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Posts posted by Seth
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I think Quint is right. In the published score the timpani are only playing downbeats in that passage; the descending triplets were transferred to tuba and low strings/winds. I didn't hear them at all in the prequel recording. In relation to the new films? I think it would probably be a mistake to try to write a new theme, especially for something as iconic as Star Wars. But I do hope he does a new recording; I'm not a fan of the prequel version. The snare drum is too loud and the trumpets sound thin, though that could be a function of the recording/mixing. My own favorite is the version recorded for The Empire Strikes Back. The trumpets there! Good gracious.
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I think "Here they come" and "Cantina band" are probably the movements from the suite he made in 1977/78 that was published by Fox Fanfare. The others I can't speak for. I do wish, though, that he hadn't tinkered with "The Asteroid Field" for the concert arrangement. The original film cue is a perfectly cohesive and engaging composition. Then again I also don't like the concert arrangement of "Adventures on Earth," so what do I know?
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I love it. I am very curious to hear what was left out of the Great Performances broadcast. The woodwind section scoring in this piece really seems distinctive to Williams; it appears in Tree Song and he seems to write that way in the scherzos he writes in his film scores (For Gillian, some of the lighter writing in the Harry Potter scores). I also like the percussion writing in the finale; the mallet percussion really adds a lot to the celebratory nature of the piece. And as is usually the case, his writing for brass is spectacular. Any recording would have to be done at Disney Hall since the architecture is so integral to the way he structured the piece.
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It'd be easier to point the finger at millennials, but the allergy is widely shared, boomers and Gen X'ers included (e.g., Chris Packham, who endearingly referred to Williams' score for Lincoln as "orchestral bullshit"). I think it has something to do with a certain prevailing ethos in critical circles, but beyond that it may also be related to the recession of orchestral music from (pop) cultural relevance.
I think you're on to something. It seems to me that a lot of critics don't necessarily want to feel anything when they see a film, and of course music lends feelings and emotion to a film. With that said, I do think that scores can get out of hand and go too far, and I do think Williams has been guilty of this. It can be a tricky balance. The argument that critics attack music because the film isn't working for them and the music is an easy target can also probably be applied. However, I do find it amusing that Williams gets blasted for it, but when someone like Michael Giacchino does it (the finale of Super 8, for example), it is appreciated by film critics.
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I believe #6 is Basic Instinct. The oboe line looks familiar.
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Wow. That's quite a list. I've never been quite clear on what happened with Alien. I know a lot of what he wrote was dropped/rearranged, etc.,, but are there any notable portions that survived and are in the final cut?
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So...I've never been a great fan of Jerry Goldsmith, but I think it's more out of a lack of familiarity than any perceived defect in his work. I'm also interested in experiencing for myself how his technique and approach differs from Williams. I think my lack of familiarity probably stems from the fact that he scored so many bad movies, or at least has that stigma. So I want to know--what are some of the best films that he worked on? Or films that would have been mediocre without his score? For a frame of reference, I've seen Patton and Planet of the Apes and liked them both (films and scores).
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The film version of Ewok Celebration is on disc 4 of the Anthology. If the Death Star music you're referring to is what I think it is, it was tracked in the film with music from Losing a Hand from ESB.
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It's all available as far as I know, although I think there is source music from ROTJ that is on some tapes that have gone missing. But the underscore is all out there, either on the 4 CD set or the RCA/Sony albums.
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I think Joey's the only one that doesn't like Hook
Add me to that list. Hate the film even more.
Me too. For the life of me I have no clue why the expanded release was so desired--and expanded Williams releases generally make me take notice. There's just too much music; the more "spiritual" stuff I like, such as You are the Pan. I also like the music that underscores the abduction sequence. But that's not even 10 minutes out of a massive score that just doesn't maintain enough interest for me to even listen to the original CD from 1991.
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Thanks for all the advice! After reading further, I think I've opted to go with a hodge-podge--a couple by Previn, some from the Naxos cycle with the Bournemouth Symphony and Robert Spano's Sea Symphony.
Don't forget to also get the Hickox recording of the London Symphony, for the original (longer) version and the LSO's fantastic performance.
I've known about this for a while; what kind of material did he cut in the revision?
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Hi all,
I am looking into getting this cycle of RVW's symphonies and was wondering if there are any opinions on it. Previn's seems to be more widely acclaimed but it's out of print, and Slatkin seems like a consistent enough conductor that it should be good. Thoughts? Opinions?
Thanks.
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I know that Hal-Leonard released several new Signature edition scores last fall and earlier this year. My question is-what recordings (if any) do they correspond to? Is Jurassic Park the suite on "Williams on Williams"? I assume it is, and I also assume that BOT4OJ is the one from JW Greatest Hits. The biggest question I have is about the new Indiana Jones release. Do the selections from KOTCS match the tracks with the same title from the album release? Is the version of Marion's Theme in that collection available anywhere (YouTube included) ? Thanks for the help.
Seth
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In school we used the Kent Kennan/Donald Grantham book. It has some good examples from more contemporary music and is clear on ranges and things; I had issues with some of the things he said and I prefer Walter Piston's text. The Kennan has some recordings of exercises in the book (the Piston lacks exercises completely). The Piston does, however, give precise citations for the scores that are used, allowing easy cross-referencing with scores and recordings.
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Star Trek: TMP is the only Goldsmith score I have. Where should I go after that? I've seen Patton and Tora! Tora! Tora! and liked them in the film, but are they the same on album? I'm not sure I would like his predominantly electronic music right now, so I think I would prefer recommendations for the more orchestral works at first. Thanks.
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In a very recent example, Ilan Eshkeri's score to "Stardust" has many such moments. The biggest one for me, though, is when Peter O'Toole's necklace flies out the window and knocks the star out of the sky, sending it careening to Earth. And there's also the Coronation scene at the end. In a more abstract sense, the music I desperately want to hear over certain scenes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is on the list too.
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The ROTJ reference may refer to Thomas Newman. According to his biography at filmtracks.com, he somehow orchestrated the Darth Vader death scene, only to find that Williams' manuscript was so complete that his job was virtually pointless.
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I definitely prefer OotP. It was more appropriate, even if it was very understated and quiet. One thing that still stands out about GoF that I see as extremely wrong is the huge brass fanfare for the Portkey early in the film. While Doyle's love theme and waltz theme are very nice, I have to agree that Hooper's work sounds more like a Harry Potter score. Just a question-did anyone else think that portions of Hooper's score felt "American"? By that I am referring to the rhythmic string writing and use of the xylophone to point up the rhythms. Doyle's and Williams' work sounded English to me (though in different ways).
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Voldemort is a movement in the "Children's Suite." The suite has four movements, the second of which is called "The Sorcerer's Stone." It's built around the three note motif.
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One of the sources I got from an older thread actually did name the end of "Meeting Tom Riddle" as the climax of the Sorcerer's Stone concert work. In following the score while listening to the album I'm fairly confident that, at the very least, the trumpet parts are the same in both.
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I just got my copies of the first two Harry Potter signature editions today. I looked through some old threads, trying to find out if any of the material in the movement entitled "The Sorcerer's Stone" appears on one or both of the first two albums. I didn't find any conclusive answers in my search so I thought I would ask again. I think (and agree with an earlier post) that the climax is on the COS album, but I would like more details if they are there to be had. Thanks.
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Yes-the score calls for the choir to perform from an offstage room in which the doors are gradually shut.
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Sure- I think the Rohan theme and the new motif for Gandalf the White are great. It's the underscore I have trouble with, particularly the music that accompanies the Ents. I know it fits the picture and that is the primary goal of a film score, but it's not the easiest thing to sit through. I appreciate it and think the orchestration is inventive but the music is not interesting enough. I actually found that I have grown to appreciate ROTK more than I did when it was released.
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This week I've been revisiting Howard Shore's LOTR scores. I only have the original 1-disc releases of each score. Right now I am finishing up The Two Towers. I've already listened to the other two, and it seems to me that The Two Towers is the least of the three. It is by no means a bad score; I think there is some very fine music in the score. Oddly enough though, I think that "Gollum's Song" is possibly the best of the end titles. The orchestration is more evocative and integrated with the song (yes, I know that Shore didn't write "May It Be") itself. I guess I have a question-does the expanded release of this score reveal any material that outshines FOTR or ROTK? I understand that the film itself is darker and the music has to reflect that, but to my ears a lot of the middle portion of the original album seems to drag and become monotonous. That's really all I have to say and I'm curious for others' thoughts and opinions.
Favorite Williams Instrumentations/Textures/Colors
in JOHN WILLIAMS
Posted
The woodwind choir at 2:17 of The People's House gets me every time. It's such a clean sound. I love the way the flutes color the reeds at that moment. The timpani writing in The Asteroid Field is probably my favorite Williams timpani passage. So many to choose from, though. I know Attack of the Clones doesn't get a lot of affection around here but I really like the more subdued orchestrations in that score (some days I actually like it more than the other two prequel scores
). It's a departure from the other SW scores, especially in the brass, where horns and trombones are on more equal footing with the trumpets. Speaking of prequels...the string setting of the main title in A New Hope from ROTS. I could go on.