[Closed] Now Playing - Part XXI

I agree. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they are just variations of Horner´s themes for the movie. If you like the score, you already like the song´s melody, and if you ignore the texts, they are certainly more than bearable. I like the songs for the first Zorro movie and Bicentennial Man a lot, but I´ve yet to find something more beautiful than Westenra´s voice in The New World.

Maybe he went trying to get one for himself. Time to tell him the truth, buddies!

Believe it or not, I've since picked up a couple of other details that have been incorporated into the version of the article going on cinemusic. The main revelation was that the playful theme in 'Lyra Roger and Billy' (it also appears about halfway through 'Mrs Coulter' for flute and mandolin, I think), is actually a sped-up version of the haunting melody from 'Letters from Bolvangar'.

I like how dark and extremely dense, dissonant action passages towards the end of the afore-mentioned score remind* me of one of his modern masterpieces: WAR OF WORLDS.


* Remind as in not similar but reminiscent. WAR OF WORLDS is a much darker beast of a score with heavier loads of pure dissonance but you can always trace the distinct Williams writing for those kick-ass monster cues among different scores.

NP: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe~ Harry Gregson Williams
Listening to the music while I browse through the book for a Hundreth time since i bought it a few years ago...I'm in a very fairytale mood tonight...I will call it a day I think...Goodnight to all

I thought I'd better give it one more once over after not listening to it for a few days, and I spotted a handful of things that I hadn't noticed. Also saw some more footage from the film, which led me to change some notes.

NP: The Queen (Desplat)

I loved the restrained twist on the genre that was The Golden Compass, though listened to it only once.

This time, because the composer is European and they have "restraint" written all over them, hell, look even at Zimmer's smaller scores (Spanglish, As Good As It Gets).

Desplat wrote score in his own voice (and he wasn't shaped by Hollywood in any way, I think) and his voice means being one of the restraint masters. And his twist on the genre is really interesting...

Indeed. I played it another time tonight. It could have been SO much more indeed;

I mean restraint in emotional sense. I'd call Lust, Caution restrained myself...

NP: The Three Musketeers - Michael Kamen
In my ongoing effort to listen to scores I own, but either haven't listen to yet, or haven't listened to for a long time, the dice fell out in Kamen's favour.

It's a lot better than I remember it, particularly the action cues. Don't like the song (who does?), and I'm not sure how well I think it works for Kamen when he tries to work the theme into the score - it somehow seems too pop-musical to work well when reworked in orchestral form. But there's some really good stuff here. Had almost forgotten I had this one in my collection.

Yeah, you may be right Erik. I just finished listening to the score, and the theme from "All for Love" does work better in the last piece.. Maybe it's just because I can't get the actual song out of my head - it was a pretty big hit back in the day, and played in the radio ad nauseam.

Overall this is a really fine score, one I'd almost forgotten all about. Funny, since Kamen is one of the few composers who's music I've had a bit of difficulty getting into from time to time. But this is great.

Couldn't agree more with you, Erik.

n.p. JOE HISAISHI - Hana - Bi

NP River Queen (Karl Jenkins)

(thanks Demetris for the recommendation )

Another discovery for me this 2007 (after Philippe Rombi). Why does Jenkins has done only one film score?!

They are coming next. I´m anxious to hear those two you mention. But if "River Queen" is a "sample" of his music, then I´m gonna love "Armed Man" and "Requiem".