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In Memoriam: Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)
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| Posted By: Dan Hobgood on August 1, 2004 - 10:00 PM |
In Memoriam: Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004)
By Dan Hobgood
As the old saying goes, greatness is hard to come by. Thus far in
motion picture history, there have only been several truly great, i.e.,
important, film composers -- composers whose contributions to cinema
have been especially groundbreaking and/or influential. Max Steiner
surely was one such composer. Bernard Herrmann, the genre's initial
(and still most notorious) revolutionary, was another. In addition,
perhaps, John Williams -- having so popularized the sound of
traditional film music -- deserves mention, too.
Then there is Jerry Goldsmith.
Before Jerry Goldsmith's rise to prominence, a typical film's musical
accompaniment was essentially disintegrated -- accentuating a picture's
various parts in and of themselves. Goldsmith viewed this as
irrational, recognizing that a film is almost always an integrated unit rather than a
patchwork of unrelated elements. To complement a film and not undermine
it, Goldsmith realized, he as a composer generally needed to tailor a
score to be "a total piece [melodically] and not just a series of
sequences."
Goldsmith's bold employment of this innovative approach is what made
him a great film composer. It is also why, to the present-time, he
should be regarded as the master
of his craft; by emphasizing melodic integration as much as he did via
his approach, Goldsmith, to an unprecedented, remarkable extent,
satisfied the principles of good communication in his scores.
Simply put, Jerry Goldsmith changed the face of music in film -- and
for the better. In fact, enthusiasts of the art form such as myself
have him primarily to thank for that which is wonderful about it.
Consequently, not even a Steiner stinger could have underscored the
despair that overwhelmed me as I discovered what had happened last
Wednesday night (July 21st) and wept: Jerry Goldsmith, the finest film
composer thus known, had died at the age of 75.
Besides being the pre-eminent craftsman in his field, Jerry Goldsmith
was to many (including me) the most magnificent composer of his time,
if not the most magnificent composer who ever lived. He aimed to write music
for film that, in addition to functioning splendidly as score, would be
enjoyable on its own. In my experience, it always was. Many times, I
have tried -- without success -- to explain why I love Jerry
Goldsmith's music so much; now, given the circumstances, I am
determined to find the words. Ultimately, I think just one word is
necessary: passion. However
sleek and polished, Jerry's music never
struck me as anything less than utterly heartfelt; every note seemed
sincere, genuine. As if he literally
cherished every opportunity he had to compose -- as if, for him,
every theme was a love theme.
Fittingly, director David Anspaugh has suggested that if he had the
talent to write music the way Jerry could, he would want to write music
the way Jerry did.
My sentiment exactly.
Like many others, I never met/corresponded with Jerry Goldsmith and
find myself wishing I had. Shortly after the composer's passing, a
fellow fan who contacted me virtually took the words right out of my
mouth: "I feel awful," he wrote. "In the past several months I
kept pestering myself to write
[Jerry] and simply relate how much he means to me, how his music
gives meaning to my life…" While this friend took comfort in knowing he
would still be able to listen to Jerry's music, he admitted, "I
wouldn't have minded hugging him just once!"
The likelihood is that most Goldsmith fans are similarly grief-stricken
at this time. Yet, although Jerry's death indeed is very painful for
those of us who still longed to make his acquaintance, I believe that,
because we did not do so, we have done his legacy a service. It can now
be said for posterity that a man we admire so much was loved by many
people he would never even know.
And love Jerry Goldsmith I, for one, do. In what was often an
increasingly insensitive, callous world, Jerry Goldsmith made it his job to bare his soul to anyone who
cared to notice. He may not have known me, but, by means of his music,
I came to know him -- adoring the warm human being I found in the
process. Through the years, even, it felt as though Jerry, besides
providing scores for individual movies, was supplying the score to my
life. His voice was a constant companion, in good times and,
especially, in bad. To a certain extent, my world and his music were
joined together; because of this, I suppose, a part of me dies with my
hero. When I finally hear "To My Friends," the hauntingly-titled final
cue from his yet-to-be-released final album, I am positive it will make
for a profoundly bittersweet goodbye.
"If our music survives, which I have no doubt it will," Jerry once
said, "then it will because it is good."
What I have no doubt about is that Jerry Goldsmith will be remembered
as fondly over the course of time as any film composer will be; he was,
and remains, the best of the very best.
To my friend, I now say
goodbye.
Dan Hobgood can be reached at dhobgood@hotmail.com
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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Today in Film Score History:
April 29 |
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| Chris Boardman born (1954) |
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| Craig Armstrong born (1959) |
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| Dennis McCarthy and Kevin Kiner record their score for the final Star Trek: Enterprise episode, “These Are the Voyages…” (2005) |
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| Dennis McCarthy records his score for the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conspiracy” (1988) |
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| Duke Ellington born (1889) |
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| Herbert Stothart begins recording his score to Random Harvest (1942) |
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| James Horner begins recording his score for The Rocketeer (1991) |
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| Jan A.P. Kaczmarek born (1953) |
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| Jay Chattaway records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “If Wishes Were Horses” (1993) |
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| Joel Goldsmith died (2012) |
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| Lawrence Shragge born (1954) |
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| Rod McKuen born (1933) |
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| Toots Thielemans born (1922) |
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| Waldemar Kazanecki born (1929) |
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