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Posted: |
Jan 14, 2017 - 3:40 AM
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By: |
CK
(Member)
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Howdy gang -
Brief query that developed from a discussion I had with not-really-a-film-music-fan-who-still-loves-music friend. He had asked me if there, in this particular case, is a James Horner score that acts as a summary of Horner's style(s) of composing for movies. While Avatar immediately came to my mind, on second thought I wasn't so sure. I could make a claim that the final Horner scores in 2015 serve as a very good cross-section of his large scale drama works (Wolf Totem), his electronic/kinda experimental side (Southpaw) and interpersonal drama (The 33). I realise even these examples aren't quite water-tight, so I'd like to get some input from you, not only from Horner, but any composer you can think of.
Which score (or two) does represent a composer's style the closest, for example by touching upon the most of that composer's musical idiosyncracies? Is Avatar that score for Horner? Is The War Horse the one for Williams? The Light between Oceans for Desplat? Alice in Wonderland for Elfman? North by Northwest for Herrmann? Se7en for Shore? Or is it impossible to make such a (highly subjective) selection because of the multitude of genres these composers work in?
I'd be highly interested in your take on this!
Thanks and a good weekend to all,
CK 
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Posted: |
Jan 14, 2017 - 6:06 PM
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By: |
bobbengan
(Member)
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This is a really good question and one that I think is actually surprisingly hard to answer, overall. If I had to throw a few out there, I guess it'd look something like this (off the top of my head):
George Delerue's JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO. This one has two of the most gorgeous, sweeping and lush melodies he ever wrote, a few pop/jazz cues, a killer cut of lengthy action music, introspective woodwind or piano dominated cues, one or two moments of groaning dissonance near the end, Mancini-style choir in the end title... Surely this is as all-inclusive of Delerue's overall output as anything he's done? Maybe only HER ALIBI is as esoteric that I'm aware of.
James Horner's KRULL. Stunning fanfares and heraldic, long lined main theme? You bet. The most lushly gorgeous and dramatic love theme of his career? By a mile. Amazing, rhythmically exciting and distinct action music? Check. Brilliantly atonal complexity and dissonance? Good grief yes. Lengthy cues/set pieces that feel like mini-symphonies unto themselves? Essentially every cue. Non-obtrusive synths used tastefully and judiciously for color? Yes. The only thing really missing here is the rhythm-setting shakuhachi, but for my money, good riddance to that... Though if we are going to include that, then perhaps WILLOW might just as easily fit the bill (it also incorporates a lot of world music elements and instruments, so year, maybe that later score is the right choice here).
John Scott's COUSTEAU documentary scores, collectively, fit the bill. We get big sweeping orchestral themes, long-lined melodies, impressionistic orchestrations with especially rich woodwind writing, gorgeous harmonies, occasional jazz or rhythm sections reminiscent of his early "Johnny Scott" sound, a few dissonant bits here and there... I wouldn't call his Cousteau scores his best work (though I do love many of them), but they are certainly emblematic of his overall output as a composer for sure.
For Bernard Herrmann I'd have to go with VERTIGO: Lush themes, portentous brass, organ, darkness, suspense, low winds... It's all there and in his unmistakable style.
Interested to hear other people's picks!
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Posted: |
Jan 15, 2017 - 7:46 AM
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By: |
CK
(Member)
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This is a really good question and one that I think is actually surprisingly hard to answer, overall. If I had to throw a few out there, I guess it'd look something like this (off the top of my head):
George Delerue's JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO. This one has two of the most gorgeous, sweeping and lush melodies he ever wrote, a few pop/jazz cues, a killer cut of lengthy action music, introspective woodwind or piano dominated cues, one or two moments of groaning dissonance near the end, Mancini-style choir in the end title... Surely this is as all-inclusive of Delerue's overall output as anything he's done? Maybe only HER ALIBI is as esoteric that I'm aware of.
You're pointing towards an important facet here, I think, that makes for a good "summary score". It features many trademarks of Delerue's writing, which are immediately identifiable as "belonging" to him, yet they are also fresh and, I'd argue, as applied (or combined) here, unique to Joe vs. the Volcano. As a single score representing a composer's voice, I'd say Joe vs. the Volcano is as good an example as any.
James Horner's KRULL. Stunning fanfares and heraldic, long lined main theme? You bet. The most lushly gorgeous and dramatic love theme of his career? By a mile. Amazing, rhythmically exciting and distinct action music? Check. Brilliantly atonal complexity and dissonance? Good grief yes. Lengthy cues/set pieces that feel like mini-symphonies unto themselves? Essentially every cue. Non-obtrusive synths used tastefully and judiciously for color? Yes. The only thing really missing here is the rhythm-setting shakuhachi, but for my money, good riddance to that... Though if we are going to include that, then perhaps WILLOW might just as easily fit the bill (it also incorporates a lot of world music elements and instruments, so year, maybe that later score is the right choice here).
Another reasonable choice, and interesting, because it came relatively early in Horner's career (when he was just 30...I'm 35, and what have I accomplished in my life so far? Ahem...). Yes, it features many trademarks of Horner that would heavily inform his later scores, with some exceptions, as Avatarded pointed out above. So I guess one could make an argument whether a "summary score" is a score that introduces many "templates" or devices (thematic, harmoic, rhythmic etc.) that are used by said composer throughout their following works. And then you have a score like Avatar, where these templates reach their "maturation". Or with Shore and his work on LotR.
I don't know if you can follow this line of arguing, as I find it hard today to hammer my thoughts into coherent sentences.
John Scott's COUSTEAU documentary scores, collectively, fit the bill. We get big sweeping orchestral themes, long-lined melodies, impressionistic orchestrations with especially rich woodwind writing, gorgeous harmonies, occasional jazz or rhythm sections reminiscent of his early "Johnny Scott" sound, a few dissonant bits here and there... I wouldn't call his Cousteau scores his best work (though I do love many of them), but they are certainly emblematic of his overall output as a composer for sure.
I don't know any of his Cousteau scores (I ought to remedy that, and soon!), so I'd suggest Far from Home - Adventures of Yellow Dog, which fits the parametres you've laid out about Scott's music.
For Bernard Herrmann I'd have to go with VERTIGO: Lush themes, portentous brass, organ, darkness, suspense, low winds... It's all there and in his unmistakable style.
No arguments here!
Thanks for taking the time, Bob!
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