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What label would you put on [insert Williams track]?


Thor

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This is a thread for the musically illiterate people like me. Sometimes, I want to give a proper musical name to a piece that I'm writing about, yet I'm not quite sure what it is -- unless it's something obvious like a waltz.

 

Right now, I'm writing a concert review, and I need some names for these tracks:

 

"Viktor's Tale" from THE TERMINAL -- is it a march? What about the Eastern European element? Is it appropriate to call it a 'balkan march'?

 

"Jewish Town" from SCHINDLER'S LIST -- what is this? It's not reallly 'klezmer'. But it's some form of Jewish music. What's the time signature?

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44 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

"Jewish Town" from SCHINDLER'S LIST -- what is this? It's not reallly 'klezmer'. But it's some form of Jewish music. What's the time signature?

 

Jewish Town is in common time, 4/4 - four beats in a bar.  I bought the sheet music with a view to murdering the piece on my violin.

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Thanks! What would you call the piece, though? (the musical term). Does 'klezmer' sound like this too? I always thought that was more upbeat.

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I don't think every piece of film music written can be filed into categories like you're looking for.

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3 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

I'm guessing Thor is really focusing on the "concert piece" type tracks Williams does often do.

 

Exactly.

 

I went for the term 'balkan march' for "Viktor's Tale" -- although I'm unsure if it's a march to begin with. I still don't know what to call "Jewish Town".

 

Most music can be classified with musical terminology (waltz, march, klezmer, tango, scherzo etc.) that has either to do with time signature, geographical origins or other things. Certainly beats "a cue" or a "piece of music".

 

But yeah -- I also agree that a more "perfunctory" film music cue would be harder to classify this way, unless your name is Elliot Goldenthal. But the aforementioned two cues certainly qualify.

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I would say Victor's Tale is a polka.(Williams calls it a dance-like piece, in the Signature edition)

it also fits with the central Europe ethnicity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka

 

 

That Jewish town rhythm is very common in Jewish music.

it's the same rhythm in "If i were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof.

It's like a slower polka, but i'm sure it's not called polka.

 

 

edit: Scratch that! I don't think the Terminal theme is a polka.. i don't know.. :(

 

edit 2: ok found something:

In Schindler's list, in the cues that have the rhythm and melody of Jewish town (it's really the workforce track if i'm not mistaken but it's the same melody with the violin in "Jewish town" although in a bit faster tempo) he writes when the melody starts:

sempre "klesmer"

 

;)

 

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Polka! Of course. That makes sense for "Viktor's Tale".

 

Wish I was an expert in Jewish music to know what "Jewish Town" is (beyond klesmer).

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5 hours ago, Thor said:

Polka! Of course. That makes sense for "Viktor's Tale".

 

 

again, it's not quite i think.

there is a slight discripancy in the rhythm.

maybe it's a variation of a polka rhythm.

I'm not sure.

maybe someone else could help.

 

edit: about Schindler's List.

It should be one of these (check the rhythms section).

http://borzykowski.users.ch/EnglMCKlezmer.htm

Don't you have any Jewish friend at facebook?

You could ask.

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