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LOG IN Forgot Login? Register General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board Search Terms:  Search Within:  topics posts since 2019 2018 posts 2017 posts 2016 posts 2015 posts 2014 posts 2013 posts 2012 posts 2011 posts 2010 posts 2009 posts 2008 posts 2007 posts 2006 posts 2005 posts 2004 posts 2003 posts 2002 posts 2001 posts 2000 posts users  search tips  You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4      General Discussion: Monothematic Scores    FIRST   PRIOR   1 2 3 4    NEXT   LAST   Last Post   Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 11:59 AM     By:   ToneRow   (Member) That's odd : there are some scores listed here i'd have never considered as monothematic. For example TWO FOR THE SEESAW : there's definitely a strong main theme but considering the score as a monothematic one seems to me a little bit exaggerated. Hi, Anabel: What soundtracks would you describe as monothematic? Regarding Previn's TWO FOR THE SEESAW, each instrumental track (excluding the jazz cues) is a variation on the main theme of loneliness. There is a "B" section to this main theme, like a refrain in a song, but I can't seem to put my finger on any portion of the score that's not related to that persistent (yet entrancing) main title...    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 12:14 PM     By:   Stephen Woolston   (Member) Is having a dominant theme the same as being monothematic? Or does monothematic means there *is* only one theme? Even Somewhere In Time (often thought of as monothematic) has two or three themes running through it, not just one -- but one is absolutely dominant. Even The Appointment has a second theme -- but the main one is dominant. Cheers    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 12:22 PM     By:   fleming   (Member) "The Knack" by John Barry and "Summer of '42" by Michel Legrand    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 12:43 PM     By:   MerM   (Member) Rocky. Yeah, there's other melodies, but they're all derived from Gonna Fly Now.    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 12:49 PM     By:   KonstantinosZ   (Member) Williams' Presumed Innocent is also a monothematic score.    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 12:50 PM     By:   KevinSmith   (Member) Zulu...    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 1:19 PM     By:   crwdfwtx197   (Member) Is having a dominant theme the same as being monothematic? Or does monothematic means there *is* only one theme? Even Somewhere In Time (often thought of as monothematic) has two or three themes running through it, not just one -- but one is absolutely dominant. Even The Appointment has a second theme -- but the main one is dominant. Cheers You beat me to SOMEWHERE IN TIME. And while I must concede that other material turns up here and there, the theme itself dominates, and is not greatly varied in terms of tempo or development. When Barry struck gold with a theme like this one, he seemed unhesitant to give it lots of play in its essential form, as he does here. In this case, I really admire him for letting the melody speak for itself without much distraction    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 1:24 PM     By:   crwdfwtx197   (Member) Williams' Presumed Innocent is also a monothematic score. I don't really hear it as monothematic as much as it is a meditation on various aspects of the main theme, whether it's the melody or the accompanying "vamp" that begins the score. Also, there are a couple of cues that present entirely different themes, for the less heavy moments. Notably, John's "B" melodies, even though they may disappear after a single cue, are ones that could provide the entire basis for a whole different score.    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 3:01 PM     By:   spectrum   (Member) There's Jerry Goldsmith's "The Wild Rovers" too!    Posted:   May 27, 2012 - 3:13 PM     By:   Anabel Boyer   (Member) Hi, Anabel: What soundtracks would you describe as monothematic? That's the point : i can't see a clear definition of a "monothematic soundtrack". It's like the famous dodecaphonic scores that aren't 100% dodecaphonic scores! We can say some scores tend to be monothematic ones -- 3H10 TO YUMA for example -- but eventually there's always a tiny B theme or some parts that aren't related to the main theme Regarding Previn's TWO FOR THE SEESAW, each instrumental track (excluding the jazz cues) is a variation on the main theme of loneliness. There is a "B" section to this main theme, like a refrain in a song, but I can't seem to put my finger on any portion of the score that's not related to that persistent (yet entrancing) main title... Why excluding the jazz cues from the score? They're also part of the score/soundtrack. In LAURA even the source music was based on the main -- and only -- theme.    Posted:   Jun 2, 2012 - 1:29 PM     By:   ToneRow   (Member) i can't see a clear definition of a "monothematic soundtrack". Uh oh - Anabel is searching for definitions. I'd rather reserve this aspect of explanations to the original poster Robert0320. Why excluding the jazz cues from the score? They're also part of the score/soundtrack. In LAURA even the source music was based on the main -- and only -- theme. Hhmmm ... having watched TWO FOR THE SEE SAW at least twice (but not recently), my recollections are that the "twist" number doesn't appear in the film. As for the "salty Sophie" piece, I don't remember any Andre Previn theme or music accompanying this character (portrayed by actress Elisabeth Fraser), who hosts a beatnik-sort of Greenwich Village party near the film's beginning. To elaborate, I am not attempting to dismiss Previn's jazzy numbers (& "Second Chance" song) from the United Artists' LP as negligible music. Rather, I consider these source-sounding pieces as creations for album listening purposes and not truly functioning as part of the commentative underscore. As we all know, source items are music which characters hear in the story whilst the incidental music is for the psychological benefit of the audience.    Posted:   Jun 2, 2012 - 1:39 PM     By:   JSWalsh   (Member) THE LONG GOODBYE - John Williams    Posted:   Jun 2, 2012 - 1:46 PM     By:   MI6   (Member) La Matriarca - Armando Trovajoli; Summer of 42 - Michel Legrand.    Posted:   Jun 26, 2012 - 2:43 AM     By:   Ester   (Member) However, since the subject of this thread is about monothematic scores, a discussion on Nascimbene's mixerama would be better suited in a thread unto itself. When listening to Nascimbene's WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, I noticed that its main theme also appears as the love theme as well as funeral music! 'Dick Smart 2007' by the same Nascimbene it's a far more definitive monothematic score than 'When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu1hxre8QRY And a definitely more unbearable listening experience too.    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 6:36 AM     By:   Anabel Boyer   (Member) I consider these source-sounding pieces as creations for album listening purposes and not truly functioning as part of the commentative underscore. As we all know, source items are music which characters hear in the story whilst the incidental music is for the psychological benefit of the audience. After listening to that score a few days ago you have now convinced me! Yes, each instrumental track (excluding the jazz cues) is a variation on the main theme of loneliness. There is a "B" section to this main theme, like a refrain in a song, but I can't seem to put my finger on any portion of the score that's not related to that persistent (yet entrancing) main title.... Nice!    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 7:40 AM     By:   WILLIAMDMCCRUM   (Member) Tone Row, you're right. How could I have omitted SeeSaw? as for GWTW, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that is not a monothematic score. It actually offers an embarrassment of motivic riches and is a outstanding example of the leitmotif technique, where nouns (i.e. person, place, thing or idea) is given a musical signature. In fact of all the excellent themes in GWtW, the comparatively bland main theme is the least interesting of absolutely ALL of them. And as for 'Zhivago', there is more than just 'variation' of one theme (it's not so often varied as repeated, orchestration and all), but quite a few leitmotives, and had Jarre had his way, they'd have predominated more.    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 7:51 AM     By:   sdtom   (Member) Is having a dominant theme the same as being monothematic? Or does monothematic means there *is* only one theme? Even Somewhere In Time (often thought of as monothematic) has two or three themes running through it, not just one -- but one is absolutely dominant. Even The Appointment has a second theme -- but the main one is dominant. Cheers I think that monothematic and dominant are two different things. Laura is monthematic because even the source music is the theme. Dominant would be Days of Wine and Roses, High Noon. You leave the theater with the one tune in your head. Tom    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 7:57 AM     By:   Dana Wilcox   (Member) Gone with the Wind. Life is Beautiful. Dr. Zhivago (I guess there is a fair amount of variation, but Lara's Theme dominates). As several have said above, Gone With the Wind is one of the most theme-rich scores ever written. It is true that the Tara theme dominates many dramatic moments in the film, but there are a number of others, including the amazing Belle Watling theme which is one of the loveliest ever. Plenty of original music as well as all of the era-specific folk tunes Steiner appropriated (and used so beautifully). GWTW would not be on my list of "monothematic" scores. As regards the topic, I much prefer the scores that featured single themes and developed them to meet the needs of their films, to the sustained-chord-and-fake-percussion "no-thematic" soundscape scores being pumped out of the synthesizers of untrained "composers" in many of the current films.    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 8:08 AM     By:   Metaluna Mutant   (Member) How about Kamen's Brazil? Of course, it's meant to be that way.    Posted:   Jul 10, 2012 - 8:41 AM     By:   Tester   (Member) The Blue Max. It has a very good main theme that unfortunately it's repeated over and over and over for almost the entire run of the score, with minimal variations. And there's more of the same in the extended editions.     General Discussion: Monothematic Scores    << < 1 2 3 4  > >>  Go to page:  1 2 3 4   First Post    General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4

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