or the Americana sections of Amistad), but imho it never goes into "pastiche" territory. It's more a choice of modality and stylistic reference, not mere aping or regurgitation of a model. And this is one of Williams' best assets, imho: even when the reference models are very clear and obvious, it's his own musical personality that emerges foremost.

This is the quality I usually call "allusion" in Williams' work, where he may adopt certain sound but usually it doesn't involve pure pastiche or regurgitation or outright copying but referencing the stylistic parameters or colours of the given style or genre. He can write Copland-esque Americana to achieve a certain effect, quote the feel of the 1940's film noir without resorting to copying or adapt to more avant garde approach with equal ease and naturally it all goes through his persona and experience as a person and a composer to give it his distinct stamp.

[Jay 37,268]

11 minutes ago, Bespin said:

Considering the huge success of the movie and the way all the medias cheers about JW' latest score... do you still think there will be a FYC album?

 

Yes.

[Bespin 8,472]

21 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

Yes.

 

Why Disney would invest a cent into it?  The score as no chance to win an Oscar.

[Jay 37,268]

It doesn't really cost any money to put mp3 files online

 

Also, don't forget, those websites and promo CDs are meant for consideration of ANY award, not specifically the Academy Awards.  The BFG score could win a Saturn award or who knows what else.

[EdwardHall 30]

23 hours ago, Jay said:

I certainly liked it more once I saw the film

Absolutely, that was my experience as well.

[Will 2,215]

I would be stunned if there wasn't BFG music on the Disney FYC site. The only question is whether any of it will be stuff not on the OST. Which of course is the only thing that matters. 

[Marcus 390]

2 hours ago, Bespin said:

 

Why Disney would invest a cent into it?  The score as no chance to win an Oscar.

 

At the very least, the score is one of the likeliest of candidates for a nomination, so I don't see why they wouldn't?

[Richard Penna 3,667]

It's only a likely candidate for nomination because it's Williams.

 

If I compare my reaction to this with my reaction to TFA, there's no comparison.

 

I'm really not exaggerating when I say that almost every track in this score feels like an alternate cue from War Horse, Home Alone, Harry Potter or Hook.

 

It's a score where I have to say I think another composer might've given us more interesting material. (and I'm not considering technical proficiency here)

[Jay 37,268]

So are you saying you wish Williams scored Bridge of Spies, and Thomas Newman scored The BFG?

[karelm 2,902]

6 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

If I compare my reaction to this with my reaction to TFA, there's no comparison.

 

I'm really not exaggerating when I say that almost every track in this score feels like an alternate cue from War Horse, Home Alone, Harry Potter or Hook.

 

It's a score where I have to say I think another composer might've given us more interesting material. (and I'm not considering technical proficiency here)

 

Interestingly, a lot of us find this score to be JW going in a playful and impressionistic new direction.

[Richard Penna 3,667]

Actually, that is a thought! (Jay)

[JacksonElmore 69]

After it clicked for me i love this score

 

[karelm 2,902]

I think Sophie's Future and The Queen's Dream would make a nice concert suite...that or just Sophie and the BFG.

 

This part from Frolic:

Reminds me of Bartok:

 

There is really alot of very beautiful music in this score...too bad the film is so full of Spielberg in grandfather mediocrity mode.

[nightscape94 965]

[Bespin 8,472]

A point that always come back in the reviews, is that The BFG score seems to parody several ideas or motives from the previous scores.

 

Well, first, an artist as totally the right to parody himself. Bach did that a lot in his time... so that's not new!

 

What is new in our modern era... is that we have all the career of an artist on mp3 in our computers... we can have acces to all the partitions too... so we and can easily compare and analyze the first works of an artist with the latest!

 

Let me make a parallel with Aznavour, 92 years old.  His latest melody seems more complicated, well less defined... no punched melody no more... a recent song even borrow a part from the melody of "La bohème" (written in 1966), a thing that he surely did without noticing. And even if it was wanted, that's his right to do that.

 

So John Williams has perfectly the right to borrow some old melodic motives from his latest scores. Inconcious parody... wink of an eye... nostalgic memories... After all, JW is the genius of these little 4-5 notes melodies... so he just have to reuse them is some scores and we instantly recognize them.

 

It's interresting to see an artist getting old before our eyes, when we can compare each of his new work with the first one he did in the 40's, 50's or 60's.

 

Rarely the last works of an artist become popular successes, but there are exceptions.

 

Time is the only judge.

 

[Jay 37,268]

I don't hear anything that comes close to "parody" territory, personally.

[crumbs 14,287]

How good is The Queen's Dream? I can't get over how good parts of that track are, especially when that gorgeous piano section comes in. Short but sweet, one of those great little Williams touches.

[JacksonElmore 69]

Just randomly found a little section of underscore from the harry potter score that reminded me of the nightmare theme from BFG.

 

 

[Jay 37,268]

Heh, nice

[Will 2,215]

7 hours ago, crumbs said:

How good is The Queen's Dream? I can't get over how good parts of that track are, especially when that gorgeous piano section comes in. Short but sweet, one of those great little Williams touches.

 

There are many great moments in that cue but my favorite is:

 

1:09-1:20

 

 

 

[mrbellamy 6,270]

7 hours ago, crumbs said:

How good is The Queen's Dream? I can't get over how good parts of that track are, especially when that gorgeous piano section comes in. Short but sweet, one of those great little Williams touches.

 

Love the hell out of this one, yes. Might be my favorite track from the score.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

1:26-1:36 in "The Queen's Dream" kicks ass.

[Gilderoy 2]

Another one time a great proof of legendary Maestro. I'm sure of a thing: when John Williams write scores for Spielberg's movies his inspiration goes at highest levels.

We all can hear in The BFG far echoes of "E.T", "Hook", "The Adventures of Tintin" (and also of Harry Potter's!)...all in the solid, great and immortal John Williams' style.

A great Maestro remains a great Maestro for ever!

Long life to John Williams, the most authentic and genuine Artist of our times.

[JacksonElmore 69]

Just finished watching the movie for the second time.

In terms of unreleased music, there's a TON of micro edits on the OST. Most cues in the first act are very long (5+ minutes) and have been cut down for the album release. However, there aren't very many full cues that have not been released.

 

As for themes, the nightmare theme is played twice with no nightmares to accompany it. it is played through out  the entire netting sequence,  and also in a chase sequence where nightmares are not relevant. 

[Marcus 390]

I've had fun transcribing odd bits and pieces of the score today.

And I have to repeat myself: This really is a remarkable score.

 

I can't for the life of me understand the negative reaction among some of the posters here, but then again, I never understood the initial negativity towards Williams' TFA score either.

 

The main theme (which I think was,  rather charmingly, conceived as a menuet, as heard in "Building Trust", and again in the end titles) is so beautifully constructed, its harmonic structure actually relatively unique among Williams' themes for its quaint and sweetly nostalgic sounding secondary dominants. I know I've said it before, but I also love how it sort of spells out 'BFG' (1-5-6; there's also an inversion of this in some of the B theme variations).

 

For all its energy and brilliance, there's also a restraint to the writing befitting a mature master, and yet there's a freshness to the textural and timbral ideas that just baffles me.

 

I really hope the more compositionally minded people on here continue to explore this score for all of the many rich lessons it has to offer...

 

 

[Jay 37,268]

1 hour ago, Marcus said:

The main theme (which I think was,  rather charmingly, conceived as a menuet, as heard in "Building Trust", and again in the end titles)

 

Can you explain to a lay-man what this means?

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

I do not own this CD yet, is there a list of the players in the booklet? I'm interested in the names of the flute players.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

2 hours ago, Marcus said:

 

 

I can't for the life of me understand the negative reaction among some of the posters here, but then again, I never understood the initial negativity towards Williams' TFA score either.

 

....

 

I really hope the more compositionally minded people on here continue to explore this score for all of the many rich lessons it has to offer...

 

 

 

I knew TFA was special from the outset.  To ensure that I wasn't missing anything as people did on that, I've now heard this new score probably ten times.  I've picked things apart as you have, all that.  Of course it's well-written.  It remains "not my kind of thing" and I can still find new things in a Williams score from 15 years ago that are more salient lessons for me than what's present here.  That's simply the way it is.  Not everyone can be enamored of the same things.  Need this even be said?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

TFA is weirdly Horner-esque in how Williams repeats himself a lot of the time. Still, it's damned entertaining.

 

The BFG has some of that repetition and ironically some Horner-ish sounding music (IMO), but it's mostly just boring. This thread reminded me to delete it from iTunes.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

15 minutes ago, TheWhiteRider said:

 

I knew TFA was special from the outset.  To ensure that I wasn't missing anything as people did on that, I've now heard this new score probably ten times.  I've picked things apart as you have, all that.  Of course it's well-written.  It remains "not my kind of thing" and I can still find new things in a Williams score from 15 years ago that are more salient lessons for me than what's present here.  That's simply the way it is.  Not everyone can be enamored of the same things.  Need this even be said?

 

Or there might be things you do not see or can find. Well, there is still the dumba-dumba level a la Hansu to explore.

[Marcus 390]

43 minutes ago, TheWhiteRider said:

 

I knew TFA was special from the outset.  To ensure that I wasn't missing anything as people did on that, I've now heard this new score probably ten times.  I've picked things apart as you have, all that.  Of course it's well-written.  It remains "not my kind of thing" and I can still find new things in a Williams score from 15 years ago that are more salient lessons for me than what's present here.  That's simply the way it is.  Not everyone can be enamored of the same things.  Need this even be said?

 

I completely respect that it isn't your kind of thing.

And I don't know that it needs to be said, but as you've already said it, I will have to add that 'BFG' is, from a purely technical point of view, easily one of Williams' most sophisticated scores yet.

 

It's closer in terms of writing  to his concert music than ever, yet I feel the same sense of value to every single note and nuance as, say, 'Lincoln'. Though notey, every note matters, there's very little filler.

 

In that sense, and although I detest ranking (I prefer to view the works of all artists as one continuous developing arc), I probably already hold this score in higher regard than, say, 'Hook'.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

4 minutes ago, Marcus said:

In that sense, and although I detest ranking (I prefer to view the works of all artists as one continuous developing arc), I probably already hold this score in higher regard than, say, 'Hook'.

 

Is that really much of an accolade?

[Marcus 390]

1 hour ago, hornist said:

I do not own this CD yet, is there a list of the players in the booklet? I'm interested in the names of the flute players.

 

Heather Clark (principal)

Jennifer Olson 

Benjamin Smolen

Geri Rotella

7 minutes ago, Sharkus Malarkus said:

 

Is that really much of an accolade?

 

I suppose it depends on one's opinion of 'Hook' (a score I have tremendous admiration for)?

 

Another way I could put it, is that it's the greatest film score penned since TFA...

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Thanks!!  I have a good story about the flute compositions for BFG. Later, I have some questions to ask before...

 

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

1 hour ago, hornist said:

Or there might be things you do not see or can find. Well, there is still the dumba-dumba level a la Hansu to explore.

 

I pity you.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Really? I mean really?

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

To whatever extent your constant self-pitying, dismissive, and dogmatically rigid posts are "really," yes, really.

[Will 2,215]

5 hours ago, JacksonElmore said:

 

In terms of unreleased music, there's a TON of micro edits on the OST. Most cues in the first act are very long (5+ minutes) and have been cut down for the album release. 

 

 

Oh great... Does KM know? Maybe we shouldn't tell him, to avoid causing heart attack.

 

@Marcus Could you explain in layman's terms how the main theme spells out BFG, and (as Jay has already requested) how that theme is a minuet? Thanks.

[King Mark 3,624]

Yes, I know , I said there was a lot of unreleased music in the first half of the film

[JacksonElmore 69]

Also, Dream Jars does not appear at all in the film. Except for the end part when sophies theme is heard. It's not even a collection of cues, it just isn't heard. 

[Marcus 390]

4 hours ago, Will said:

 

Oh great... Does KM know? Maybe we shouldn't tell him, to avoid causing heart attack.

 

@Marcus Could you explain in layman's terms how the main theme spells out BFG, and (as Jay has already requested) how that theme is a minuet? Thanks.

 

The theme gives prominence to the first, fifth and sixth degrees of a major scale, or if you will, and in the key of Bb, Bb-F-G.

 

As composers,  we're seldom thrown a bone like this, where the titular acronym allows itself to be literally spelled out in musical terms. I'm certain the opportunity wasn't lost on Williams, who rather than using it as a strict self-contained motto, opted to embed it into a more lyrical melody.

 

The theme itself in most of its more complete renditions (where both A and B themes are heard, or at least implied) is played out as a minuet (which is a graceful 18th century dance form in an even 3/4, without the schwung of a waltz). We have it on good authority that Williams thinks of this score as a kind of collection of dances, and I think he meant that rather more literally than many might realize, as it consists of minuets, waltzes, and even a galop!

[Richard Penna 3,667]

15 hours ago, Marcus said:

 

I can't for the life of me understand the negative reaction among some of the posters here, but then again, I never understood the initial negativity towards Williams' TFA score either.

 

TFA aside (I like most of it), it's very simple - compositional genius does not necessarily make an interesting score. Sometimes it does (I love War Horse), but in this case it doesn't for me.

[Bespin 8,472]

8 hours ago, JacksonElmore said:

Also, Dream Jars does not appear at all in the film. Except for the end part when sophies theme is heard. It's not even a collection of cues, it just isn't heard. 

 

That's the track with the two "hyperactive" flutes?

Well I'm not surprised, it's an unbearable track. I can hear Spielberg say in the montage room... I can't put that in my movie, people will leave the theatre instantly.

 

It's maybe virtuosic, but it's very annoying.

[Marcus 390]

To each his own, I guess...

"Dream Jars" is one of my absolute favorite cues from 'BFG'. It's absolutely fabulous writing, and to me, a very exciting piece of music!

[Will 2,215]

6 hours ago, Marcus said:

[TownerFan 4,983]

10 minutes ago, Bespin said:

 

That's the track with the two "hyperactive" flutes?

Perfectly normal, it's a so annoying cue. I can hear Spielberg say in the montage room... I can't put that in my movie, people will leave the theatre instantly.

 

It's maybe virtuosic, but it's very annoying.

 

Opinions, mon chère. I think otherwise it's such a brilliant piece, a real étude for flutes that should already be in the instrument's repertoire.

[Will 2,215]

Whoops. Typing this on my phone. 

 

@Marcus

 

Wow, that's really cool! I assume when you say Williams used a waltz you are referencing the giant country theme? Or is there another example?

[Bespin 8,472]

6 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

 

Opinions, mon chère. I think otherwise it's such a brilliant piece, a real étude for flutes that should already be in the instrument's repertoire.

 

They should use this piece to torture people in Guantanamo!

[JacksonElmore 69]

33 minutes ago, Will said: