jgraves

SPR and Schindler's are both so heart-breakingly beautiful I can't listen to them for very long without getting both inspired and truly sad. Like good wine, it seems these scores need a more sophisticated musical pallette to be fully appreciated. I think Williams' more "delicate" scores are overlooked by folks wanting the big payoff immediately (Jurassic Park, Superman, Radiers, etc) with in-your-face themes and action music. The music on SPF is called "underscore," something Williams doesn't compose often (usually going the big "Hi, I'm a theme!" route). SPR has some of the most haunting, beautiful, and best-orchestrated underscore...if you listen to it. The cues do NOT all sound the same (like Williams would say, "Hmmm, I don't really have anything important to say here - I'll just repeat myself over and over again for the entire score."). You just need an ear ti descerne the differences. For me, toss it in the same pile as Schindler's List, Angela's Ashes, and Stanley's Iris (sorry, had to keep up the 'posessive name/noun' pattern). That is, some of the best dramatic underscore Williams has written. And if anyone is insulted by my insinuation of a needing a more sophisticated musical pallette, my discomfiture is only tempered by the temerity of my youth. Jason (Btw, I attended a 'patriotic' symphony concert with Copland, Strauss, Gershwin, etc. Hymn to the Fallen was the piece they chose to close the concert, with a full 70 piece choir and an extra 15 musicians (mostly in the brass). Needless to say, it brought tears to my eyes and gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Indeed one of Williams most powerful pieces.)

Gossamer (describing Hedwig's theme) Jason

Wow - Soarin' was Goldsmith? I didn't know that. Rode the ride last week and was impressed by the music. Haven't heard the fireworks music, so I can't really vote. Anybody got Soarin' as an audio file? Jason

Yeah, I got GPO for free and used a few of the solo instruments, especially the violins, until I got the Pro XP Platinum expansion. Everything else sounds really small and thin (by comparison to my normal samples). But I guess it's a good value for $300. And I think he said he spent 190 hours hours on it.

I'm glad some other people heard it too - the Across the Stars demo was TERRIBLE. No breath, no life. Exactly why people hate samples. Jason BTW, here's my three minutes I did today - about 10 hours total: http://www.rednoteaudio.com/SH/SHMainTheme_Mix03.mp3

Enough with the avator jokes! Jason

Lydian = Space, Flight, Magic I to iv = Romance (especially with a iv add6 in 2nd inversion, eventually to a bIIMaj7 in 3rd inversion) IMaj7 = American, Olympic, heroic, etc. Octatonic = Action, scary I to v = Exploration, slight mystery It's a little oversimplified, but it's pretty much some of the basic rules of film music that Williams has further cemented during his career. Jason

I've got all three movements and the pdf. E-mail me for a private link. Jason

Ha. Yeah, that was me. He's constantly studying!! Jason

Speilburg produced it.

I think you're just hearing the rhythm they share: The b section from BttF and the 2nd and 3rd measures from the main part from AS have a similar rhythm. And that's where any similarities end. (at least to me) Jason

1. Superman March (Superman) 2. Map Room: Dawn (Raiders) 3. Fawkes the Pheonix (Chamber of Secrets) 4. The Visitors/'Bye'/End Titles: The Special Edition (Close Encounters) 5. My Friend, The Brachiasarous (JP)

It's the full conductor's score from the recording sessions. Check my trade list of scores and you'll see what I mean. Jason

All of Tinkerbell's music from Hook is obviously influenced by Stravinsky's "The Firebird." BotH has a strikingly similar melodic shape to Dvorak's 9th symphony. When Harry and Ron are late for their first class in HPatSS, you can hear quarter note string dissonance just like in Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." Saint-Sains "Carnival of the Animals" is pretty much a study in orchestration for HP. There's a lot more - I just haven't had my coffee yet. Jason

Another note - Whenever I listen to ANY music I can't help but analyze it and pick it apart in my head - especially film score stuff. Even the most dissonant and evil cues don't really get to me anymore. I'm too busy studying it as it plays. However, I distinctly remember listening to the action stuff from JP (and a lot of his other "busy" suspense writing) and skipping over it after a minute or so simply because it wasn't pleasant for me to listen to. It unnerved me and made me uncomfortable, which is exactly what Williams was trying to do. Bravo, Maestro! Jason

Don't you start trashing my favourite Williams score Maybe you don't like them because they're supposed to be unsettling like the movie? High Wire Stunts JP is one of the best action scores of the 90's. Take out the two main themes and you still have a great score. The tension, the horror, the awe and wonder, the majesty. It's got it all! From the demented miracle of Hatching Baby Raptor to the amazing action cues at the end of the film. The absolote tear-jerking melody of My Friend, The Brachiosaurus and the how-cool-is-that march into the JP complex after they get off the helicopter. The wonderful jazzy suspended chords that make up the melody in Dennis Steals The Embryos. The coolest brass fanefare ever when the T-Rex roars at the end and the banner floats in front of him. Goose bumps, people! For a while JP was too haughty for me. The action stuff was so freakin' busy - I just couldn't follow all those notes! But that was when I first started listening to Williams. Over time I've come to learn the language he speaks and it opened up a whole new world of musical understanding. As a composer I've got the conductor score and still learn from JP on every new project I'm working on. Though I must admit my failure to appreciate it in the past was due mostly to my inability to be able to process and thereby "understand" what Williams was doing in the action pieces. It was like "Oh, another Williams action cue - skip, please! Let's listen to Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye again." I think that is probably the problem a lot of people have with Wiiliams "sounding the same" all the time or just being "too busy." They can't understand the language he's speaking - like the way a foreign language "sounds the same" to me. No offense intended to those who don't like JP. Jason

Um, hello? Stanley and Iris?! What wonderful themes - all with just woodwinds and a string sections. Some tpt solos and a few horn pads. Did I mention the themes?! A wonderful example of his jazz influence in orchestral writing. My favorite "under rated" score! Jason

I've go samples of some of the game soundtracks I've composed here: http://www.rednoteaudio.com/work/ Jason

Hmmm, I think the flute runs are from Advanced Orchestra, I just put Altiverb on them for the space. The French Horn rips (if that's what you're talking about) are my own. If you listened to Spidey 2 you also heard live tpt and tbn - I wish my samples sounded that good! Hope this helps a little. Jason

Pretty much just fell into it once I moved from LA. It's one of the few things I can do professionally (with composing music) and not be in LA. I'll be composing all the original music for the 3 Star Trek games coming out this Sept (Trek 40th anniversary) so keep a watch out! There's a long, boring bio here if you're interested (I'm the ugly dude at the bottom of the page): http://www.rednoteaudio.com/about/ Jason

There are some really wonderful composers out here! Here's a link to my webpage with some selected game soundtracks on it: http://www.rednoteaudio.com/work/ All the orchestral stuff is mine. Keep on composing! Jason

Number of Total John Williams CD’s. 91+ = 20 Points Number of Pressed CD’s. 51+ = 25 Points Number of Bootlegs. 41-60 = 6 Points Number of Williams Scores Written Before 1975. 21-30 = 10 Points Number of Williams DVD’s (Example, Jurassic Park, JFK) 21-30 = 10 Points total points: 71 Bonus Points. Number of Signed Williams Memorabelia. (Photo’s, CD’s, DVD’s, Shirts, etc.) 1-5 = 10 points Williams Concert’s Attended. 1-5 = 10 points Have You Met John Williams? Yes = 15 Points What is the most expensive Williams CD (Pressed or Boot) that you have ever purchased? $50-$100 = 10 Points How many years have you been a member of JWFan.net? 4 Years = 8 Points total bonus points: 53 Total points: 124 100+% JWFan God

Jason, Huh? Joe

Joe, Huh? Jason

Jason, I think you need to change your avatar. People are getting us mixed up! Joe