What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Forgot to take your antipsychotic?

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Who, me or Steef? Probably both.

[Incanus 5,713]

Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams: What a gorgeous album containing some of my favourite JW concert works first and foremost the Cello Concerto but Elegy for Cello and Orchestra and Heartwood do not come far behind. Even the 3 Pieces for Solo Cello is an interesting in its own right but not quite as impressive as the other three works featured on the album. The contrasting movements of the Cello Concerto really showcase the instrument in the most flattering way and Yo-Yo Ma has not only a technical mastery but such a gift that his playing resonates great beauty and expressive power and warmth. Williams has spoken highly of his skill in connecting with the audience and even though it is not exactly possible in the strictest sense through a recording I feel that his persona shines in his playing so clearly on this album.

Elegy for Cello and Orchestra is full of poignancy that affects me every time I listen to this piece, the tone of the piece of so gentle, serene and beatific, a musical consolation and warm remembrance from the composer to his friends.

Heartwood was a piece that took a while for me to get into but I am always struck by the serenity, the quietly uplifting and searching feel of this music. Williams was again inspired by trees so I guess that explains the sylvan imagery I see when I listen to this music.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Great album. Glad you've come to appreciate Heartwood.

[Incanus 5,713]

Great album. Glad you've come to appreciate Heartwood.

I also again listened to Williams' Oboe Concerto, which has climbed to be in my top 3 of his concertos. The 2nd movement in particular has such graceful writing from Williams and beautiful playing from Wakao, the opening oboe solo just about the most tender a thing you can ever encounter in Williams' writing.

[Dixon Hill 4,233]

Ah now there's a piece that I have to take time to get to know myself.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I need to start getting into Williams' concert work. I've never listened to anything of his not written for film or TV.

[crocodile 7,984]

Well, Koray. It's a drastically different Williams for you to explore. Not many people get into it easily - it's mostly introspective and doesn't doesn't offer "memorable tunes".

I always liked Heartwood a tiny bit more than the cello concerto.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

Well, Koray. It's a drastically different Williams for you to explore. Not many people get into it easily - it's mostly introspective and doesn't doesn't offer "memorable tunes".

I always liked Heartwood a tiny bit more than the cello concerto.

Karol

Cello Concerto's final movement trumps it over Heartwood for me. That melody in there is pure magic. Also the percussive energy of middle section of the first movement is brilliant.

[A24 4,326]

Ryuichi Sakamoto's Seven Samurai - Ending Theme. The music and instruments on this track are of such lyrical beauty that it turns me into jelly. It fully captures the psyche of the Eastern aesthetic. IMO, it's better than Memoirs Of A Geisha!

Alex

[crocodile 7,984]

The Matrix. While I think that each successive entry intelligently builds up on top of the previous one, it is true that the first score feels like it belongs to a slightly different genres - less showy and more frightening. As the composer has himself said, the first film was essentially a horror tale. It's not music that tries to appeal to wide tastes, unlike its younger twin siblings, but should be celebrated for filmmakers' guts to go elsewhere. It is amazing how Davis managed to navigate his complex orchestrations through the maze of sound effects and not being overwhelmed by it. It might not seem like it, and general audience won't appreciate it this much, but the score paints its world with great care and that is a rare thing. You just can't think of anything else while listening to this, in terms of films anyway.

I listened to Beauty and the Beast again. It would be easy to dismiss it as Desplat wannabe, but there's more to it. What's refreshing is that Adenot doesn't try to swamp you with heavy and epic orchestrations - it's breezy and melodic for the most part. Like Conrad Pope once said - it's outside of Hollywood that they now write music Dream Factory was once known for. Not staggeringly original, but elegant and pleasing to the ear. It's nice to hear something that genuinely sounds like a fairy tale music.

http://youtu.be/nkovKBiG1AM

Karol - now listening to that recent score with a purple cover (a name of which would be wrong to state at this point)

[Incanus 5,713]

Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace by John Williams

Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith by John Williams

[Jay 37,287]

No love for Attack of the Clones?

[Incanus 5,713]

No love for Attack of the Clones?

I am probably one of the biggest fans of that score around here. I just haven't gotten to it yet today. Yet.

[Jay 37,287]

I love it too. Never understood the hate

[Jonesy 55]

I think AOTC was my first Williams album, and yes, I also love it.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's a solid score. Written on a tight schedule, but still.

[crocodile 7,984]

Not any tighter than on the other two.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

It's a solid score. Written on a tight schedule, but still.

Both Episodes II and III were written with similar schedules (JW scoring 4 scores/year) but they were also the first scores of their respective years to be written and recorded I believe.

Episode II is clearly the most experimental of the trilogy style-wise. Lucas wanted something new and fresh and exotic and Williams responded with what I think is very fine blend of old and new. The mix of political thriller (thrill was far away from it), the film noirish detective subplot and finally the tortured romance just yielded a very different SW score. Williams in his typical style left out some of the best and most emotional material from album.

[Jay 37,287]

JW did not score 4 films in 1999. Only Phantom Menace and Angela's Ashes, which was written later. He had plenty of time on that one.

It was his scores to AOTC, Potter 2, Potter 3, ROTS, and Memoirs that all had short schedules due to the Spielberg films coming out right after each (Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, War of the Worlds, and Munich respectively)

[Incanus 5,713]

Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones by John Williams

[Jay 37,287]

LOL

[Incanus 5,713]

I am listening as I type! I had to complete the trilogy (in a slightly wrong order)!

Chase Through Coruscant is still as thrilling as ever I must say.

[Jay 37,287]

Always loved that track, don't get why so many people hate it

[Incanus 5,713]

Always loved that track, don't get why so many people hate it

It is so different from Star Wars that came before, even Episode I, and as I said before in the SW action music thread the change from thematic ballets to sheer propulsive drive in the action music was a dramatic one and certainly not to everyone's liking.

[crocodile 7,984]

Always loved that track, don't get why so many people hate it

It is so different from Star Wars that came before, even Episode I, and as I said before in the SW action music thread the change from thematic ballets to sheer propulsive drive in the action music was a dramatic one and certainly not to everyone's liking.

I still think that Across the Stars is the best theme he wrote in the new century. It is the only one I had a lasting emotional response to. Despite the film.

And yes, better than Hedwig's theme.

And no, doesn't sound Hook to me.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

Always loved that track, don't get why so many people hate it

It is so different from Star Wars that came before, even Episode I, and as I said before in the SW action music thread the change from thematic ballets to sheer propulsive drive in the action music was a dramatic one and certainly not to everyone's liking.

I still think that Across the Stars is the best theme he wrote in the new century. It is the only one I had a lasting emotional response to. Despite the film.

And yes, better than Hedwig's theme.

And no, doesn't sound Hook to me.

Karol

No love for A.I. or The Book Thief or War Horse or any other scores with fine melodies?

[Jay 37,287]

Oh man. I mean, I like that theme, but there are a ton more he wrote in the 2000s I prefer.

[crocodile 7,984]

I didn't say there are no great one out there. But that's my personal favourite. Gets me every time.

And the heartbroken diminished statements in Revenge of the Sith are the best material in it too.

And, now that I'm thinking of it, it is the only theme in the prequels that has an arc of any sort. All the others just kind of... show up.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

I didn't say there are no great one out there. But that's my personal favourite. Gets me every time.

And the heartbroken diminished statements in Revenge of the Sith are the best material in it too.

And, now that I'm thinking of it, it is the only theme in the prequels that has an arc of any sort. All the others just kind of... show up.

Karol

Choppy storytelling with a lot of fleeting characters, places and things where the main characters are never established enough to have singular themes. Obi Wan has his Force Theme but Anakin shifts from his innocent child theme to the short angsty motif in Episode II and III. The Love theme is indeed the most enduring element among the character themes. DotF is not used purposefully with a large arc but as the climacting moments set piece theme. So yes the movies suffer a bit from discontinuity and it is reflected in the music as well. It is almost like 3 separate and different stories really and treated as such by Williams. His old themes actually give the films most of their musical continuity.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

By far my favourite theme in ROTS.

@ 4:28.

Gets me every time.

[Incanus 5,713]

One of my favourites as well! Crowning musical moments of RotS and indeed of the Prequels. The finale of the piece is just phenomenal.

Only downside is that it is used only so few times. And of course Williams microedited the awesome finale out of the piece on the album.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Incanus 5,713]

Perhaps the new SW film will have an end credits song:

[crocodile 7,984]

By far my favourite theme in ROTS.

@ 4:28.

Gets me every time.

It's a nice underscore, but not good enough to be called a theme.

And it doesn't serve the scene very well.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

It's a nice underscore, but not good enough to be called a theme.

And it doesn't serve the scene very well.

Karol

Hayden Christensen doesn't serve the scene as well as the music!

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

By far my favourite theme in ROTS.

@ 4:28.

Gets me every time.

It's a nice underscore, but not good enough to be called a theme.

I hate Augie's Great Municipal Band, but I don't deny that it's a theme/variation.

'Wah wah wah. It's not good enough to be called a theme!!!!' Bullshit!

[crocodile 7,984]

He's not in it!

I hate Augie's Great Municipal Band, but I don't deny that it's a theme/variation.

Always thought that was Emperor's theme,

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

He's not in it!

Karol

He is at the end. And actually the quiet build-up of the theme fits the scene very well I think.

[crocodile 7,984]

He's not in it!

Karol

He is at the end. And actually the quiet build-up of the theme fits the scene very well I think.

I always thought that with Lucas' imaginative direction, actor's passionate performances, the music is too much.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

He's not in it!

Karol

He is at the end. And actually the quiet build-up of the theme fits the scene very well I think.

I always thought that with Lucas' imaginative direction, actor's passionate performances, the music is too much.

Karol

[crocodile 7,984]

But now I just realised there's no point of arguing anything when it comes to what works and what doesn't in the prequels.

Williams just had to provide us with everything I guess. To a fault.

Karol

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I hate Augie's Great Municipal Band, but I don't deny that it's a theme/variation.

Always thought that was Emperor's theme,

That's what I meant by variation.

My point was that you can dislike the lament in It Can't Be, but to deny that it's a theme (ablate a cue-specific theme, like the Falcon Fanfare in Asteroid Chase) is a bit much. And to use the former to justify the later is just absurd.

He's not in it!

Karol

He is at the end. And actually the quiet build-up of the theme fits the scene very well I think.

I always thought that with Lucas' imaginative direction, actor's passionate performances, the music is too much.

Karol

The music (and some extent, art direction) are single handedly doing all of the work. I think it works wonderfully.

[Incanus 5,713]

Isn't that lament just a kind of a variation on the theme from Anakin's Dark Deeds preceding it?

[crocodile 7,984]

I hate Augie's Great Municipal Band, but I don't deny that it's a theme/variation.

Always thought that was Emperor's theme,

That's what I meant by variation.

My point was that you can dislike the lament in 'It Can't Be', but to deny that it's a theme (ablate a cue-specific theme, like the Falcon Fanfare in Asteroid Chase) is a bit much. And to use the former to justify the later is just absurd.

Oh you're overthinking this. What I meant is that this "theme" is not a "theme" in a "theme" sense.

Karol

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I hate Augie's Great Municipal Band, but I don't deny that it's a theme/variation.

Always thought that was Emperor's theme,

That's what I meant by variation.

My point was that you can dislike the lament in 'It Can't Be', but to deny that it's a theme (ablate a cue-specific theme, like the Falcon Fanfare in Asteroid Chase) is a bit much. And to use the former to justify the later is just absurd.

Oh you're overthinking this. What I meant is that this "theme" is not a "theme" in a "theme" sense.

Karol

'Embryonic Battle of the Heroes' is a bit of a mouthful.

[crocodile 7,984]

Did I ever mention I never liked that one?

Karol

[Faleel 5,340]

Yes. You did. we laughed, and called you crazy

[crocodile 7,984]

Bullies!

Karol

[Faleel 5,340]

Quo Vadis (Tadlow) - Miklos Rozsa

Easy on the compression there guys!

Some really good themes, the surrounding underscore is a bit lacking though.