John Williams on Nostalgia

[indy4 152]

John Williams is incredibly good at writing these really nostalgic themes. I'm not necessarily talking about music he wrote that makes you nostalgic - I'm sure that would just be the first Williams music that you heard and liked. I mean themes that seem like they were written to evoke a sense of nostalgia. Here are my favorites:

Flying Theme from Hook (especially as heard in the piano variation)

Family Theme from Sorcerer's Stone (those gentle woodwind/strings variations are awesome)

"How Can I Remember?" from Sabrina (not the song itself, but the instrumental variations of it)

Love Theme from The Terminal

[Datameister 1,394]

In a different way...the Force theme, mostly in ANH specifically. It's a more bittersweet, solemn sort of nostalgia, especially in the quieter statements heard during scenes with Obi-wan early in the film.

[Taikomochi 783]

"Window to the Past" is nostalgic in a somber, "what could have been" way.

[Hlao-roo 388]

Flying Theme from Hook (especially as heard in the piano variation)

Not to mention its cousin "Somewhere in My Memory," which is about as intentionally nostalgic as it gets.

[Romão 1,931]

The Days Between is a very nostalgic piece, as is the song How Can I Remember

[Hlao-roo 388]

"Sean's Theme" from Minority Report comes to mind, too, and John Williams conceived an unsurprisingly similar theme a year earlier for A.I..

I suppose we can safely describe "Remembering Carolyn" from Presumed Innocent as nostalgic, as well.

[Incanus 5,519]

John Williams certainly is a master at evoking different shades of nostalgia. Be it melancholy "what was" or "what might have been" or the feeling of sentimental warmth of remembrance.

A couple of tracks pop immediately to mind:

Yearning for a Child theme from A.I. (the only major theme left off the OST)

Accidental Tourist is near nostalgic all the way through.

Pete and Dorinda from Always.

Remembering Petticoat Lane from Jurassic Park.

Cinque's theme from Amistad.

And it is a interesting question what makes these and the other pieces mentioned nostalgic. Is it just the warm or bittersweet, sad or yearning quality that equals nostalgia or is Williams able to evoke some collective musical memories of Western culture, what we all generally through our experiences feel as nostalgic.

[Romão 1,931]

Yearning for a Child theme from A.I. (the only major theme left off the OST)

That theme is simply sublime, one of the very best JW has ever written and easily the best never to appear on an oficial cd

[Incanus 5,519]

Yearning for a Child theme from A.I. (the only major theme left off the OST)

That theme is simply sublime, one of the very best JW has ever written and easily the best never to appear on an oficial cd

I completely agree. He says so much with such a simple direct melody, almost a lullaby much like the other two major themes of the film.

[Datameister 1,394]

Remembering Petticoat Lane from Jurassic Park.

Actually, a lot of the quiet stuff in that score that features piano or celeste tends to feel very nostalgic - although again, not so sweetly nostalgic as some pieces are.

[Incanus 5,519]

Remembering Petticoat Lane from Jurassic Park.

Actually, a lot of the quiet stuff in that score that features piano or celeste tends to feel very nostalgic - although again, not so sweetly nostalgic as some pieces are.

Indeed. Williams actually created a brilliantly diverse collection of material for that score alone. It seems to have everything.

I think piano is one of the most nostalgic instruments. Perhaps due to the way we have been conditioned by our Western ears (and even cinema) to think of it as homely and warm, conjuring up memories of home and hearth. Nostalgic music is more often than not little melancholic even though it might not have anything to do with sadness. Or perhaps there is the implied longing in nostalgia sometimes warmer and sometimes bluer.