BloodBoal 7,538 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 toothless 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 8,017 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 And even Shore understands that he shouldn't be overusing it. Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,551 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 11 hours ago, Bespin said: Who the hell is this Irwin Allen??? Lost in Space Land of the Giants Poseidon Adventure Towering Inferno Okay, okay, okay.... THE SWARM BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE WHEN TIME RAN OUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will 2,215 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 On 4/13/2017 at 2:51 PM, Bartokus Novus said: The way Williams uses the choir in his scores (which could probably be deemed more traditionally rooted usage than, say, Powell's efforts) lends a certain exaggerated dramatic effect to a piece of music, a sentiment of grandeur. I believe the oft frowned upon term epic might apply here very well, since the choir and its dramatic effect were a substantial factor in many a Greek theatrical epoch. Remember that in classical music, the choir was reserved for these very evocations of grandeur, paired with some form of epic storytelling - masses, requiems, passions, almost sacral symphonies (e.g. Mahler's/Beethoven's Ninth). To be honest it's this connotation that renders a lot of modern choir writing in film scores to appear a bit clumsy and tongue-in-cheek, in my opinion. The Star Wars Prequels (and the Harry Potter films too) were films that (regardless of their failures) fell back upon the tradition of grand, epic storytelling, the former in an almost biblical fashion. And even then, notice how Williams reserves the choir for certain climactic points in the dramatic arch for maximum effect. I think TFA and the rest of Williams' recent film work simply can't compare to the former because of the radical differences in storytelling, drama and overall mood. Totally agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieter Boelen 740 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I do quite like some good use of choir. I like it even more when it isn't overused. And these days, in many films and trailers, it has definitely been overused. So I don't mind Williams NOT falling for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,518 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I have a soft spot for Williams' "pop choruses" in the 60s, like HTSAM or THE PLAINSMAN (although the former is dated in a charming way, and the latter in a rather cheesy way). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 1 hour ago, Thor said: I have a soft spot for Williams' "pop choruses" in the 60s, like HTSAM or THE PLAINSMAN (although the former is dated in a charming way, and the latter in a rather cheesy way). Those soundtrack pop songs sung by a group of vocalists were so popular in the 1960s. I guess "Moon River" had a lot to do with that? That song has certainly not dated in a bad way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I kind of missed the choir in TFA. Other than that, I don't think it's strictly necessary or needed for every score.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I don't feel like TFA needed choir, to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, BloodBoal said: I don't feel like TFA needed choir, to be honest. Me neither. It was so consciously a return to the mood of the original trilogy, which were so much less operatic than the prequels. It totally made sense not to use choir much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,318 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 TFA didn't need choir, but after the prequels I definitely felt like something was missing. Going from III to VII couldn't be a more polarizing experience, in film score listening. There's an obvious evolution in his musical maturity over that decade, but I missed that indulgent, operatic melodrama of his prequel writing. Conversely, that makes TFA refreshing with its restraint (as the first act in any trilogy should be). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I think it's good when there's choir, but then, I don't particularly miss it when it's not there, either. I felt TFA might have benefited from a few choir passages, but it's not a complaint. It's fine as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Just now, Josh500 said: I felt TFA might have benefited from a few choir passages Which one do you have in mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Death of Han Solo, and generally the third act of the picture. Maybe the very last scene as well. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Jedi Steps actually could have benefited from choir, particularly with the reveal shot of Luke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,318 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Agreed, bit cliched at this point to just regurgitate Binary Sunset. We've heard that solo French horn rendition a million times before; it was an obvious opportunity to do something unexpected, or at least elevate the existing material with choir or otherwise. Frankly I'm surprised a fanboy like JJ was so supportive of the restraint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Using a choir for Han's death would have been interesting but cliched as hell at this point. Like using a lamenting solo cello... Not Mr. Big 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 4 minutes ago, crumbs said: Agreed, bit cliched at this point to just regurgitate Binary Sunset. We've heard that solo French horn rendition a million times before; it was an obvious opportunity to do something unexpected, or at least elevate the existing material with choir or otherwise. Frankly I'm surprised a fanboy like JJ was so supportive of the restraint. A million times? There are just 7 official Star Wars movies, and only one or two of them have the Force Theme ending. But yeah, I see that you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Just now, Muad'Dib said: Using a choir for Han's death would have been interesting but cliched as hell at this point. Like using a lamenting solo cello... Plus it's such a short moment in film that it would have come across as cheesy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, Muad'Dib said: Using a choir for Han's death would have been interesting but cliched as hell at this point. Like using a lamenting solo cello... It's not the choir itself that's cliched. What matters is what JW comes up with when writing for the choir.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 JJ should have just done a needle drop of the male voices from Palpatine's death when Solo fell into the abyss. Perfect! Done and done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh500 1,615 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 1 minute ago, Not Mr. Big said: Plus it's such a short moment in film that it would have come across as cheesy. Not if it's done right. There are literally a trillion things JW could have come up with.... But again, choir or no choir, both versions would have worked, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I think what we got is the best possible option of them all. The tragic Force theme variation would have been cool as fuck, but the cut had changed too much for it to fit anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,371 Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Can't believe I missed this thread, some funny Daisy/JW stuff on page one! And yea, I hadn't thought about it, but JW hasn't really used much choir post-ROTS, has he. I wonder if it has to do with LA singers, the movies he's scored lately, or anything else. I hope Episode 9 has teh epic choirz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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