Impression Question

[Tom 4,656]

Not sure if this deserves its own thread, but I have a question for the group.  Had the end credit track, Sophie and the BFG, never been part of a movie score and simply released as a Williams concert work, would your impression be different?

 

It doesn't have the big arc or emotional swells we associate with his scores, particularly fantasy scores, and thus seems like a minor letdown.  However, had I heard this as some random concert piece he wrote about his granddaughter or something, I would have immediately experienced it as a topnotch piece. 

 

While my question is framed by the BFG, it is not really a BFG question.  More one of how our expectations and preconceived ideas affect our listening experiences. 

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Formally, it follows the very cinematic structure of thematic suite/credit montage.  So if this were released as a concert work, I think it would appear very strange indeed in its lack of development or compositional throughline in favor of episodic highlights, and in the much more conservative musical language than he typically employs in his personal works.  It would have to be titled something like "Overture To An Imaginary Ballet" for it to not be odd, in that sense.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Yeah, I've never heard any concert piece he's composed that follows the "medley of melodies" approach common for these end title suites.

[Jay 37,359]

^^ What they said.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,525]

Impressions?

Someone asked me if could do a Tommy Copper. I said "yes". They said "how", and I said "just like that".