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The Official Howard Shore Thread


Jilal

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I finally got around to seeing The Catcher Was a Spy, and god damn...  Not only is it a phenomenal film (apparently reviewers didn't understand it's a character study, not a spy thriller), but it's probably Shore's best work since Edge of Darkness.  He finds a wonderful balance between the touching sensitivity of his recent concert work and the unbridled tension of his 90s thriller scores.  The end credits said there's an album available on Howe Records, but I can't find anything about it on his site.  It would certainly be a very nice holiday surprise for it to get released.

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1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

Yeah, the old Catholic classical musical traditions have been very secular for decades and decades now.

 

I think it’s funny that people think religion would have any impact on this. Do you have to be a Christian to appreciate that music?

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3 hours ago, Chen G. said:

a mass?

 

Isn't Howard Shore a bit too...um...what's the word...Jewish, for that?

 

I guess you're not aware of hundreds of years of composers writing outside the bounds of their own religions.  Besides who knows what Shore is in practice if anything.  

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On 11/6/2018 at 3:19 PM, Stefancos said:

Then what are you trying to say?

 

Goldsmith was Jewish and won an Oscar for The Omen.

And Kilar was a devout Catholic and yet wrote Bram Stoker's Dracula.

 

Karol

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On November 6, 2018 at 8:21 AM, Chen G. said:

Isn't a mass a christian, liturgical composition?

Yes, in the musical sense.

On November 6, 2018 at 9:29 AM, Bilbo said:

I think it’s funny that people think religion would have any impact on this. Do you have to be a Christian to appreciate that music?

You know, being a religious man, I find it quite nice to see Howard Shore writing a mass. You don't really see this sort of thing these days, and it certainly looks promising considering these things are always centered on the choral aspect, and The Lord of the Rings is a perfect example of Shore's masterfulness with voices. 

 

Even more pleasing is that all people can enjoy this, yes. 

 

For classical composers centuries ago, this would have been very common. Now not so much, so it's great news,

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On 2/2/2019 at 2:03 PM, Kühni said:

Just listened to HS's score to Existenz for the first time. An amorphous drone and 46 minutes of my lifetime that I'll never get back.

Yeah... I have to say that's one of the very few Shore efforts I can't get anything out of.  It's basically "Rising Chords of Doom: The Score."  I did read something interesting about the way it was produced though, that they close-micd and amplified the quieter sections playing quietly, and muffled anything loud, so it's basically inverting the volume of the orchestra.  Actually, I'll admit have a bit of a fondness for the track "It Neural-Surged" since it was a temp track for an abandoned project I was working on.

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1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

If anyone here has access to the article please post it here!


 was actually able to see the full thing earlier, it's very short.

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5 minutes ago, Kühni said:

Has anybody of you fine, knowledgeable folks heard of this set?

 

https://www.discogs.com/Howard-Shore-The-Essential-Howard-Shore/release/11084055

 

If so, are these original pieces or re-recordings?

 

The answer you seek is right here, in this very thread! 

 

https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/21447-the-official-howard-shore-thread/&do=findComment&comment=1394592

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Just finished listening to Spider. What a dour piece of music, very unattractive. It's so, I dunno, sparse...did HS only have a pencil with one millimetre of lead left in it to compose this score? Gah.

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21 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

His film music is notoriously hit and miss when it comes to listening value outside of the film.

 

For some reason, I decided to follow up with his unused score for Ransom. Just as dour, but the opposite of sparse. I seem to recall @Doug Adamsonce writing about this one as being very "efficient", with the music being boiled down to just two pitches...

 

 

 

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