John Scott's score for the impossible-to-find 2008(ish?) short film THE GATES OF FREEDOM is a wondrous composition for modest orchestra, with a deeply expressive solo flute as the "soul" of the piece. It boasts an unforgettable main theme, exhilarating development section in the middle and a grand recapitulation - perfect ten-minute sonata structure - the score could really be presented as something of a short a concert piece unto itself. Written at around 80 years of age, it shows that Scott's gift for melody, drama and excitement has not been sullied by age, and a recent dearth of scoring opportunities, in the least. In short, I think it's a mini-masterpiece:
I have previously sung praise for a young Norwegian composer named Alexander Pedersen and will again take the opportunity to do so again, and share an animated short film he wrote, directed and scored - WRATH OF THE MUSIC GOD - which demonstrates a remarkable ear for melody, lush orchestration and cogent dramaturgy of the 'old guard' a la Williams, Ravel, Debussy and Hisaishi:
Don't let the semi-modern-sounding main title deter you - this one is rife with inspired, harmonically-adventurous and sumptuous scoring that so many of us long for these days. Not too many 25-year-old composers (as of when he wrote and recorded this work) demonstrate this level of command for orchestral craft and form - everything past the 6-minute mark especially is just fantastic; the DAPHNIS ET CHLOE-esque crescendo at 9:30 is particularly goosebumps-inducing, and that's just the tip of the iceberg here. The fact that Pedersen pulls such a full-bodied sound out of a very modest 35-piece orchestra is a further testament to the level of craftsmanship on display.
The film is really more a demo reel for himself as a composer than a traditional "short film" per se, but the extra initiative to forge a Campbellian Hero's Journey story with a clear arc has the added benefit of demonstrating Pedersen's facility for narrative and dramatic development, tools that are of course just as important to a film composer as actual musical technique.
Happy listening!
- BB
P.S. Am I crazy or is the video embed feature non-functional, despite following the rules (as I have know how to do for many years on FSM)?
Not sure why I haven’t mentioned Guy Maddin in this thread yet…
Want to see the world saved through the lens of German/Russian expressionism accompanied by Sviridov’s “Time Forward”? Yeah, who wouldn’t! Put “The Heart of the World” into your browser and feast yourself for six or so minutes.
Want to hear Shostakovich’s Hamlet and Ifukube’s Godzilla in the same film accompanying Isabella Rossellini? Try 2009’s “Send me to the ‘lectric chair”.
Want to see lots of young men slapping each other? No, I didn’t think I did either but type in “Maddin slap party” for some hilariousness.
When BARABBAS had its first run in the UK in 1962, it was accompanied by a short documentary film called something like "Wonderful New York". It was brillantly filmed in colour and Panavision, and had an excellent score by Edwin Astley. I've never been able to find it on the web. Perhaps someone with better search skills than mine could pull it off.
