ChrisAfonso

I'm still bummed I missed this performance a few months ago just an hour from where I live, but thankfully they put it online:

Exactly this idea came to my mind at my last LtP concert! (RotJ in January, with much too loud sound effects for a reverberant concert hall) - Provide open-ear earbuds (so the orchestra still comes through clearly when put on) attached to devices with audio track selection - that way anyone can choose to hear the sfx and/or original/dubbed dialogue track according to their preference - or just take it off and enjoy the score, unamplified (depending on venue). This would also help too keep dialogue/sfx dry instead of reverberating through the hall. One can dream...

Finally got this CD! After my initial euphoria about its release was tempered a lot by the reported issues, I kept holding out hoping for a corrected pressing, but I guess that will remain futile for the forseeable future, so the release of Aladdin was as good an opportunity as any to order it at last (and save a bit on shipping costs). Enough has been posted here about the shortcomings of the release, so I won't dwell on that here. But the expanded score is a joy to listen to! (Just the prepending of score tracks at the beginning of several songs is a headscratcher...) And I really enjoy the multiple stages of demo tracks (piano demo + synth demo), which, as in several previous LC releases, allow a great glimpse behind the process of creation - especially regarding later replaced/refined sections of familiar songs!

Those two go really well together, actually: Akallabeth combined themes ending.mp3 (thanks for the idea ;))

Nice to hear it's been useful, though As much as I still love the original LotR scores, by creating a myriad of very rudimentary motifs, Shore definitely made it very easy to now find them everywhere, intended or not . But put it this way: Not every repeated minor second is a quote from Jaws, but if it's played by the bass and you see a fish on screen, you might be on to something. For now I'm enjoying a lot of the RoP score, although for my taste the themes could have been introduced more gradually and less fully-formed - but who knows, for all we know there are still things tucked away in there that come to bloom later

This was mentioned by a member of the LSO in one of the "Legacy of John Williams" episodes. "John has a horror of takedowns, so he prepares the Signature Editions to make sure the real music is available" or something like that I have the impression that a lot of different things get thrown together here (quotes as examples). No one (usually) *does* care about *performed* transcriptions (as audio) on youtube. Releasing (paid) "covers" (as audio) of officially released tracks is (afaik) covered (:P) by a "compulsory" license (-> the copyright holder can't prevent it, but gets a mandatory royalty). For live performance you need to pay the composer's performance rights organization, in addition to buying or renting (often for a hefty fee) the official materials (I'm unsure if they can prevent a performance based on an "accurate" transcription? This may fall in a similar case as aforementioned straight *covers* are generally allowed, but "derivative works" like medleys, mashups, lyrics changes etc. need an explicit individual license). Sharing (for free) self-made arrangements informally seems to be some kind of a gray area (as long as it's not on a large scale) (?) *Selling* unauthorized arrangements (as sheet music) is the crucial case here - and I was generally under the impression that, at least until a few years ago, this was not allowed at all without individually requesting and getting a license (like Marc P. back in the day describing unsuccessfully trying to get his awesome JW horn medleys published). But on that point I do agree that the composer/publisher are fully in their rights to control/allow/disallow others from profiting off their work (without compensation) as they see fit. Regarding the recent "blanket license" some online sheet retailers seem to have for publishing arrangements - when I looked into the conditions for sheetmusicplus's service (something like 2 years ago), they indeed had a long list/database of tracks from all kinds of composers that they have an automatic royalty sharing deal with (and note, the deal is: you get 10%, the authors get the rest!). Bear McCreary, for example, was in there, among many others I searched - John Williams, though, was not. (disclaimer: I have read a lot about these topics, but am not in any way certain any of this is actually correct )

I'm also no expert on this and post/tax/customs matters can (in my experience) be very hit and miss, but as far as I understand, the receiver has to pay the import tax, UNLESS the sender already paid it - which should be the case with big online retailers (aka Disney (?)) more than small shops (specialty labels etc.). But it's always a gamble...

This is of course most likely a complete coincidence, but the motif at 0:46 in the posted clip bears a striking resemblance to the beginning of Bear's Númenor theme: --- I really don't understand this "wacky pub dance" or "hobbit music" comment regarding Durin's theme. It sounds much more like a baroque court dance, which given his noble status is quite fitting. Just because Shore used the "um-pa-pa-(rest)" accompaniment for hobbits doesn't make it a hobbit rhythm for all eternity

Not to forget that the String counterpoint itself Starts Off as a Variation of Han's Theme!

"Siegfried" would like a word with you (Great example from Meistersinger, though) There's a nice talk by Leonard Bernstein on the Topic:

Well, combing endless shelves of moderately-sorted media in cramped basements makes one hungry... Great to hear it's going again, that store always was one of the fixed points of each "recent" London trip (along with Forbidden Planet, and tkts for some bargain hunting). Hopefully again soon.

I finally got to watch 1917 recently, and this cue/scene left a lasting impression... Mainly did it as a (notation) transcription exercise, but I also tried to create a passable mockup.

I have no idea if there is an actual JW orchestral version of it, but a piano version of that exact cue is in the 1991 "John Williams Anthology" sheet music album.

First of all, great to see more expanded/complete(?) Star Wars scores released! Here's hoping for more, in the proper format. I have mixed feelings about this score, for various reasons... The inconsistency of Giacchino applying the Williams template (for me) is nicely demonstrated by these two contrasting passages: (1:30 - 1:38) The strings are very busy here creating a ramp-up of tension, but somehow the actual notes sound kind of random to me, and in the end it lands in exactly the same harmonic place as it started, making it feel kind of static. Compare this: (0:41 - 0:51) Here, the climbing string lines have an actual purpose and reach a new target at the end, modulating to a new key (twice!) - nicely adapting the sound of ANH's Imperial Attack escape sequence. I actually really like the climactic combination of Vader's theme and Death Star motif.

There's hardly another JW score that has risen from the "hardly ever listen" pile to the inner circle of my all-time favorites as much as this one -- admittedly, it took finally watching the (superb) movie to provide the context needed for me to fully appreciate the diverse kinds of music (sentimental, harrowing, or over-the-top) and their place in the narrative. Where before I found the exuberance in the prominent concert setpieces hard-to-stomach clichés, their innocent naiveté now moves me to tears. Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't have it yet!