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Jane Eyre


Pieter Boelen

Jane Eyre (John Williams)  

61 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate this score?

    • 5 stars
      32
    • 4,5 stars
      6
    • 4 stars
      10
    • 3,5 stars
      3
    • 3 stars
      4
    • 2,5 stars
      0
    • 2 stars
      0
    • 1,5 stars
      0
    • 1 stars
      1
    • I'm not familiar with this score
      6


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Every few days I will post a thread on a random score from my collection that we can discuss and rate. I made a playlist on my computer with one track of each score I've got, so by using the random play option, I'll be able to post a truly random score each time. Hopefully this will allow us to discuss some scores that would otherwise never be discussed. Also we can record the rating so that we can create a full list of the ratings given to scores by JWFan.com.

Today's score is Jane Eyre by John Williams. Are you familiar with it? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? How do do you think it works in the film? What are your favourite tracks?

Jane%20Eyre%20Front.jpg

So far JWFan has rated:

See Soundtrack Ratings by JWFan.com.

This web page contains the ratings from all my previous polls as well as those of Blumenkohl's.

Final ratings are converted to a 1-10 rating for both rating systems so that they can be compared.

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Nine stars. Simply amazing. I think the Jane Eyre theme is probably now my favourite of Williams'. I'd happily murder someone for a lossless copy.

Haven't seen the film but I have a bookmark somewhere of the legal download (it's out of copyright).

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5 stars. One of my personal favourites. I fell in love with this score from the first listen. Lyrical, melodic and just plain beautiful.

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I never really listened to the original recording because of the sound quality and its overly classical approach and I didn't like those years ago.

But there are three tracks on the 40 Years set which I can't stop playing (that motif in Restoration is dangerously addictive).

4 stars based on the assumption that the rest is probably just as good.

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If you think that's cheap you have no idea about music whatsoever. Just take a listen to the phrase and the response to each line, it's really brilliant.

For that matter any chamber piece is cheap music.

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The Jane Eyre suite from the John Williams & Boston Pops album Pops Britannia which contains 1)At Lowood (this is really the Restoration from the OST) 2)To Thornfield (Extended version of the OST counterpart) 3) The Return (a more elaborate version of Reunion theme) and Keisuke Wakao's performance of The Return (Reunion from OST) on the difficult to find Keisuke Wakao Plays Music of John Williams album are highly recommended to hear wonderful and beautiful interpretations of the themes of this score.

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Five stars, no less. This is imho JW's first true masterpiece (with The Reivers as a close second).

Curiously, I watched the film just yesterday, so I have my memory very fresh for the score as heard in the film. It has several differences with the OST album, which is a re-recording. In fact, several pieces were expanded in a concert-like fashion as JW did many times:

. "To Thornfield" doesn't appear anywhere in the film, so I guess Williams composed it just for the album (or maybe it was written for a deleted scene).

. "Restoration" is a concert arrangement of the theme for the character of St. John Rivers.

. "Trio - The Meeting" is another concert arrangement which has no relation with any cue heard on the actual film recording.

. "String Quartet Festivity at Thornfield" doesn't appear in the film, but there's another string quartet piece playing. I don't know if it's from classical repertoire or if it's composed by Williams (I guess the former).

As for the score as heard in the film, there are some lovely cues that remain unreleased: the girls coming out of Lowood and going to the church, the actual first meeting between Jane and Rochester, the scene where Rochester's actual wife tries to kill Jane while she's sleeping and the cues for the scenes where Jane is at the Moors and is courted by St. John Rivers. While the OST album is an excellent and beautiful listening experience, I'd love to see the original film recording released. However, I suspect this is impossible, since it seems the original tracks are apparently forever lost or destroyed.

The stunning concert suite that Williams prepared for the Pops Britannia album was actually created from scratch. Apparently, all the printed scores were lost or destroyed, so Williams had to re-write the pieces taking it down while listening to the record! Strangely, he renamed the St. John Rivers' theme (aka "Restoration") as "At Lowood", while "To Thornfield" was furtherly expanded in a more rounded and developed symphonic scherzo.

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4 star. Many tracks in there are 5 star tracks, but I am not a huge fan of the main theme or some of the the orchestration choices. In many ways, Williams improved these things in the suite he arranged for the pops. It was in his later 70's voice. That said, I do love the score overall.

Close Encounters and his blockbuster scores that followed are far better IMO.

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Five stars, no less. This is imho JW's first true masterpiece (with The Reivers as a close second).

Curiously, I watched the film just yesterday, so I have my memory very fresh for the score as heard in the film. It has several differences with the OST album, which is a re-recording. In fact, several pieces were expanded in a concert-like fashion as JW did many times:

. "To Thornfield" doesn't appear anywhere in the film, so I guess Williams composed it just for the album (or maybe it was written for a deleted scene).

. "Restoration" is a concert arrangement of the theme for the character of St. John Rivers.

. "Trio - The Meeting" is another concert arrangement which has no relation with any cue heard on the actual film recording.

. "String Quartet Festivity at Thornfield" doesn't appear in the film, but there's another string quartet piece playing. I don't know if it's from classical repertoire or if it's composed by Williams (I guess the former).

This album is a good listen, but it seems that most of it is at the expense of music that actually appeared in the programme. I really do wonder sometimes if it's going to take Williams's passing for us to see true representations of many of his scores.

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In many ways, Williams improved these things in the suite he arranged for the pops. It was in his later 70's voice.

I think the most radical departure from the original score is that he eliminated completely the piano part. In the film, it's quite prominent (and in a couple of scenes, Jane actually performs the main theme onscreen on piano), while in the concert suite Williams preferred to emphasize woodwinds.

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Speaking of which, is there more material out there? Beyond what's on the album, I mean?

The bootleg has two alternate versions of The Carriage Ride To Thornfield and an alternate version of At Lowood, as well as a cue titled The Return.

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Some of it is pretty decent, but then you get cues like "The Meeting" that sound like cheap made for TV movie music. Actually, isn't this a TV movie?

Trio - The Meeting is a jewel of music!

5 stars! And as said: Williams can't be wrong. I love the album and my favorite is Reunion, one of the most beautiful Williams' piece of music.

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The bootleg has two alternate versions of The Carriage Ride To Thornfield and an alternate version of At Lowood, as well as a cue titled The Return.

Actually, those aren't real alternates. Whoever compiled the bootleg, took those tracks from the concert suite that appeared on Pops Britannia.

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Keisuke Wakao's performance of The Return (Reunion from OST) on the difficult to find Keisuke Wakao Plays Music of John Williams album

That is a stunning version.

Is it possible to buy this album anywhere? I can't even find a single listing on ebay.

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The stunning concert suite that Williams prepared for the Pops Britannia album was actually created from scratch. Apparently, all the printed scores were lost or destroyed, so Williams had to re-write the pieces taking it down while listening to the record! Strangely, he renamed the St. John Rivers' theme (aka "Restoration") as "At Lowood", while "To Thornfield" was furtherly expanded in a more rounded and developed symphonic scherzo.

Actually, the suite was prepared when Williams was invited to the Pops position and premiered during their 1980 season.

And as the story goes, Williams had to write the whole thing down, from listening to the LP.

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Why does everyone love this?

What Mark said.

...and because it is completely BEAUTIFUL! It is J.W.'s most "English" score, and it is easy to see where he got his inspiration for "Window To The Past" from. Absolutley gorgeous. P.s., does anyone have the Boston Pops suite of this, as I've never heard it, and would love to get my hands on it, or are they the tracks on the bootleg?

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I recently acquired the full album, and with the exception of the classical piece that I'm not keen on, the rest is marvellous.

Many JW albums have occasional tracks that I just keep playing over and over, but this one's full of 'em.

Upping my rating to 5 stars.

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Alright, all this talk of Jane Eyre of late is REALLY making me want to check out this album... cough cough

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Alright, all this talk of Jane Eyre of late is REALLY making me want to check out this album... cough cough

Same, except I did a few days ago. If you are referring to the link, I'll get it for you when I have the chance. That's what I assume the coughing is.

It's a great album. 4.5 stars.

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