Music Appreciation Chapter 9
John Williams
- "... is without a doubt the most popular and widely-heard composer of music for orchestra in the world..." - Collaborations with Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas - Credited with re-energizing the declining orchestral style - Theme music for Summer Olympic Games 1984, 1988, 1996 - Winter Olympics 2002 theme music - Principal Conductor of Boston Pops Orchestra, 1980- 1993
Warner Brothers
- "The Rabbit of Seville," 1950, based on Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" - "What's Opera, Doc?," 1957, based on Wagner operas - "Long Haired Hare," 1949, parodied operatic singers and the conductor Leopold Stokowski - After 1950 cartoons moved from movie theatres to Saturday morning television
Orchestral Scores
- 1930s: many movies produced with large orchestral scores written by European composers a.) Many had moved to United States b.) Found an outlet here for their creativity - "Romantic" in style a.) Large orchestras b.) Programmatic writing - Max Steiner: King Kong (1933) - Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Sea Hawk (1940)
Alexander Nevesky
- 1938 Russian propaganda film - Sergei Prokofiev, composer; Sergei Eisenstein, director - First movie in which the musical considerations were just as important as the visual - Audio/visual concept revolutionized film making - Collaboration between Prokofiev and Eisenstein - Music foretells and represents action - Music formulated into secular cantata; became a popular choral work
Gone with the Wind
- 1939, Max Steiner - Reminiscent of opera writing a.) Overture b.) Intermission c.) Entracte - Overture includes tunes in movie a.) Opening sequence captures expansive nature of story
Evolving Views of Movie Music
- 1940s: disparate views on the role of music in movies a.) Music intruded on drama once the listener was aware of the music vs. music as a natural complement to the drama. - Aaron Copland: "Movie music,... is a new form of dramatic music—related to opera, ballet, incidental theatre music—in contradistinction to concert music of the symphonic or chamber music kind. As a new form it opens up unexplored possibilities..."
"Circus Music" from The Red Pony Aaron Copland
- 1949 - Source music and background music
Carmen Jones
- 1954 film; 1943 staged musical - Based on Bizet's Carmen with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein - Set in United States with an African-American cast - Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for her role in this film - Marilyn Horne: famous operatic singer of the time provided the singing voice
Music for the Movies
- A new genre for the presentation of music - More people could view a movie and hear its music in a shorter amount of time than a staged presentation - Production existed forever once it was created - Distribution of movies far easier and more cost effective than staged productions
Early Years
- Before 1927: silent films a.) No dialogue, no sound effects, no music b.) Accompanied by live music when shown in a theatre - Music was written for a particular movie, or it might have been a compilation of pre-existing music, or a combination of both - Tunes from popular songs and classical music were used a.) Played in short segments b.) Episodic
Electronic Music
- Chariots of Fire, 1981; Blade Runner, 1982 a.) Composed and performed by Vangelis - Synthesizers - Sampling: a.) Process of converting analog sounds produced by acoustic instruments into digital data b.) Downloaded into and reproduced by synthesizers
William Tell Overture Gioacchino Rossini
- Create a cartoon of your own - How many different scenes did you see? - Have you heard this music before? - Did the cartoon influence your imagination? - Why do you think this music has been used in cartoons?
Star Wars Main Title Sequence 25" - 2' 15" John Williams
- Do you think this music would be enjoyable or meaningful if you have never seen the movie?
Dr. No "James Bond Theme" John Barry
- Electric guitar over an orchestral texture - The "sound" of this sets the music and the movie in the 1960s
The Day the Earth Stood Still "Prelude" Bernard herrmann
- Electronic technology incorporated within orchestral texture - High and low pitched theremins a.) Other-worldly sound b.) Played by performer moving hands in the air in proximity to the instrument. Uses oscillating generator to create sounds
Animated Movies and Cartoons
- Fantasia a.) 1940; Walt Disney Studios with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra b.) Explored visual imagery with classical music c.) For many, this animated film was their first exposure to classical music d.) The works are presented in snippets that are interspersed throughout the film
Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganinni Variation #18 Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Featured in Somewhere in Time, 1980 - Used as the love theme throughout movie - Why use classical works when a composer could have used something unique?
Musical Biopics
- Film biographies about famous musicians or composers - Allows for filmed concert performances, source music, and music to support the drama - Fictional material included a.) Amadeus is a fictional account of Mozart's life
Electronic Sources
- Forbidden Planet, 1956 a.) First film to employ a completely electronic score b.) Louis and Bebe Barron c.) Called "Electronic Tonalities" in credits - Recording devices, oscillators, unusual electronic instruments - Theremin: a.) Invented by Russian cellist Léon Theremin b.) Used in The Day the Earth Stood Still (composer, Bernard Herrmann)
Bernard Herrmann
- Groundbreaking use of electronic instruments - Orchestral scores written for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock
Gone With the Wind Main Title Sequence Max Steiner
- How does the music affect your anticipation to what is to come in the movie? - What can you conclude about the approach composers of movie music take in creating music to an opening sequence in a film?
Songs in Film
- Irving Berlin a.) Easter Parade, White Christmas, Puttin' on the Ritz - George M. Cohan a.) Tin Pan Alley composer b.) I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, Give My Regards to Broadway
Prominent Composers
- Jerry Goldsmith a.) Television music in 1950s b.) Movie scores 1960s c.) Star Trek series; Planet of the Apes; The Omen; Alien; Poltergeist - Howard Shore a.) Lord of the Rings b.) Music for movies and television since 1970s
Birth of a Nation
- Made in 1915 - One of the first full length movies to include a complete musical score - Based on the novel The Clansman (Thomas Dixon) a.) Ku Klux Klan portrayed as a positive force - Presaged use of music in other movies - Popular songs: Dixie and Swanee River used to evoke nostalgic Southern days - America, Peer Gynt Suite (Grieg), Poet and Peasant Overture (von Suppé), contributed to the general atmosphere of specific scenes
The Jazz Singer
- Made in 1927: essentially a silent film with some sound - Starred Al Jolson, the most popular entertainer of that time - Utilized scenes with synchronized sound - Accompanying musical score a.) Original music and pre-existing classical mix - Melodic motif: Jewish prayer Kol Nidre a.) Unifying element b.) Melodic motifs were a signature element of late nineteenth century opera (Wagner, Puccini) c.) Became a common element in film music
- King Kong Main Title Sequence - The Sea Hawk Main Title Sequence
- Max Steiner - Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Prominent Composers
- Miklós Rózsa a.) Wrote for nearly 100 movies, 1937 until 1982 b.) MGM studios 1949 -1961 c.) Madame Bovary; Quo Vadis; Lust for Life; Ben Hur; King of Kings - Elmer Bernstein a.) Composed movie scores 1951 - 2002 b.) The Ten Commandments; The Magnificent Seven; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Great Escape; The Blues Brothers; Ghostbusters
Songs in Film
- Movies and the radio were the most prominent elements of the entertainment industry before television and the internet - Placing of a song in a movie was a calculated risk - Use of a popular song was almost a guarantee of success for the movie - Titles of songs were also used as movie titles - 1930's: Song and dance incorporated into storyline
Copland's View
- Music in movies serves the screen by: - "Creating a more convincing atmosphere of time and place." - "Underlining psychological refinements—the unspoken thoughts of a character or the unseen implications of a situation." - "Building a sense of continuity." - "Serving as a kind of neutral background filler." - "Underpinning the theatrical build-up of a scene and then rounding it off with a sense of finality."
Cartoon Shorts
- Presented in theatres before featured movie and between double features - Warner Brothers a.) "Loony Tunes" b.) "Merry Melodies" - Sound effects, classical excerpts and composed music: exaggerated the action - Carl Stalling: musical director - Several cartoons based on the operatic music of Rossini and Wagner
Classical Compositions in Movies
- Prominent in many film scores - Directors, composers and music supervisors choose appropriate compositions as background music - Composers create original music - Pastiche of compositions - List of classical compositions used in movies: http://www/allegro-c.de/formate/cmm.htm
Staged Musical Adaptations
- Virtually all successful Broadway musicals became film productions - More lavish than staged presentations - Kept musical alive - Use of vocal over dubbing - Marni Nixon: singing voice for famous faces
Powerhouse Raymond Scott
- Warner Brothers owned rights to Scott's music - Powerhouse used in forty different cartoons - A-B-A a.) A: chase scenes or fast paced sequences b.) B: factory scenes or mechanical images
Influence of the Director
- Willingness of an open minded director can raise the level of importance of the music - Stanley Kubrick, director a.) Music played important role; creative uses b.) A Clockwork Orange, 1971 i.) Synthesized adaptations of Beethoven, Purcell and Rossini music - Francis Ford Coppola, director a.) Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries in the film Apocalypse Now
Somewhere, Over the Rainbow Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg
- Wizard of Oz, 1939 - One of the most popular songs of the twentieth century - Song almost didn't make final cut of the film - Typical movie song: advanced the story in some way
As Time Goes By from Casablanca Herman Hupfield
- Written in 1931; used in Casablanca in 1942 - Plays important role in movie/character development - Advance to 58" in the video clip
Chariots of Fire Main Title Sequence
Blade Runner Movie Theme Vangelis
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Main Theme
Ennio Morricone
Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye
Kol Nidre Jewish Prayer
Forbidden Planet Main Title Sequence "Ancient Krell music" "Battle with Invisible Monster"
Louis and Bebe Barron
"Ride of the Valkyries" Die Walküre
Richard Wagner
"Murder" (Shower Scene from Psycho) Bernard Herrmann Music starts at 1' 35"
Screeching violins musically represent the stabbing knife and screams of the murder victim
Alexander Nevsky "Battle on the Ice" Two excerpts
Sergei Prokofiev
"Dat's Love" Carmen Jones
Words: Oscar Hammerstein Music: Georges Bizet