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The Sabrina theme. A hidden gem?


WilliamHorne97

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Welcome aboard! :wave:

John Williams has written quite a few of these smaller little scores during his career that are not widely talked about. While Sabrina is certainly a lovely little romantic score on the whole, the main theme is a gorgeous one with such wonderful narrative quality to it, telling a story with little peaks and valleys within those 5 minutes.

I have never heard that he would have dedicated this piece to his late wife though.

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Another wonderful version from the album Keisuke Wakao Plays the Music of John Williams, arrangement for a chamber orchestra, oboe and piano, oboe soloist Keisuke Wakao, the principal oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra:

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''That's because he lost his first wife in '73. I think that he did Sabrina theme inspired on her!''

The source of this quote?

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And to complement this thread with another version, here is the Cinema Serenade version with Itzhak Perlman on solo violin:

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Very nice indeed. Was thinking of taking up violin. I play guitar but nothing else at the moment :)


Williams sure knows how to write a good love theme. Han Solo and the Princess, The Fountain Scene, Across the Stars, Love Theme from Superman, Sabrina... there's not one that isn't instantly memorable. JW achieves his best work when he writes from the heart.

It's about time Star Wars gets its first love theme though, the saga is sorely lacking in those up to this point. Hopefully he can write the first one for TFA.

The way he incorporates ' han and the princess' through out the whole of empire is amazing I love it :)

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For me I want all new themes. By the sound of the clip we got, we are getting some new exciting music. I think we will have little call backs and motifs of the original music in there as well. Which will be a nice little call back. But as soon as the original cast is gone, new themes all the way :)

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The SABRINA theme is lovely; has that sort of haunting quality (something about the middle notes or whatever it's called) that you also can find in David Raksin's LAURA -- which I know Williams loves. The film leaves something to be desired, but I've always been fond of the music and album.

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Well, it shouldn't be a hidden gem. Are people confusing it with Sabrina the Teenage Witch because of that fucking Sony CD?

Sabrina is one of JW's loveliest scores.

The shadow of Star Wars and Indiana Jones looms large indeed usually drowning out these smaller scores.

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And to complement this thread with another version, here is the Cinema Serenade version with Itzhak Perlman on solo violin:

This is gorgeous. Thanks for posting.

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That version is actually the first one I heard outside the film itself back in late 90's. I have to admit I have a soft spot for it too. And that whole album. :)

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least we know they're fans out there who will listen to a whole bunch of Williams work , an appreciate all of it :)

I love the STAR WARSes and HARRY POTTERs and INDIANA JONESes as much as the next guy, but the amount of discussion of these scores is rather overwhelming in here, so I don't usually click and participate in those threads. I'm far more keen on talking about the 'smaller' or more unknown works of Williams. SABRINA isn't unknown, but it IS one of the smaller ones.

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Well, it shouldn't be a hidden gem. Are people confusing it with Sabrina the Teenage Witch because of that fucking Sony CD?

Sabrina is one of JW's loveliest scores.

The shadow of Star Wars and Indiana Jones looms large indeed usually drowning out these smaller scores.

Only if you play them at the same time.

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It was achingly lovely. Williams career is full of dazzling themes which don't get as much air due to his other monumentally famous scores.

One of my absolute favorite themes by Williams that I think is little known is The Reivers. God I love that theme. I'd maybe even put in a Top 5 or Top 10 of themes by Williams.

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As it was the score that got the attention of Steven Spielberg, I assume most people here are familiar with The Reivers. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't.

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Most people here are. Most folks out there who know JW only from his Golden Age scores won't have a clue. That's unfortunate, but hardly unexpected.

Sabrina is indeed a gorgeous theme, and one of his best romantic works. I think one of the reasons it winds up on the back burner for most people (even many JW fans) is the movie it's correlated with. The original was so much better. As much as they tried to recreate the magic, Ormond wasn't able to come close to projecting the bright innocence of Hepburn, and Ford just wasn't gruff enough to match Bogart's portrayal. You expect Ford to be the romantic lead who gets the girl (no matter how old he is); audiences weren't sure it would be Bogey who won out back in 1954. It dampened the story, and that impression--at least for me--prevented a true appreciation of the music for a while.

I've grown to love it, though. And now I'm going to listen to it again, just 'cause you put it back on my radar, William. (Welcome to the boards, by the way. . . !)

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Most people here are. Most folks out there who know JW only from his Golden Age scores won't have a clue. That's unfortunate, but hardly unexpected.

Sabrina is indeed a gorgeous theme, and one of his best romantic works. I think one of the reasons it winds up on the back burner for most people (even many JW fans) is the movie it's correlated with. The original was so much better. As much as they tried to recreate the magic, Ormond wasn't able to come close to projecting the bright innocence of Hepburn, and Ford just wasn't gruff enough to match Bogart's portrayal. You expect Ford to be the romantic lead who gets the girl (no matter how old he is); audiences weren't sure it would be Bogey who won out back in 1954. It dampened the story, and that impression--at least for me--prevented a true appreciation of the music for a while.

I've grown to love it, though. And now I'm going to listen to it again, just 'cause you put it back on my radar, William. (Welcome to the boards, by the way. . . !)

Thank you very much Uni :) Enjoy it.

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I remember being very excited to see this at the cinema, as it was the first new score since 1993.

The woodwind and string measures during the instrumental of Moonlight are gorgeous.

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While the film was dreadful i enjoyed the theme. It's Williams perfectly homaging the Golden Age while updating the harmonic language just enough to make it credible for the 90's.

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The melody is inoffensive I suppose, and I find the theme okay during the playful sweetness of its piano lead, but again it all gets a bit Andre Rieu whenever the strings swell up into full JW romance mode, a trait of the composer's I never have really cliqued with.

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"Broadway mode" YES! That's the way to put it. It's what used to date his music the most, but thankfully his sweeping romance side has been a bit more um... solemn and er... classy since he hit 80.

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  • 3 years later...
On 11/25/2015 at 1:38 PM, Incanus said:

Another wonderful version from the album Keisuke Wakao Plays the Music of John Williams, arrangement for a chamber orchestra, oboe and piano, oboe soloist Keisuke Wakao, the principal oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra:

 

 

Does anyone know what involvement Williams had on this album? Did he arrange all the selections, similar to the recent Mutter release..?

 

Update: never mind. I just read Williams only arranged the Stepmom cue himself.

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Maybe for some people it's a hidden gem, but not for any serious JW fan! 

 

It's a fantastic theme. It so vividly expresses love, desire, opulence, and heartache.... A glamorous, elegant, gorgeous theme. One of JW's best, agreed! I especially like the oboe and flute counterpoints about halfway through.... They are so JW, they give me pleasurable goosebumps. 

 

From 3:12 onward... And especially at 3:40.

 

 

 

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