JCM

I didn’t have a great view of the screens, did anyone catch who all the taped video messages were from? I could tell the one was Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Steven Spielberg at the end (who also then introduced a surprise addition to the program - Itzhak Perlman performing the theme from Schindler’s List), but I couldn’t make out the first two for sure.

I LOVE Giacchino, overall...but it just bothers me that he essentially lifted Holst’s Mars for the entire “World’s Worst Water Feature” track...like it’s not even in disguise. I hope/wonder if he credited Holst in the liner notes/credits. It actually took me out of the movie yesterday,... I was like “ok, why am I hearing “Mars?””.....

Look who else was in attendance!

In addition to the audio being available for download off iTunes, you can also purchase the Signature Edition score of the piece from jwpepper.com or halleonard.com I think it's around $35. -JCM

"Adagio" for Strings - Samuel Barber. I don't know how anyone can't sit outside on a quiet day or night, listen to that, and NOT be effected somehow. It's just beautiful. I also am a big fan of Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 1 - " A Sea Symphony". Especially the beginning of the fourth movement. There are so many others, but those two were ones I became very familiar with in college....Adagio because Sam Barber was born and raised a few blocks from my school of music, and Vaughan Williams because we performed it. Great music.

One thing I've definetly noticed in more of the bombastic, march-type tunes is he likes to keep a pedal point (usually an ostinato of some sort) in the bass, while moving parallel major triads around above it. Some good examples might be March of the Slave Children, some of Raiders March, parts of Yoda's Theme, etc. Also, to add some dissonance to those major chords he'll often add the major seventh just below the triad. So a chord stacked from bottom up: "BCEG" Does that a TON in Raider's March and Superman. Another one of my favorite orchestration things he does is his use of woodwind & harp flourishes. One example would be in Jurassic Park (Journey to the Island). I was driving home from a rehearsal with a piccolo player friend of mine last night, and we were listening to some various Williams tracks, and he commented that "Williams writes the best piccolo parts." -JCM

No doubt Adagio is fantastic. It has some incredible moments in it, and I think you appreciate it more each time you listen to it. I think there are some moments in Empire of the Sun that give me a similar feel...different, more uplifting, but similar. Another one of my favorites that give Williams a run for his money is Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 1 - "A Sea Symphony". AMAZING piece. I often wonder what Williams might have written if he didn't spend most of his time composing for film, or the Olympics etc... Not that I don't LOVE the stuff he has written, but I don't think something on the scope of the Sea Symphony would be at all out of his reach, were he to focus on writing something like it. Didn't he write a first Symphony? Or am I mistaken? I know his Sinfonietta, but I seem to recall hearing he wrote a first symphony? -JCM

Just for the record, that's not a marching band, but a Military Concert Band joined by some other high school students. And Robert W. Smith, the guy who did the arrangement, is a well known band composer, and has done several good Williams arrangements. -JCM

I agree that both Hunchback and Pocahontas are great scores, but I don't think either movie had the impact or staying power that Mermaid, Beauty, and Aladdin did. I also think Lion King was huge. Visually, I consider that to be the apex of Disney's animation. But maybe that's just me. As for Enchanted, the new thing Menken is working on, I have high hopes for it, considering the lyricist is composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who is the guy behind the lyrics & music for Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, and a ton of others. It also has some heavy-hitter singers involved, including Idina Menzel (the original Elphaba from Wicked, and the original Maureen in RENT), and Paige O'Hara...the voice of Belle! So here's hoping...could be good! -JCM

Laudamus te. Laudamus. Laudamus te. Laudamus. Exsultate justi in Domino. Exsultate in Domino. Exsultate justi in Domino. Rectos decet ladatio. Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Alleluia Salvator Dominus Salvator mundi. Quitollis Peccata mundi. Salvator Dominus Salvator mundi. Quitollis Peccata mundi. Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Alleluia Exsultate justi in Domino. Rectos decet ladatio. Laudamus te. Laudamus. Laudamus te. Cantate ei. Canticum novum. Cantate ei. Canticum novum. Laudamus te. Laudamus. Laudamus te. Exsultate justi in Domino. Exsultate in Domino. Exsultate juste in Domino. Rectos Decet ladatio. Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Alleluia Cantate ei. Cantate Canticum. Exsultate justi in Domino. Rectos De Cetladatio. Exsultate justi in Domino. Exsultate in Domino. Just typed it in off the sheet music. Some parts have multiple voices singing different lines...but all the lyrics are there. -JCM

I have the set as well, and it IS great! Although if you enjoy a narration-free "Prologue", you can always just listen to "Aquarium" from Camille Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals". The Prologue is an obvious ripoff of it. Great music nonetheless. -JCM Yeah, I know! I first realized that when I listened to the music from Impressions de France at Epcot, which uses various classical pieces. Still, Menken made more cinematic, and it works great. Ray Barnsbury Definetly works great! Sets the perfect tone for the movie. On a side note, with the exceptions of the Lion King, and Tarzan (both of which I do enjoy)...Disney movies have severely suffered from the loss of Menken's writing. He (and Ashman & Rice) really gave the life to Mermaid, Beauty, and Aladdin. (The others are good..but I consider those three to kinda be the Disney animated "trinity," if you will.) -JCM

I have the set as well, and it IS great! Although if you enjoy a narration-free "Prologue", you can always just listen to "Aquarium" from Camille Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals". The Prologue is an obvious ripoff of it. Great music nonetheless. -JCM

Yeah, Ridgewood is about 1/2 hour or 20 min outside NYC. I heard he lives in the area of NJ that we rehearse. So I'll definetly keep you informed if he does actually join our group! -JCM

Interesting little anecdote... I play in a very good community wind ensemble in Ridgewood, NJ called the Ridgewood Concert Band. Well last night we're at rehearsal, the first for our March concert, and about mid-way through the rehearsal, our conductor looks to the side of the room, and says "Oh, hi Johan! Everybody, you probably know my friend, Johan de Meij!" He was sitting there for most of the night, and I didn't even notice!! I guess they are friends from their days in conservatories. But rumor had it he might be joining our group and playing Trombone. That would be a trip! Just thought I'd share! -JCM

No news on this in almost a month??