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Posted: |
Dec 11, 2013 - 5:02 PM
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By: |
ToneRow
(Member)
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I've always loved the quartal harmony in this chorale from STRAW DOGS. Any idea which 'school' of composers influenced this kind of writing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dLjLhoIITc
Hi, Mr. Shark.
I don't think there's any specific school to speak of.
The harmonic writing is neither strictly serial nor tonal but rather someplace in between these 2 ends of the spectrum. (I'm referring to STRAW DOGS here, not THE MECHANIC).
The brass chorale in particular evokes British composers, to my mind. More adventurous than the Vaughan Williams cow-pat territory, this brass fanfare is nevertheless far from being anything avant-garde by the likes of Harrison Birtwistle's soundsculptures or Brian Ferneyhough's ultra-post-modernism.
I'd position Jerry Fielding's STRAW DOGS in a mid-point area, not unlike Michael Tippett.
While Tippett's 1962 Praeludium for brass, bells and percussion is obviously different, it's nonetheless conjured in my mind when listening to Fielding's prologue/fanfare music for STRAW DOGS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsSnMJgXjA&feature=player_detailpage
When one's at a level of appreciation for Fielding's soundtracks, one could similarly explore the concert music of Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott. Again, just as with Tippett, Hoddinott's music does not sound much like Fielding's film music, but they can exist in a similar classification of "thorny" dissonance co-existing with tonal beauty.
Aside from the Mephistophelean violin solos, Fielding's STRAW DOGS does not sound very much like Stravinsky's music to me. 
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Posted: |
Dec 11, 2013 - 5:56 PM
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By: |
Mr. Shark
(Member)
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The brass chorale in particular evokes British composers, to my mind. More adventurous than the Vaughan Williams cow-pat territory, this brass fanfare is nevertheless far from being anything avant-garde by the likes of Harrison Birtwistle's soundsculptures or Brian Ferneyhough's ultra-post-modernism.
I'd position Jerry Fielding's STRAW DOGS in a mid-point area, not unlike Michael Tippett.
While Tippett's 1962 Praeludium for brass, bells and percussion is obviously different, it's nonetheless conjured in my mind when listening to Fielding's prologue/fanfare music for STRAW DOGS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsSnMJgXjA&feature=player_detailpage
Would Benjamin Britten be another composer to consider? He also comes at a midpoint between Elgar/Delius/Vaughn Williams and the Manchester School.
When one's at a level of appreciation for Fielding's soundtracks, one could similarly explore the concert music of Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott. Again, just as with Tippett, Hoddinott's music does not sound much like Fielding's film music, but they can exist in a similar classification of "thorny" dissonance co-existing with tonal beauty.
Any particular Hoddinott works spring to mind?
Aside from the Mephistophelean violin solos, Fielding's STRAW DOGS does not sound very much like Stravinsky's music to me.
I can hear quite a bit of A Soldier's Tale in STRAW DOGS - a lot of the gentler, more pastoral moments have a striking similarity. i.e. - @4:30 here with the clarinet solo. Also, there's a chorale starting at 21:42 with certain contrapuntal dissonances that remind me of the cue I linked to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwIC7Jf-0kI
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It was not a rip-off. It was a highly creative interpretation of Stravinsky's piece for the drama's context. Quite brilliant, IMO, and he put his own stamp on it. Fielding was up-front about the direct influence of Soldier's Tale in Straw Dogs. It's stated in the notes for the promo album he produced in the late 70s. Also cited as strong influences on his wider work were Lutoslawski, Bartok and Takemitsu.
The issue is not whether Fielding should have allowed himself to be influenced by Stravinsky. That’s how art works: one artist influencing another. But the Straw Dogs score resembles Histoire du Soldat SO much at certain points that mere honesty would have required some mention of Stravinsky in the credits (I recall none such). A simple “ inspired by...” would have sufficed. To be fair, the fault may not lie with Fielding: the producer or whoever may have dropped the ball on this.
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