In Brief:
John Powell, a rather cheeky chap who, refreshingly, doesn't seem to give a hoot about proper interview decorum, writes some of the most breathlessly irrepressible, exhilarating music on the planet. Unfortunately, many of his solo animation scores (especially the Blue Sky efforts) switch styles and tones at such a head-spinning rate (a technique known as "Mickey-Mousing") that they fail to create a sense of momentum, making them difficult to enjoy. You could call them ADHD scores. But when Powell creates (or is allowed to create) a score with coherent development, the results are sensational: the How to Train Your Dragon series (referred to as HTTYD for the rest of this post), Bolt, X-Men: The Last Stand, and (with Harry Gregson-Williams) Antz and Chicken Run are among the finest scores written today. His score for Pan sits somewhere between his sublime scores and his schizophrenic ones, incorporating elements of both.
Pan, starring Hugh Jackman, is an origin story of the famed Greek god with Jackman as the eponymous hero; he won the role over James McAvoy in a bitter, hard-fought contest. Just kidding; of course, it's a prequel to James Barrie's renowned play about the Boy Who you know the rest. (No, not "Lived.") Director Joe Wright normally works with talented composer Dario Marianelli (Oscar-winner for his score to Wright's Atonement), but the studio, presciently concerned about the appeal of the film, replaced Marianelli with Powell. Because as Troy and the 2013 Romeo and Juliet proved, when a film fares poorly with test audiences, changing the score will fix everything.
Pan's score starts out rather nondescriptly, but it gains strength, vitality, and consistency as it goes along. Many of the early cues are plagued by abrupt shifts, I assume to reflect the comic nature of the on-screen action; just as you think the music is going to burst forth in a glorious explosion of melody, it stops and changes gears to more slapstick music. But by the time the climactic action cues "Flying Ship Fight" (how descriptive) and "A Boy Who Could Fly" roll around, the tone becomes more consistently adventurous and swashbuckling. I was able to discern three themes, though to be honest, I only picked out the main theme on my first listen. Peter's theme and what I call the "origin" theme are short motifs of only a few notes each; the former theme does have a B section, but it's seldom used--I only hear it in "Floating/Neverland Ahoy!" and "Transfiguration." The main theme, while rousing, has an opening phrase very similar to the flying theme from HTTYD. But hey, the opening to Miklós Rózsa's main themes for Knights of the Round Table, El Cid, and Judah's theme for Ben-Hur sound similar; they're all masterpieces, so I won't give Powell too much grief.
"Kidnapped/Galleon Dog Fight" contains the toe-tapping, stylish, rhythmically peppy kind of music that practically screams Powell; it'll bring a smile to the face of anyone who likes and is familiar with his work. The poignant material lacks emotional depth, but perhaps that's just reflecting the film itself. The aforementioned climactic action tracks are like Powell's HTTYD scores on a diet, but they still feature the composer's busy orchestral figures, intense choral writing, radiant fanfares, and fantastic build-ups to thunderous renditions of thrilling melodies. Those unfamiliar with Powell's work would be better off listening to his How to Train Your Dragon scores (or the portion of Kung Fu Panda 2 linked below), and those familiar with his work will probably be reminded of some of his other, superior scores. Still, some cues did give me an adrenaline rush, impressing me with their surging vibrancy and only slightly restrained grandeur. Though tempered in parts by its comic mood shifts, Powell's score to Pan, when at its best, gushes with verve.
Playlist-Worthy Tracks:
Kidnapped/Galleon Dog Fight
Inverted Galleon
Pirates vs Heroes vs Natives vs Chickens
A Warrior's Fate
Flying Ship Fight
A Boy Who Could Fly
Transfiguration
Analysis Begins with Anal:
Prefatory Note: The CD includes four songs (you know, those things with lyrics), but other than a dark, stentorian rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for choir, none of them grabbed me at all.
Opening Overture: A piano solo introduces the main theme. Although this main theme mainly appears in an adventurous guise, this first statement is almost melancholy. Dancing, pulsing strings take over before becoming more tender (like meat). A delicate flute and then strings play a meandering melody over glittering harp, mallet percussion, and subtle guitar.
Air Raid/Office Raid: Pizzicato strings, snare drum, and high strings frolic over fluttery flute interjections. Lower instruments take over, followed by a tuba allusion to the main theme. Clarinet plays a florid, more recognizable development of the main theme.
Kidnapped/Galleon Dog Fight: Piano and brass chorale trade phrases, introducing what I'll call Peter's theme (but who knows, it could be Batman's theme). Snare and churning orchestra hurtle into a massive downward glissando that in turn leads to Powell's signature rhythmic, effervescent action, complete with an array of percussion. The main theme enters on strings before an almost mariachi-like brass outburst at 1:26. The jazzy Powell groove continues with an energetic two-note high string phrase. At 3:49 a more dramatic melody enters on brass, but flute keeps the tone lighthearted. The energy increases as a meandering melody continues above swirling string and woodwind runs. Brimming with the zest of Powell's animation scores (Kung Fu Panda, Bolt), this track reminds me why Powell's music can be so irresistible.
Floating/Neverland Ahoy!: Shimmering harp and flutes lead to a beautiful string statement of Peter's theme. With a sudden sting, the score turns playful again. Subtle electric guitar and orchestra state one of the most complete statements of Peter's theme over snazzy percussion.
Murmurs of Love and Death: A fiddle-like violin plays under string swells. The strings start a cyclical ostinato as instruments play off each other's beats--this would probably sound like a mess if played by a middle-school orchestra. This passage reminds me a bit of the track "Sphere and Loathing" from Michael Giacchino's Tomorrowland. A sudden col legno hit at 1:19 has significant startle potential if you play the score at high volume like I did. Strings take their time playing a slow melody.
Mine Escape: Acoustic guitar and strings lead to a hint of the main theme. Fluttering flute and guitar continue as flute, oboe, brass, then full orchestra continue to develop the main theme, including an agile, "pirate-jig" variation starting at 1:49. Invigorating string swirls lend energy, but the comical stop and go nature of the music interrupts the momentum slightly. In the final minute, a tubular bell toll and pause precede the boldest statement of the main theme yet.
Inverted Galleon: An exuberant version of the main theme missing the tenth note (lending a dynamic vigor to the theme) gives way to an adventurous variation of Peter's theme. Robust descending brass phrases recall the action music from HTTYD. Another pause leads to a triumphant statement of Peter's theme and a brief rhythmically energetic section, almost like Powell's "Zen Ball Master" from Kung Fu Panda 2, (0:50-3:30) but not as rousing (or long--it lasts for less than 10 seconds).
Neverbirds: Bagpipe-like instruments lead to a jig-like theme. "Tribal" percussion leads to keening strings. Orchestral Mickey-Mousing dominates the cue until a guitar softly states the main theme.
Tramp Stamp: More exotic percussion and hand clapping percolate for a minute before the orchestra enters with a semi-fanfare. Strings trade phrases of the main theme before brass and then orchestra belt radiant renditions of the same.
Origin Story: Piano introduces what I'll call the "origin" theme against menacing low brass. (I don't know what or who this theme represents, but I'm not about to see the movie to find out.) Choir enters with a doleful but sadly brief requiem before the lonely piano takes over. Strings seesaw as the origin theme hovers above. Harp and guitar strum under Peter's theme on strings.
Pirates vs Natives vs Heroes vs Chickens: An ominous circular phrase leads to a skittering ostinato, then Powell percussion rhythms take over. Almost frantic runs from various orchestral sections--string here, flutes there--cascade beneath outbursts of the main theme. The concluding descending phrase receives some particularly rousing workouts at 2:30 and 2:53, with an uncharacteristically ebullient version of the origin theme intervening at 2:40. Flute over a quiet string ostinato leads to a somewhat sinister rendition of the main theme.
Crocodiles and Mermaids: Acoustic guitar plays Peter's theme before baleful brass--for what must be the mermaids--enters. Incomplete main theme fragments poke through before ethereal voices--for what must be the crocodiles--coo over sweeping strings, harp, and an oboe phrase of the main theme.
A Warrior's Fate: The opening features a double bait-and-switch that you'll find either clever or annoying. A poignant choir note quickly makes way for a playful dance-like rhythm with Peter's theme on strings. Choir accompanies wistfully before pulling an about-face, crescendoing as male voices enter, pulling the music into menacing action mode. The voices eventually quiet down with warm strings and minor statement of Peter's theme. The main theme travels among clarinet, flute, and French horn. A rendition of the origin theme on ethnic flute (starting at 2:51), with "tribal" percussion and choral accompaniment, highlights an oddly energetic yet poignant section at cue's end.
Flying Ship Fight: The Glorious Boss Battle Part 1. Low brass and strings over clanking percussion play dangerously before main theme asserts itself. Here, stripped down to its essence, the main theme sounds even more like the flying theme from HTTYD. Fateful choir statements (at 0:48) punctuate a delicate/driving percussion ostinato--one of my favorite passages of the score. The cascading string ostinato continues as male choir takes over, amping up the energy further before momentarily quieting for Peter's theme. An utterly joyous, swashbuckling outburst of the main theme finally interrupts the cascading ostinato. At 3:05, the main theme ends with an ascending phase instead of a descending one, and then the dynamic "missing note" version of the theme from "Inverted Galleon" starts at 3:26. The soaring origin theme plays in action mode at 4:05. Nautical rhythms abound as the action continues, chime flourishes punctuating the orchestral fireworks throughout. A minor, exotic sounding variation of Peter's theme enters 6 minutes in with the missing note variation of the main theme following soon after. The main theme breaks down into an ostinato, flutes trilling above as the cue hurtles to an abrupt conclusion.
A Boy Who Could Fly: The Glorious Boss Battle Part 2. The melancholy piano statement of the main theme from the overture returns. Another cascading string ostinato enters with ominous bass drum beats. A fanfare-like brass statement of Peter's theme ushers in a celebratory mood. At 1:40, low brass and strings (I think) reference the origin theme. Choir (first women, then men), add to the steadily increasing pyrotechnics--impressively, the rhythm of their melody is different from what the orchestra's playing. More HTTYD-esque statements of the main theme play at 2:51. The choir continues cataclysmically, reaching almost Lord of the Rings/Mt. Doom proportions, but Powell's upbeat percussion grooves and chime runs are never too far away. About 4:08 in, an unadorned, portentous choir phrase enters, quite similar to a phrase from the cue "Phoenix Rises" from Powell's X-Men: The Last Stand. The choir continues raging alongside the origin theme. Peter's theme over humming choir (reminiscent of "Toothless Lost" from HTTYD 2) closes the cue.
Transfiguration: In this cue, which I assume plays under Blackbeard's transfiguration into Wolverine, the lush apotheosis of Peter's theme for the string section highlights the cue. French horn joins for the final statement. Piano, then harp and humming chorus follow.
Fetching the Boys: Playful pizzicato phrases start things off. French horn and strings briefly play the main theme in a noble guise. The snazzy energy from "Kidnapped/Galleon Dog Fight" returns (including the mariachi-like phrase). French horn, oboe, then strings play a content version of the main theme. Strings play a wandering melody before the orchestra and choir swell, fading out to a false ending. A final cadence from the orchestra provides the real ending, with a final cheeky note on glockenspiel.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Saturday, October 10, 2015
The Martian (Harry Gregson-Williams)
In Brief:
In The Martian, Matt Damon finds himself stranded on Mars. Using only disco music and potatoes (the "nassty chips" so cruelly rejected by Gollum), he devises a way to survive until NASA can bring him back to his home planet of Neptune. (Isn't that what the "N" in NASA stands for?)
Director Ridley Scott doesn't stick with one composer, but he still formed relationships with a few. Though Scott notoriously rejected parts of Jerry Goldsmith's score to Alien (and Universal subsequently rejected Goldsmith's entire score to the American release of Scott's Legend), he did manage to stick with Hans Zimmer for six films and Zimmer apprentice Marc Streitenfeld for five. Though the scores from the latter composer were unremarkable, Prometheus did boast a captivating main theme by Harry Gregson-Williams that overshadowed the rest of Streitenfeld's score. Gregson-Williams had worked with Scott on 2005's Kingdom of Heaven, the best score in a Scott film since Goldsmith's Legend 20 years earlier. Now, Gregson-Williams returns to the Scott fold, providing The Martian with a hypnotic, entrancing, and ultimately triumphant score.
Gregson-Williams generally has two sides: the propulsive, electronic sound he's used for his seven films with Ridley's late brother Tony (such as Spy Game, Man on Fire, and Unstoppable) and the lush, full-bodied orchestral idiom of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, the first two Narnia films, and (with John Powell) Chicken Run and Antz. His score for the Martian mixes elements from both. Captivating and, at times, thrilling electronics nestle comfortably alongside rich orchestral melodies and precisely written tunes for solo instruments. The electronic sounds range from more modern beats to optimistic-sounding 8-bit elements. The simple main theme, versatile enough to evoke different moods on different instruments, infuses the score with an aspirational quality throughout its running time. Although individual cues such as "Making Water," "Hexadecimals," and "Crossing Mars" feature remarkable orchestral/electronic build-ups, the dramatic arc of the score as a whole, slowly building to its cathartic conclusion, proves even more impressive.
There's no single cue to match the glorious (though somewhat melodically derivative) cues "Shenzou" (1:30-4:45) and "Gravity" (2:45-end) from Steven Price's score to the similarly themed--you guessed it--Gravity, but The Martian is a stronger score overall. Though not as crowd-pleasing as Gregson-Williams's Sinbad, Chicken Run, or Team America: World Police, this score boasts an impressive array of sounds and colors, both electronic and acoustic, to please the ears.
Playlist-Worthy Tracks:
Emergency Launch
Making Water
Hexadecimals
Crossing Mars
See You in a Few
Fly Like Iron Man
Analysis Begins with Anal:
Mars: A synthetic rumble leads to tinkling piano and electronics. The synthesizer then opens up the soundscape, evoking an ethereal quality. The main theme, a desolate yet aspirational tune for electric guitar, enters. A low string variation of the theme is framed by bubbling low synth.
Emergency Launch: The cue opens with a bass beat with ominous low string swells and a see-sawing phrase that recalls Jerry Goldsmith's Alien score. A stylish, somewhat "pop"-like string ostinato leads to ominous brass. A string chorale with answering brass blossoms to an emotional statement of the main theme with subtle choir. Eerie choir and strings lend an otherworldly tint to the end of the cue.
Making Water: A buzzing synth leads to rippling harp over an upbeat, charmingly old-fashioned-sounding synth beat. A propulsive string ostinato enters, the main theme growing on strings and horns over snare-like percussion. Gregson-Williams deftly creates a sense of momentum, adding new electronic elements, orchestral instruments, and volume as the cue progresses. In some ways, this cue resembles Daft Punk's score to Tron: Legacy, a score on which Gregson-Williams consulted.
Spotting Movement: Fluttering synth ostinatos transform into a more beat-like pattern, flitting around the stereo field. The bubbling low synth from the opening track returns to round things out.
Science the S*** Out of This: A low ostinato on what I can only describe as low wind chimes precedes a variation of the main theme variation on low strings. Propulsive synths, calling to mind Gregson-Williams's work on the Metal Gear Solid video games, enter near the end.
Messages from Hermes: An echoing electric violin phrase floats over a delicate synth bed. Desolate French horn perfectly evokes the Martian landscape (though what do I know; the scene could be of Matt Damon doing the macarena). Piano slowly ekes out the main theme. Strings rise, leading to an energetic, almost rousing ostinato with wide intervals.
Sprouting Potatoes: (Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew.) Science-y synths and guitar lead to expressive solo cello. Strings play an optimistic motif based on four notes.
Watney's Alive!: We had science-y synths in the last track--well, now we have static-y synths. Piano attempts to form shape of main theme. The last 30 seconds pick up the pace with propulsive electronic rhythms.
Pathfinder: And now we have queasy synths. Chime-like sounds play as the piano again tries to find main theme.
Hexadecimals: More video game-y 8-bit synth, including rippling cascades, features here. A lush electronic crescendo recalls Henry Jackman's superb score to Wreck-It-Ralph (and the title track in particular).
Crossing Mars: Processed electric guitar plays the main theme over a lonely string bed. French horn and strings play a variation of the main theme in a warm, almost Americana style. The theme and instrumental layers slowly keep building and building, female choir finally entering as one of the final developments. Unlike Making Water, this track uses mostly orchestral elements to propel the momentum forward, but the effect is just as invigorating.
Reap & Sow: Sneaky Metal Gear Solid-like synths enter before turning in a completely different direction with a cello statement of the main theme. A bass drop (or whatever you call that thing that turns up in so much dubstep music) leads to a driving string ostinato and echoing trumpet phrases.
Crops Are Dead: A female voice keens an elegy (for the crops?) Bassoon takes over, finally "sobbing" out the main theme before female voice ends the cue. The whole track is almost like a duet for soprano and bassoon, lending a quiet sincerity to the score that one wouldn't expect in a tent-pole movie.
Work the Problem: A synth noise in this cue reminds me of Robyn Miller's eerie score for the computer game Myst. A techno rhythm enters, complete with ramp up (like a less brash version of Gregson-Williams's music for The Equalizer.)
See You in a Few: Solo piano starts the cue off, sustained synth chords providing harmony. A harpsichord-esque instrument slowly plays the main theme. Piano then picks up the theme, allowing it to slowly develop over the course of the cue. Choir enters, preceding a beautiful string swell. Male choir comes to the fore before rumbling synth takes over, but the choir soon fights back as the percussion starts an invigorating rhythm.
Build a Bomb: A synth pulse makes its way around the stereo field. After a questioning, 4-note rising ostinato, the strings start to build, slowly ascending in pitch.
Fly Like Iron Man: Low bass sounds rumble under an echoing two-note flute phrase and a subtle ticking rhythm. Dissonant brass herald a dramatic crescendo from the whole orchestra. A rapid-fire string ostinato under brass suddenly changes gears to an 8-bit-ish synth rendition of the main theme. Full orchestra, including triumphant brass and male choir, releases the tension that has been building up for the whole score. As the score closes, female choir enters, strings ending with a quiet nod to the three final notes of the opening movement of Richard Stauss's Also Spake Zarathustra (AKA the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening and closing music.)
[Linked Youtube videos are not my uploads.]
In The Martian, Matt Damon finds himself stranded on Mars. Using only disco music and potatoes (the "nassty chips" so cruelly rejected by Gollum), he devises a way to survive until NASA can bring him back to his home planet of Neptune. (Isn't that what the "N" in NASA stands for?)
Director Ridley Scott doesn't stick with one composer, but he still formed relationships with a few. Though Scott notoriously rejected parts of Jerry Goldsmith's score to Alien (and Universal subsequently rejected Goldsmith's entire score to the American release of Scott's Legend), he did manage to stick with Hans Zimmer for six films and Zimmer apprentice Marc Streitenfeld for five. Though the scores from the latter composer were unremarkable, Prometheus did boast a captivating main theme by Harry Gregson-Williams that overshadowed the rest of Streitenfeld's score. Gregson-Williams had worked with Scott on 2005's Kingdom of Heaven, the best score in a Scott film since Goldsmith's Legend 20 years earlier. Now, Gregson-Williams returns to the Scott fold, providing The Martian with a hypnotic, entrancing, and ultimately triumphant score.
Gregson-Williams generally has two sides: the propulsive, electronic sound he's used for his seven films with Ridley's late brother Tony (such as Spy Game, Man on Fire, and Unstoppable) and the lush, full-bodied orchestral idiom of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, the first two Narnia films, and (with John Powell) Chicken Run and Antz. His score for the Martian mixes elements from both. Captivating and, at times, thrilling electronics nestle comfortably alongside rich orchestral melodies and precisely written tunes for solo instruments. The electronic sounds range from more modern beats to optimistic-sounding 8-bit elements. The simple main theme, versatile enough to evoke different moods on different instruments, infuses the score with an aspirational quality throughout its running time. Although individual cues such as "Making Water," "Hexadecimals," and "Crossing Mars" feature remarkable orchestral/electronic build-ups, the dramatic arc of the score as a whole, slowly building to its cathartic conclusion, proves even more impressive.
There's no single cue to match the glorious (though somewhat melodically derivative) cues "Shenzou" (1:30-4:45) and "Gravity" (2:45-end) from Steven Price's score to the similarly themed--you guessed it--Gravity, but The Martian is a stronger score overall. Though not as crowd-pleasing as Gregson-Williams's Sinbad, Chicken Run, or Team America: World Police, this score boasts an impressive array of sounds and colors, both electronic and acoustic, to please the ears.
Playlist-Worthy Tracks:
Emergency Launch
Making Water
Hexadecimals
Crossing Mars
See You in a Few
Fly Like Iron Man
Analysis Begins with Anal:
Mars: A synthetic rumble leads to tinkling piano and electronics. The synthesizer then opens up the soundscape, evoking an ethereal quality. The main theme, a desolate yet aspirational tune for electric guitar, enters. A low string variation of the theme is framed by bubbling low synth.
Emergency Launch: The cue opens with a bass beat with ominous low string swells and a see-sawing phrase that recalls Jerry Goldsmith's Alien score. A stylish, somewhat "pop"-like string ostinato leads to ominous brass. A string chorale with answering brass blossoms to an emotional statement of the main theme with subtle choir. Eerie choir and strings lend an otherworldly tint to the end of the cue.
Making Water: A buzzing synth leads to rippling harp over an upbeat, charmingly old-fashioned-sounding synth beat. A propulsive string ostinato enters, the main theme growing on strings and horns over snare-like percussion. Gregson-Williams deftly creates a sense of momentum, adding new electronic elements, orchestral instruments, and volume as the cue progresses. In some ways, this cue resembles Daft Punk's score to Tron: Legacy, a score on which Gregson-Williams consulted.
Spotting Movement: Fluttering synth ostinatos transform into a more beat-like pattern, flitting around the stereo field. The bubbling low synth from the opening track returns to round things out.
Science the S*** Out of This: A low ostinato on what I can only describe as low wind chimes precedes a variation of the main theme variation on low strings. Propulsive synths, calling to mind Gregson-Williams's work on the Metal Gear Solid video games, enter near the end.
Messages from Hermes: An echoing electric violin phrase floats over a delicate synth bed. Desolate French horn perfectly evokes the Martian landscape (though what do I know; the scene could be of Matt Damon doing the macarena). Piano slowly ekes out the main theme. Strings rise, leading to an energetic, almost rousing ostinato with wide intervals.
Sprouting Potatoes: (Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew.) Science-y synths and guitar lead to expressive solo cello. Strings play an optimistic motif based on four notes.
Watney's Alive!: We had science-y synths in the last track--well, now we have static-y synths. Piano attempts to form shape of main theme. The last 30 seconds pick up the pace with propulsive electronic rhythms.
Pathfinder: And now we have queasy synths. Chime-like sounds play as the piano again tries to find main theme.
Hexadecimals: More video game-y 8-bit synth, including rippling cascades, features here. A lush electronic crescendo recalls Henry Jackman's superb score to Wreck-It-Ralph (and the title track in particular).
Crossing Mars: Processed electric guitar plays the main theme over a lonely string bed. French horn and strings play a variation of the main theme in a warm, almost Americana style. The theme and instrumental layers slowly keep building and building, female choir finally entering as one of the final developments. Unlike Making Water, this track uses mostly orchestral elements to propel the momentum forward, but the effect is just as invigorating.
Reap & Sow: Sneaky Metal Gear Solid-like synths enter before turning in a completely different direction with a cello statement of the main theme. A bass drop (or whatever you call that thing that turns up in so much dubstep music) leads to a driving string ostinato and echoing trumpet phrases.
Crops Are Dead: A female voice keens an elegy (for the crops?) Bassoon takes over, finally "sobbing" out the main theme before female voice ends the cue. The whole track is almost like a duet for soprano and bassoon, lending a quiet sincerity to the score that one wouldn't expect in a tent-pole movie.
Work the Problem: A synth noise in this cue reminds me of Robyn Miller's eerie score for the computer game Myst. A techno rhythm enters, complete with ramp up (like a less brash version of Gregson-Williams's music for The Equalizer.)
See You in a Few: Solo piano starts the cue off, sustained synth chords providing harmony. A harpsichord-esque instrument slowly plays the main theme. Piano then picks up the theme, allowing it to slowly develop over the course of the cue. Choir enters, preceding a beautiful string swell. Male choir comes to the fore before rumbling synth takes over, but the choir soon fights back as the percussion starts an invigorating rhythm.
Build a Bomb: A synth pulse makes its way around the stereo field. After a questioning, 4-note rising ostinato, the strings start to build, slowly ascending in pitch.
Fly Like Iron Man: Low bass sounds rumble under an echoing two-note flute phrase and a subtle ticking rhythm. Dissonant brass herald a dramatic crescendo from the whole orchestra. A rapid-fire string ostinato under brass suddenly changes gears to an 8-bit-ish synth rendition of the main theme. Full orchestra, including triumphant brass and male choir, releases the tension that has been building up for the whole score. As the score closes, female choir enters, strings ending with a quiet nod to the three final notes of the opening movement of Richard Stauss's Also Spake Zarathustra (AKA the 2001: A Space Odyssey opening and closing music.)
[Linked Youtube videos are not my uploads.]
Saturday, October 3, 2015
The Walk (Alan Silvestri)
In Brief:
Alan Silvestri, who has scored every Robert Zemeckis film since Romancing the Stone in 1984, provides his most faithful collaborator with a warmhearted score. The film, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (best known for his critically-acclamied role as Cobra Commander in the first GI Joe movie), chronicles Phillipe Petit's leisurely stroll between the two towers of the World Trade Center. From a wire stretched between the towers' roofs. I'm guessing the film's about more than just the walk, especially as the film's 123 minutes long and the walk itself took about 45 minutes in real life. Or who knows; maybe the credits are 78 minutes long.
The most welcome feature of this score, at a time when most film scores are percussive, synth-based walls of sound, is the varied orchestration. Solo instruments, especially woodwinds, get their time to shine, the players pouring their hearts and carbon dioxide into simple yet gorgeous melodies that enrich the score. Lending variety to the soundtrack are passages of blues/jazz, lush French-flavored waltzes, and brief snatches of brassy, rhythmic action in the best Silvestri tradition (a la Back to the Future and The Avengers). However, the bulk of the score emphasizes warm string writing; an intriguing echoing-piano effect recurs throughout, with eerie (or cheap, depending on your tastes) female synth choir coming to the fore in the last half of the score. While not as thematically rich and stirring as the composer's Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, or even Stuart Little and Lilo & Stitch, it is nowhere near as subdued as Flight, Cast Away, or The Bodyguard. Although there are some recognizable motifs, there's no single strong theme. Yet the stylistic variety, delicacy and clarity of the orchestrations, and sincerity of the melodies add up to a decent achievement from this veteran composer.
Playlist-Worthy Tracks:
Young Phillipe
The Towers of Notre Dame
"We Have a Problem"
"I Feel Thankful"
"They Want to Kill You"
"Perhaps You Brought Them to Life--Gave Them a Soul"
Analysis Begins with Anal:
Pouquoi?: Waves of strings, reminiscent of Cast Away, are what really lie beneath an echoing piano motif. The cue transitions to cool jazz (or maybe that's the wrong term; I don't know all the sub genres of blues/jazz) in the same mold as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with plucked string bass, sax, drum kit, and muted trumpet.
Young Phillipe: Piano and almost ethereal strings lead into a playful brass waltz, which blossoms gloriously into full orchestra. This delightfully lyrical waltz theme, presumably for some romantic aspect of the story, is the strongest melody of the score.
Two Loves: An accordion serves as the rhythmic spine for a melancholy tune in 3/4 time. Pizzicato strings back flute, clarinet, and piano before the string section takes up the sighing melody.
Towers of Notre Dame: Accordion, clarinet and a plucked instrument I ashamedly can't name lend a distinctly French (but not stuck-up) flavor to the proceedings. The mood changes to jazz again with ballsy brass outbursts and a flute trill before the lovely waltz theme returns in full orchestra; clarinet and celeste gracefully round out the piece.
"It's Something Beautiful": A churning string motor leads to a synth crash. Synth beats pulse under an expectant bassoon tune. Later in the cue, sparse piano hovers above a sustained string line, finishing with the orchestral waltz theme.
Spy Work: Silvestri provides his take on 1960s spy music, complete with bongos, muted brass, and a fat low (tenor? baritone?) sax bass line.
Full of Doubt: Portentous chimes lead to the return of the expectant bassoon tune from "It's Something Beautiful."
Time Passes: Churning strings and brass outbursts find Silvestri in his comfortable action mode. At 0:37, we're treated to a trademark Silvestri brass fanfare and response from strings. The next section with tick-tocking percussion and synth recalls his some of his work on the TV show Cosmos. The strings crescendo against counterpoint from French horns and then trumpets. Frenzied strings build to a final brass stinger.
The Arrow: A cello playing a gypsy-like melody opens the track. Celeste (or maybe it's glockenspiel) play a mischievous, Elfman-like line, charmingly repeated by brass. Strings continue to churn before dying down to meditative piano, celeste, and oboe. A string ostinato returns below menacing low brass.
"We Have a Problem": The ostinato from last track returns, but in pizzicato with a couple of statement from celeste. Silvestri enters his familiar militaristic action mode again before an explosion of synth percussion precedes a continuance of the ostinato. A fatalistic line from trumpets, then strings enters as the synths intensify. A dramatic melody (whose opening sounds just a little like Davy Jones's theme from Hans Zimmer's Pirated of the Caribbean score) provides some neat structural symmetry; as with the previous fatalistic line, it's played by trumpets and repeated in the string section.
The Walk: The Cast Away tone of first track, complete with echoing piano over strings, is reprised. Female synth voices make their first entrance in the score at 2:45 (bringing to mind Titanic, of all things). Strings and horns eventually enter, swelling with a sense of relief.
"I Feel Thankful": The track opens with Fur Elise on piano before the full orchestra--strings then brass--take it up. The bulk of the cue consists of a quasi-march, interrupted twice. The first time, flute, clarinet, and oboe take up waltz theme over the synth choir before launching into an exquisite melody. In the second "interruption," the orchestra busts into a bittersweet theme with male synth choir (the only time we hear male synth voices on the entire soundtrack).
"They Want to Kill You": Synth and percussion punctuate skittering strings, over which an inexorable brass melody plays. The Davy Jones melody returns, then cathartic strings and female voices enter, an inspirational brass melody soaring above. A variation of the melody subsequently repeats in low strings.
"There Is No Why": A brief heavenly string statement, similar to Silvestri's score for James Cameron's The Abyss (the melodic shape recalls the opening of "Bud on the Ledge") opens the cue. The Cast Away swells and echoing piano return briefly before giving way to a tender, deliberately paced melody for strings with scattered woodwind solos. Echoing piano returns to close the cue.
"Perhaps You Brought Them to Life--Given Them a Soul": Perhaps this cue's lengthy, vaguely pretentious title is an homage to James Horner (who recently passed away in June). English horn (or very low oboe) starts things off before clarinet, oboe, and flute successfully play fragments of the waltz melody. However, Silvestri alters the tune here, the final note lifting instead of falling. Rich strings and gorgeously cascading piano follow, after which the echoing piano enters for the final time, eventually joined by the orchestra and subtle female synth choir. After a final swell of strings, the echoing piano and a low string tone close out the score on a tranquil note.
Alan Silvestri, who has scored every Robert Zemeckis film since Romancing the Stone in 1984, provides his most faithful collaborator with a warmhearted score. The film, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (best known for his critically-acclamied role as Cobra Commander in the first GI Joe movie), chronicles Phillipe Petit's leisurely stroll between the two towers of the World Trade Center. From a wire stretched between the towers' roofs. I'm guessing the film's about more than just the walk, especially as the film's 123 minutes long and the walk itself took about 45 minutes in real life. Or who knows; maybe the credits are 78 minutes long.
The most welcome feature of this score, at a time when most film scores are percussive, synth-based walls of sound, is the varied orchestration. Solo instruments, especially woodwinds, get their time to shine, the players pouring their hearts and carbon dioxide into simple yet gorgeous melodies that enrich the score. Lending variety to the soundtrack are passages of blues/jazz, lush French-flavored waltzes, and brief snatches of brassy, rhythmic action in the best Silvestri tradition (a la Back to the Future and The Avengers). However, the bulk of the score emphasizes warm string writing; an intriguing echoing-piano effect recurs throughout, with eerie (or cheap, depending on your tastes) female synth choir coming to the fore in the last half of the score. While not as thematically rich and stirring as the composer's Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, or even Stuart Little and Lilo & Stitch, it is nowhere near as subdued as Flight, Cast Away, or The Bodyguard. Although there are some recognizable motifs, there's no single strong theme. Yet the stylistic variety, delicacy and clarity of the orchestrations, and sincerity of the melodies add up to a decent achievement from this veteran composer.
Playlist-Worthy Tracks:
Young Phillipe
The Towers of Notre Dame
"We Have a Problem"
"I Feel Thankful"
"They Want to Kill You"
"Perhaps You Brought Them to Life--Gave Them a Soul"
Analysis Begins with Anal:
Pouquoi?: Waves of strings, reminiscent of Cast Away, are what really lie beneath an echoing piano motif. The cue transitions to cool jazz (or maybe that's the wrong term; I don't know all the sub genres of blues/jazz) in the same mold as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with plucked string bass, sax, drum kit, and muted trumpet.
Young Phillipe: Piano and almost ethereal strings lead into a playful brass waltz, which blossoms gloriously into full orchestra. This delightfully lyrical waltz theme, presumably for some romantic aspect of the story, is the strongest melody of the score.
Two Loves: An accordion serves as the rhythmic spine for a melancholy tune in 3/4 time. Pizzicato strings back flute, clarinet, and piano before the string section takes up the sighing melody.
Towers of Notre Dame: Accordion, clarinet and a plucked instrument I ashamedly can't name lend a distinctly French (but not stuck-up) flavor to the proceedings. The mood changes to jazz again with ballsy brass outbursts and a flute trill before the lovely waltz theme returns in full orchestra; clarinet and celeste gracefully round out the piece.
"It's Something Beautiful": A churning string motor leads to a synth crash. Synth beats pulse under an expectant bassoon tune. Later in the cue, sparse piano hovers above a sustained string line, finishing with the orchestral waltz theme.
Spy Work: Silvestri provides his take on 1960s spy music, complete with bongos, muted brass, and a fat low (tenor? baritone?) sax bass line.
Full of Doubt: Portentous chimes lead to the return of the expectant bassoon tune from "It's Something Beautiful."
Time Passes: Churning strings and brass outbursts find Silvestri in his comfortable action mode. At 0:37, we're treated to a trademark Silvestri brass fanfare and response from strings. The next section with tick-tocking percussion and synth recalls his some of his work on the TV show Cosmos. The strings crescendo against counterpoint from French horns and then trumpets. Frenzied strings build to a final brass stinger.
The Arrow: A cello playing a gypsy-like melody opens the track. Celeste (or maybe it's glockenspiel) play a mischievous, Elfman-like line, charmingly repeated by brass. Strings continue to churn before dying down to meditative piano, celeste, and oboe. A string ostinato returns below menacing low brass.
"We Have a Problem": The ostinato from last track returns, but in pizzicato with a couple of statement from celeste. Silvestri enters his familiar militaristic action mode again before an explosion of synth percussion precedes a continuance of the ostinato. A fatalistic line from trumpets, then strings enters as the synths intensify. A dramatic melody (whose opening sounds just a little like Davy Jones's theme from Hans Zimmer's Pirated of the Caribbean score) provides some neat structural symmetry; as with the previous fatalistic line, it's played by trumpets and repeated in the string section.
The Walk: The Cast Away tone of first track, complete with echoing piano over strings, is reprised. Female synth voices make their first entrance in the score at 2:45 (bringing to mind Titanic, of all things). Strings and horns eventually enter, swelling with a sense of relief.
"I Feel Thankful": The track opens with Fur Elise on piano before the full orchestra--strings then brass--take it up. The bulk of the cue consists of a quasi-march, interrupted twice. The first time, flute, clarinet, and oboe take up waltz theme over the synth choir before launching into an exquisite melody. In the second "interruption," the orchestra busts into a bittersweet theme with male synth choir (the only time we hear male synth voices on the entire soundtrack).
"They Want to Kill You": Synth and percussion punctuate skittering strings, over which an inexorable brass melody plays. The Davy Jones melody returns, then cathartic strings and female voices enter, an inspirational brass melody soaring above. A variation of the melody subsequently repeats in low strings.
"There Is No Why": A brief heavenly string statement, similar to Silvestri's score for James Cameron's The Abyss (the melodic shape recalls the opening of "Bud on the Ledge") opens the cue. The Cast Away swells and echoing piano return briefly before giving way to a tender, deliberately paced melody for strings with scattered woodwind solos. Echoing piano returns to close the cue.
"Perhaps You Brought Them to Life--Given Them a Soul": Perhaps this cue's lengthy, vaguely pretentious title is an homage to James Horner (who recently passed away in June). English horn (or very low oboe) starts things off before clarinet, oboe, and flute successfully play fragments of the waltz melody. However, Silvestri alters the tune here, the final note lifting instead of falling. Rich strings and gorgeously cascading piano follow, after which the echoing piano enters for the final time, eventually joined by the orchestra and subtle female synth choir. After a final swell of strings, the echoing piano and a low string tone close out the score on a tranquil note.
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