Non-JW Favourite Short Musical Moments

[LSH 969]

James Newton Howard again...

 

I just love that gorgeous descending chord progression with woodwinds and strings at 1:03 (he does this sort of thing all the time, it's lovely).

 

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

JNH yet again!

 

I love his sad, reflexive writing for strings and woodwinds here from 1:43 to 3:11:

 

 

[Will 2,215]

 

Walton is so, so good.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

I don't know why this thread is not just for any music (to compare composition styles) but to compare my favorite track from JW, when the flutes here sound the epic Star Wars triad then three hsteps lower, in their second repeated counter the last triad is played rather softly as to fade out. It wasn't intentional by Williams but it is utterly beautiful and logical: the instruments are having a conversation, and sometimes Williams' music is equated to alien or supernatural emotional conversations like an extra invisible character in a movie, and because Williams music is already so well-constructed, some moments even accidentally in their conversation will hit home or make perfect logical sense. See, the flutes are like a guiding spirit here wanting to give their voice heard to the hero, but they know the more powerful forces in instruments are at play to the story, the grand scheme of this epoch, and they're passively fading out to give way to the story being taken over by the less pure but more human string section, or to the conscience of the hero. It is like watching the primordial universe being formed or like stars communicating amongst each other to plan planets. That one softer flute triad is a brilliant mistake of the sort that when a composer conducts it, he would often go back to write more of what the player played.

 

The fading flute part is excty 3:27

[Edmilson 7,466]

I just LOVE this combo of children's choir, solo cello and strings:

 

 

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

 

This whole bit is just so freaking good

[toothless 964]

 

[Trope 527]

 

Upon re-watching this film in my first-ever live-to-projection concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, I can confidently say that the minute of music from 0:25-1:25 has become one of my favourite hidden gems from this beautiful score. It is absolutely pitch-perfect for the scene which it accompanies. Desplat knows how to hit the audience in the feels with a wonderful lightness of touch.

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

2 hours ago, toothless said:

 

I love this theme. It's one of JNH's most beautiful!

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

 

[leeallen01 2,136]

 

 

 

0:36 - 0:56. The woodwinds are delightfully playful. You can hear the fun. It may be written note specific, but you get the feeling that it sounds improvised.

[Edmilson 7,466]

2:26 to 2:52 is pure perfection, the same kind of majestic grandeur JNH brought to Dinosaur and Atlantis.

 

 

[Jilal 569]

 

Love the little brass/winds flourish at 0:19 (I find the way it's superimposed onto the seemingly unrelated music preceding it very Alex North-ish), the brass cluster at 0:51 musically depicting the lights turning on, and the dreamy harp and percussion bit following it (reminds me of how Williams sometimes ends cues in a similar way).

[Edmilson 7,466]

Alan Silvestri wrote a wonderful and moving theme for Contact (one of my favorite movies ever). But I personally think the B and C themes are even better. 

 

1:19 to 1:55

 

 

[LSH 969]

On 13/04/2023 at 2:17 AM, Edmilson said:

Alan Silvestri wrote a wonderful and moving theme for Contact (one of my favorite movies ever). But I personally think the B and C themes are even better. 

 

1:19 to 1:55

 

 

 

Me too. Very Copland-esque.

[leeallen01 2,136]

On 13/04/2023 at 2:17 AM, Edmilson said:

Alan Silvestri wrote a wonderful and moving theme for Contact (one of my favorite movies ever). But I personally think the B and C themes are even better. 

 

1:19 to 1:55

 

 

 

Probably my favourite Silvestri Score.

[Edmilson 7,466]

Yeah, it's a wonderful score for a wonderful movie. I miss that Zemeckis.

[Loert 2,514]

 

2:02- 2:16

 

I love how the hissing effect blends with the orchestra. Sounds like being attacked by high-pressured steam.

 

[Jilal 569]

https://youtu.be/F74vEpGbDk4&t=37s

 

My parents are watching A Perfect Murder and this was playing while I walked by. Very kickass in a Goldsmith kind of way with the quartal harmony and—if I'm not mistaken—mixed meter.

[iamleyeti 114]

54 minutes ago, Jilal said:

https://youtu.be/F74vEpGbDk4&t=37s

 

My parents are watching A Perfect Murder and this was playing while I walked by. Very kickass in a Goldsmith kind of way with the quartal harmony and—if I'm not mistaken—mixed meter.

It sounds so much like Goldsmith

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

The climax of Spiders Attack from Broughton's Lost In Space:

 

 

(Yes, this is my replication of the film edit.  That's just how it's been burned into my mind; it's not my fault I had to wait 18 years to hear the cue the way it was originally recorded!)

[Jay 37,369]

You recreated a film edit that removes music instead of enjoying what the composer composed?

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

You recreated a film edit that removes music instead of enjoying what the composer composed?

 

Eh?  The film edit here is longer than the recorded cue.  It repeats the ostinato three times instead of the recorded two.

 

The Recorded Version:

 

The Film Edit:

 

The recorded version feels like it ends too abruptly for me, which is why I usually stick with the film edit for that particular moment in this sequence.

[Jay 37,369]

Ah, understood!

 

I am not terribly familiar with this score, so had no idea that the film edit was a loop and not a removal

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

@Jay Do you have the 2016 2-CD Album?  IIRC I think I remember you mentioning you had the 1-CD Intrada.

 

(This is the one score that's defined who I am as a score fan throughout my entire life.  I am as obsessively analytical with this score as Manakin is with the Prequels.)

[Jay 37,369]

Yup I do!  And I've listened to it and like it.  I just had no idea that some random part in one track was looped in the film

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

Yep; there's a ton of edits in the film to cues that would never see the light of day until the 2016 release.  Major Mayhem (which incorporates Spiders Attack) and Boarding The Proteus, Pt.2 (which incorporates The Proteus (Alternate)) are the two big examples that come to mind.

[Will 2,215]

4:35 - 4:43

 

 

Walton is magnificent at his best.

[Fargo 297]

3:48 - 4:14. I love it
 

 

[Will 2,215]

3:30-3:45

 

 

 

Just discovered John Addison -- highly recommend. Surprised he isn't more widely known (maybe he is in Britain?).

[Naïve Old Fart 9,534]

John Addison is a great composer.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR (a film that had a very personal connection for Addison), is my utter favourite.

I'd recommend:

THE SCARLET BUCCANEER (aka SWASHBUCKLER),

SLEUTH,

TORN CURTAIN,

THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION,

THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE,

THE MAGGIE,

THE COCKLESHELL HEROES,

A TASTE OF HONEY,

and 

THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER.

His first score is from a minor British classic: SEVEN DAYS TO NOON.

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

This might be one of my favorite Horner re-occurring motifs ever, and here on this score I love the variation it gets (1:24 to 2:05):

 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,966]

Love the opening 22 seconds of this. I'm not sure why, but I would actually love a full 3 minute cue like that. Lewis wrote 2 really fun christmas scores last year and I keep coming back to this moment in particular.

 

 

 

[Trope 527]

 

I've only recently listened to this score, and immediately fell in love with 3:31-4:41.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

 

The bit that comes right after is really cool too

[Edmilson 7,466]

The first 1:50 of this track is some of my favorite JNH ever. It's like it's saying that yes, although you've been through a lot of pain and suffering, you're not alone and you can still heal from your wounds. It's like a musical hug.

 

 

[Cristian Lee 35]

One of my favorite JNH moments, the cathartic Breakout from Dinosaur, starts at 1:09.

 

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

Over the last few months I gained a newfound appreciation for the Jacob's Farewell segment (7:13 to 11:06) of this very (and unnecessarily) long track from Fantastic Beasts 1. The piano part is top tier sad/melancholic JNH.

 

 

[Will 2,215]

2:14-2:30

 

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

What I love about Thomas Newman is that he is a master of knowing exactly what to do to extract the biggest amount of emotion of the listener.

 

This cue is an absolute masterpiece of that: it starts with the "Brooks Was Here" theme just for piano and synths and then at 1:50 the audience is surprised with some deeply moving and emotional strings. The Brooks Was Here melody continues but it gets a pensive oboe at 2:47 that climaxes with some of the most touching string writing ever written for any movie.

 

A masterful cue for a masterful score written for a masterful movie.

 

 

[Edmilson 7,466]

Some of my most beloved Horner moments of all time:

 

0:31 to 1:08. Horner takes the Deep Impact theme and make it sound very happy and nostalgic. It's kinda like it was describing a happy moment you're enjoying with your loved ones but also adding some hints of sadness and nostalgia that all of these moments will become just memories in the future.

 

 

Speaking of Deep Impact, there's two moments in the final track that are simply amazing. First the crescendo that starts on 4:21 and explodes on 4:40:

 

 

During the end credits, the variation on the main theme for children's choir and orchestra that starts on 7:07 and goes until 7:35 is so positive, so life-affirming, so filled with joy and hope... I love it.

 

 

[Tallguy 3,395]

10 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Some of my most beloved Horner moments of all time:

 

How did he DO that?!? Your head is thinking "Well this is the old bag of Horner tricks" and your heart is shouting "I'm breaking in half, here!"

[Edmilson 7,466]

2 hours ago, Tallguy said:

 

How did he DO that?!? Your head is thinking "Well this is the old bag of Horner tricks" and your heart is shouting "I'm breaking in half, here!"

I know, right? I don't care if this is just an old bag of typical Hornerisms, they remain as effective as ever in moving me.

[Edmilson 7,466]

0:20 to 1:30 of this track is better than literally every horror score released over the last few years. It's like Aliens on steroids!

 

 

[LSH 969]

19 hours ago, Edmilson said:

What I love about Thomas Newman is that he is a master of knowing exactly what to do to extract the biggest amount of emotion of the listener.

 

This cue is an absolute masterpiece of that: it starts with the "Brooks Was Here" theme just for piano and synths and then at 1:50 the audience is surprised with some deeply moving and emotional strings. The Brooks Was Here melody continues but it gets a pensive oboe at 2:47 that climaxes with some of the most touching string writing ever written for any movie.

 

A masterful cue for a masterful score written for a masterful movie.

 

 

 

The deep string writing at the end of that cue is some of the best music I've ever heard. It's cathartic - at a perfect moment - and it's pretty much the most overtly emotional thing we - as viewers - have heard so far in the film... and it's just a man walking in a field. It works so fucking well.   

 

17 hours ago, Edmilson said:

During the end credits, the variation on the main theme for children's choir and orchestra that starts on 7:07 and goes until 7:35 is so positive, so life-affirming, so filled with joy and hope... I love it.

 

 

 

I love that moment too. Almost sounds like something that should be in one of his 90s animated films. Has an epic feel but a lovely innocence to it. 

[MaxMovieMan 273]

19 hours ago, Edmilson said:

What I love about Thomas Newman is that he is a master of knowing exactly what to do to extract the biggest amount of emotion of the listener.

 

This cue is an absolute masterpiece of that: it starts with the "Brooks Was Here" theme just for piano and synths and then at 1:50 the audience is surprised with some deeply moving and emotional strings. The Brooks Was Here melody continues but it gets a pensive oboe at 2:47 that climaxes with some of the most touching string writing ever written for any movie.

 

A masterful cue for a masterful score written for a masterful movie.

 

 

This is one of my all-time favorite scores and also my favorite movie of all time. The strings starting at 3:30 in this track are so magical. In the film I choke up every time that part happens.

 

 

This is my favorite small track from the film, especially the moment at 0:42 when Andy is driving down the coast of the Pacific. Literal cinematic and musical perfection. I don’t know if we’ll ever get a more perfect movie that everybody can enjoy than “The Shawshank Redemption.”

[LSH 969]

2 hours ago, MaxMovieMan said:

especially the moment at 0:42 

 

Another gorgeous example. You're right, these are exemplary moments of film music.

 

Newman's a genious. I just wish he had the opportunity to write this sort of stuff again.

[Edmilson 7,466]

My favorite performances of My Heart Will Go On is not on any of the romantic moments and especially not the song, but rather during the sinking, when it's accompanied by one of my favorite Hornerisms ever (one that was especially present during the 90s and 2000s): fast snare drums and increasingly dramatic string runs a la Apollo 13.

 

5:28 to 5:58:

 

 

Also, how can I forget the apocalyptic and utterly hopeless passage that starts at 6:50?

 

 

[Trope 527]

35 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

My favorite performances of My Heart Will Go On is not on any of the romantic moments and especially not the song, but rather during the sinking, when it's accompanied by one of my favorite Hornerisms ever (one that was especially present during the 90s and 2000s): fast snare drums and increasingly dramatic string runs a la Apollo 13.

 

5:28 to 5:58:

 

 

I love this passage! Always enjoyed the horn to trumpet transition as the phrase rises at 5:46.

 

There’s a similarly dramatic section he wrote for the trailer, at 3:36.
 

 
 

[Edmilson 7,466]

4 minutes ago, Trope said:

There’s a similarly dramatic section he wrote for the trailer, at 3:36.

Wait, he wrote a 4 minute cue for a trailer? Was the trailer actually that long or he just wrote a bunch of music that his music editors could edit into a 2 minute trailer?