Listening In
Why Prisoner of Azkabans Score is the Best in the Series
updated
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Hannibal Lecter's murders in the courthouse scene in second act of The Silence of the Lambs are some of the most violent things we will see in the film. But, for me, one of the most disturbing things about the scene isn't what Lecter is doing, but what he's listening to whilst he's doing it. He's listening to two movements from J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations. Let's find out why Lecter murders to Bach.
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Dr Lecter's Taste for ‘Goldberg’, or: The Horror of Bach in the Hannibal Franchise [Dr Carlo Cenciarelli]: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02690403.2012.669929
Glenn Gould: The Performer in the Work: A Study in Performance Practice: amazon.co.uk/Glenn-Gould-Performer-Performance-Practice/dp/0198166567
The Sound of Evil [Theodore Gioia,The American Scholar]: theamericanscholar.org/the-sound-of-evil
Playlist of the Lambs: psychopaths may have distinct musical preferences: theguardian.com/science/2017/sep/26/playlist-of-the-lambs-psychopaths-prefer-rap-over-classical-music-study-shows
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When Nicholas Hooper, composer for fifth and sixth Harry Potter films, was set the task to write music for Dumbledore's death, he decided to look back upon the music of mourning from hundreds of years ago. The piece he produced is not only beautifully simple, but also uses a bass line that links composers and musicians across hundreds of years - from Monteverdi to Bach, to The Beatles to Radiohead. Let's find out what ties them all together.
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Alex Ross - Chacona, Lamento: therestisnoise.com/chacona
Radiohead and the Lament Bass: dalemcgowan.com/radiohead-and-the-lament-bass
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Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: Adam Weddel, Bradley Janse van Rensburg, Karen Rosenow, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
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Leos Carax's ANNETTE is now showing exclusively on MUBI in the UK, Ireland, India, Brazil, and Latin America.
17 years ago, I heard Stephen Sondheim's music for the first time and ever since, I've been hooked. Let's try and find out why his shows and music and his lyrics are all so addictive...
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Video editing by Armando Marchetti: twitter.com/redishere
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
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Ravel wrote his orchestral masterpiece, Boléro, towards the end of his life and it quickly became his most popular piece of music. But behind the infectious rhythms lies a story that might explain why he wrote the piece in the way that he did.
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FURTHER READING
Unravelling Boléro: progressive aphasia, transmodal
creativity and the right posterior neocortex: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18057074
Formal Music Representation; a Case Study: the Model of Ravel's Bolero by Petri Nets: semanticscholar.org/paper/Formal-Music-Representation-%3B-a-Case-Study-%3A-the-of-Rodriguez/bb641778a60ff64b01b3cd950fa60c84b89d654b
Ravel’s Boléro Factory: The Orchestration of the Machine Age: search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.320394922398769
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
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Watch the bonus video on Trinity's theme only on Nebula!
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Don Davis' score for The Matrix is perfectly suited to the multi-layered world that the Wachowskis created - it's full of polytonality and polyharmony and is constructed, unlike a traditional score, using several separate musical cells instead of melodic themes. And it all culminates in what I believe is one of the best musical conclusions for any film. Let's find out why it's so good.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Taking the Red Pill: An Analysis of Don Davis’ Score for The Matrix [Christopher Heckman]: escholarship.org/uc/item/3q27h9cr
FULL SCORE
omnimusicpublishing.com/the-matrix-1999-don-davis
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
* Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man was ground-breaking in many respects - in approach, aesthetic, narrative and cinematography. But, for me, of the most enduring gift that the film gave us was the score, written by Danny Elfman. Elfman's music for Spider-Man contains some of the greatest themes ever composed for film, but it also plays a significant role as part of the narrative.
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'Over the Rainbow', written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, has become a cultural icon since its inclusion in MGM's 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. But despite its current fame, it very nearly didn’t see the light of the day. This is the story of how Over the Rainbow was written, but also how it was nearly lost to history.
Thank you to AustinMcConnell (youtube.com/user/austinmcconnell) and Trace Dominguez (youtube.com/user/TravellinTrace) for their cameos!
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Arlen and Harburg's Over the Rainbow (Oxford Keynotes) [Walter Frisch]: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075ZWY88M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
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Howard Shore's music for The Lord of the Rings uses a vast set of clearly defined themes for the cultures, people and places of Middle-Earth, and it was no different for the monsters of this world. Let's find out what the music of the monsters of J.R.R. Tolkein and Peter Jackson's world sounds like.
FURTHER WATCHING
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Uses Voices: youtu.be/T0xD7buOO20
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Builds Tension: youtu.be/EmSxW2ExVKs
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Makes Us Care: youtu.be/Azd7lyJ4918
FURTHER READING
The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores [Doug Adams] amazon.com/dp/0739071572/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Thank you to Doug Adams for his help with the transcriptions.
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Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
* Clair de Lune is Debussy’s most famous work, heard in countless films like Ocean’s Eleven and re-imagined as pop songs. But what can we learn from the cultural and aesthetic world in which it was written? Let’s deconstruct Clair de Lune.
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Recording of Suite Bergamasque used: open.spotify.com/album/4tYYPSmCZM2bmfrJvXAOfr?si=CwNYgQRyRjKLnuBWutyMtg&dl_branch=1
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune (The Oxford Keynotes Series): amazon.co.uk/Claude-Debussys-Clair-Oxford-Keynotes-ebook/dp/B07F3BHSK8/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=clair+de+lune+oxford&qid=1627291396&sr=8-2
Debussy's two settings of 'Clair de Lune': academic.oup.com/ml/article-abstract/XLVIII/3/229/1035866?redirectedFrom=PDF
A Study of Claude Debussy's Suite Bergamasque: https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/29585
Sensing Watteau: The Artist's Musical Images as Preludes to the Age of Senstibility: core.ac.uk/download/pdf/210605031.pdf
FURTHER WATCHING
What links ‘The Great Wave’ and Debussy’s ‘La Mer’? youtu.be/j0O-uWPrC0I
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley, Bryan Ellertson
* John William's score for Jurassic Park contains some of the most iconic themes ever written for film. But although the music by itself is deeply affecting, the real power comes through the complex relationships we make with the music when it's paired with Spielberg's visuals. In this essay, I consider why the music for Jurassic Park is so powerful, and why it has stayed with us all of these years.
Note: At 2:00 I say that the carnivore theme is played by a pan flute - it's actually played by a shakuhachi
OTHER JOHN WILLIAMS VIDEOS
How Music Makes E.T. Fly: youtu.be/wavqMkzTbQI
Star Wars - The Genius of John Williams: youtu.be/v5ysBKUC4-w
Why Prisoner of Azkaban's Score is the Best in the Series: youtu.be/iGN_5oNla_8
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FURTHER WATCHING
"Journey to the Island" from Jurassic Park (Audio + Condensed Score): youtube.com/watch?v=U1HiarH6vws
"The Triceratops" - Jurassic Park (Score Analysis & Reduction): youtube.com/watch?v=U_ru5fvH20g&t=42s
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley
Like every James Bond film that came before it, Spectre begins with a title sequence accompanied by a newly-written song. For this 24th installment in the franchise, Sam Smith provided 'Writing's On The Wall' for the opening, but they were not the first choice to provide a new song for the film. Radiohead were initally approached to write a new theme song, and what they delivered was, in my opinion, one of the greatest Bond themes ever written. In this video, I look at the musical components that make up a great Bond song, and consider what makes Radiohead's 'Spectre' so good.
Purchase a PDF of the study score for Radiohead's 'Spectre': musicnotes.com/l/CD5JW
MY OTHER RADIOHEAD VIDEOS
How Jonny Greenwood was Influenced by Penderecki: youtu.be/EcibAL3vicY
Radiohead's Masterpiece in Orchestration: youtu.be/o4MIxTm0FWQ
Radiohead: Pyramid Song - Analysis: youtu.be/P8aSFj6zdx0
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Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley
* Many composers over the years have claimed to experience synaesthesia, a condition where one sense is activated by experiencing another, and for music, this normally means that when someone hears sounds, they see colours. Scriabin, Liszt and Ligeti are some well-known examples of synesthetes, but among these composers, there is only one who truly dedicated his life to exploring the colours of music – the 20th century French composer, Oliver Messiaen. In this essay, I explore Messiaen’s music and sound-world through the lens of colour and shape, using an ambitious and wide-reaching project by Håkon Austbø as the basis for my discussion.
VISUALIZING VISIONS: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MESSIAEN’S COLOURS, Håkon Austbø, Ricardo del Pozo: musicandpractice.org/volume-2/visualizing-visions-the-significance-of-messiaens-colours
Watch my Kandinsky video here: youtu.be/2xDnxkzQtdI
Thank you to Juan Brizuela for providing the Spanish subtitles.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Messiaen on Debussy and Colour: youtube.com/watch?v=cTtz76AFfw4
Messiaen - a life in colour: youtube.com/watch?v=yX5pA3TVFsU&t=304s
FURTHER RESEARCH
Color Harmonies and Color Spaces Used by Olivier Messiaen in Couleurs de la cité céleste [Paul E Dworak]: dropbox.com/s/tqxhvz7le0c1wwu/54258777-Mess-Colour.pdf?dl=0
Messiaen's Synesthesia: The Correspondence between Colour and Sound Structure in His Music [Bernard]: dropbox.com/s/d4ourucz9b3evr7/388256426-Correspondence-Between-Color-and-Sound-Structure-in-His-Music-Author.pdf?dl=0
Messiaen's Chord Tables: Ordering the Disordered [Cheong Wai-Ling]: dropbox.com/s/pfc9oiu24im557l/messiaens_chord_tables_ordering_the_disordered.pdf?dl=0
Messiaen's Technique and Visions [Ng Mei Chu]: dropbox.com/s/u41v53oxlzocgby/48533907.pdf?dl=0
Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley
* Over the past year, I've been working with music students from a high school on Mercer Island in Seattle to create of a new piece of music for their wind band. The project started with me writing the music for them to record individually, which we would then put together for the final audio, but it very quickly turned into a much bigger project. It became a huge collaborative effort, and I ended up working very closely with the students in developing the piece. All this made me think about what it means to be a musician in 2021, after so many people were forced to stop playing in 2020. And this is what this video is about - it's about the project itself, but it's also about what it means to make music after a global pandemic.
Watch the full video recording: youtu.be/JD6Gg5hsJ2g
Musical director: Parker Bixby
Audio engineer: Jacob Krieger
To get access to the score, as well as the additional audio (used at the beginning of the video), sign up to my Patreon: patreon.com/listeningin
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Thank you to my all my amazing supporters on Patreon, but in particular to my Perfect Fifth supporters: David Ball, Pavel Makeenko, Max Braun, Hamish Madden, Andrew Wong, David Wiley
* The score for Sam Mendes' 1917, by composer Thomas Newman, plays one of the most significant roles in storytelling in the film, partly due to the way the music is used, but more importantly because of the nature of the film's construction. By building 1917 around a single, un-broken shot, it brings the music into even greater focus, creating an even stronger link between story and music, propelling the characters forward on their journey.
Film music playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJrpRfyyFNBKAGTU7BwpWhj_
NB: At around 11:20, there are some errors in the scores. See here for the correct transcription: dropbox.com/s/jqaxjapmty7z8zx/1917%20-%20Score%20corrections%20%28Listening%20In%29.pdf?dl=0
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FURTHER WATCHING
Sam Mendes on his work with composer Thomas Newman and love of great cinematography: youtube.com/watch?v=rMR-46yQAEU
How to make a movie look like one long shot: youtube.com/watch?v=lFZGmzsvSlg
FURTHER READING
Composer Thomas Newman’s ‘1917’ score plays as an opera for both nerves and emotion: latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-12-30/composer-thomas-newman-1917-score-an-opera-for-nerves-and-emotion
* Hokusai's 'The Great Wave Off Kanagawa' is one of the most recognisable paintings in art history. But why did Claude Debussy use a version of it on the front cover of the his orchestral masterpiece, 'La Mer'? In this essay, I look at the influence of Japanese art on cultural life in France in the 19th Century, and consider the connections between 'The Great Wave' and 'La Mer'.
Art and Music playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJrLW2mcfF6DHw2SciP8DiTR
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FURTHER WATCHING
Debussy's Wave: Debussy, Hokusai and La Mer - Dr Mary Breatnach: youtube.com/watch?v=Jl-1QcCbDyQ
Better Know the Great Wave | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios: youtube.com/watch?v=d1ufFlXIWjA
FURTHER RESEARCH
Debussy in Proportion - A Musical Analysis (Roy Howat): amazon.co.uk/Debussy-Proportion-Analysis-Roy-Howat/dp/0521311454
Chefs-d'oeuvre des arts industriels (Burty): archive.org/details/chefsdoeuvredesa00burt_0
The Making of Hokusai's Reputation in the Context of Japonisme (Shigemi Inaga): inagashigemi.jpn.org/uploads/pdf/99NaganoHokusai.pdf
* 'When she loved me' was written by Randy Newman for Pixar's third feature film, Toy Story 2. For me, and for so many people, this song is not only incedibly powerful in its original context, but also when taken away from the film, when played or heard by itself. In this video, I consider why, musically, it is so emotional, and what it means to me.
Essays on film muisc (Listening In): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJrpRfyyFNBKAGTU7BwpWhj_
Analysis of pieces (Listening In): youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJq1XdxdqSddkn8F66H_q0RM
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FURTHER RESEARCH
The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth: amazon.co.uk/Musical-Human-History-Life-Earth-ebook/dp/B08CNGDH26/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+musical+human&qid=1618675725&sr=8-2
Toy Story 2 - Jessie's Song (Randy Newman Demo): youtube.com/watch?v=HzBaG06HqHQ
* This is a new series of videos called 'Behind the Music', where I analyse music from all of genres of 'Classical Music' as well as film music. To begin, I'm going to take a detailed look at one of the most well-known pieces of orchestral music ever written - Jupiter from Gustav Holst's 'The Planets'.
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RECORDING
youtube.com/watch?v=BUM_zT3YKHs
FULL SCORE
imslp.org/wiki/The_Planets,_Op.32_(Holst,_Gustav)
#behindthemusic
* Joe Wright's 'Atonement' features one of the most iconic moments in film history - a 5-minute Steadicam shot that follows Robbie around the beach in Dunkirk. And accompanying this scene is Dario Marionellis' 'Elegy for Dunkirk'. In this essay, I look at the context of this music to find out its true meaning.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Watch all my film-score analyses here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJrpRfyyFNBKAGTU7BwpWhj_
In Conversation with Dario Marianelli: youtube.com/watch?v=_VRXbhdx4PU
* In the 1930s and 40s, Salvador Dalí painted a number of works that featured musical instruments, presenting a perspective on music unlike any other 20th Century artist. In this essay, I consider why he painted musical instruments in the way he did and consider what this tells us about Dalí's approach to music.
Watch more art and music videos here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJrLW2mcfF6DHw2SciP8DiTR
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MUSIC
Stravinsky - Symphony in Three Movements
Reich - Electric Counterpoint (movement 1)
John Luther Adams - Become Ocean
John Adams - Phrygian Gates
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod
* Jonny Greenwood is best know as the lead guitarist and keyboardist in Radiohead. But, increasingly, he is becoming know for both his stand-alone concert and film music, which are full of sounds drawn from his fascination with the work of the late Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki. In this video, I look at the sounds in Radiohead songs that can be directly linked back to the first time Greenwood hear Penderecki's music in college and I also look in depth at Jonny Greenwood's own concert work.
Watch David Bennett's video on Karma Police: youtu.be/IgjmSoSmaoc
Radiohead's Masterpiece in Orchestration: youtu.be/o4MIxTm0FWQ
Radiohead: Pyramid Song - Analysis: youtu.be/P8aSFj6zdx0
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Timbral Aspects of Orchestration [Mathias Langfeldt]: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/51099
Jonny Greenwood Scores the Western: Music as Generic Subversion in There Will Be Blood: dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/73268
FURTHER WATCHING
Jonny Greenwood & Krzysztof Penderecki - Talk about their collaboration: youtube.com/watch?v=BAQZroQCThw&t=384s
Paths Through The Labyrinth, a portrait of Krzysztof Penderecki: medici.tv/en/documentaries/krzysztof-penderecki-paths-through-the-labyrinth
How Jonny saved the Ondes Martenot [David Bruce]: youtube.com/watch?v=Zp4mBmsV6Xk
FURTHER LISTENING
Jonny Greenwood - Popcorn Superhet Receiver/48 Responses to Polymorphia: open.spotify.com/album/4DMWDLTyCSiumKKLfYbqfM?si=jToVdlHFRkWvd9EkaW8ztg
Jonny Greenwood - Smear: youtube.com/watch?v=XJ37gYu5tKg
0:00 Introduction - Greenwood and Penderecki
2:15 Greenwood and Radiohead
5:29 Greenwood's concert works
7:51 Popcorn Superhet Receiver
12:12 Bringing it all together
* Jacob Collier’s four album Djesse project began in a completely unexpected way. The first song on Djesse Volume 1 is a slow, introverted and harmonically complex choral work, sung beautifully by Voces8 - ‘Home Is’. In this essay, I analyse the harmonic progressions and use of harmony in the piece to try and work out what Jacob’s musical home sounds like.
Jacob Collier: Moon River - Harmonic Analysis: youtu.be/UTDHylJZMXU
How Jacob Collier Uses Microtonality, Pitch and Temperament: youtu.be/NHC2XNGerW4
Analysis of Pieces | Listening In: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIlrdv4_CLJq1XdxdqSddkn8F66H_q0RM
▶ Voces8: voces8.com
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#JacobCollier
*All music (score/audio) Copyright © Jacob Collier 2018. The score should not be reproduced or used for performance. Visit jacobcollier.com for more information.
* Bach's prelude in C major from book one of 'The Well-Tempered Clavier' is one of the most recognisable pieces of piano music ever written. In this essay, I deconstruct the history, rhythm and harmony to try and work out why it has captivated musicians and listeners for centuries.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: http://tinyurl.com/154z8h8a
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: The 48 Preludes and Fugues: amazon.co.uk/Bachs-Well-Tempered-Clavier-Preludes-Fugues/dp/0300178956/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bach%27s+well-tempered+clavier+ledbetter&qid=1612254538&sr=8-1
FURTHER WATCHING
That famous cello prelude, deconstructed [Vox]: youtube.com/watch?v=UIge2mYdTtM&t=526s
András Schiff on the recording of Bach's „The Well-Tempered Clavier": youtube.com/watch?v=TdzLWKuo0YA
* How can we visualise film music? In this essay I look at a new approach to film music analysis that places the score within the context of the narrative, allowing us to consider the effect of music on the whole story, on the whole film at a glance. And to do this, I use Michael Giacchino’s beautiful and evocative score for Disney Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’.
This essay was based on Andrew Simmons’ article on Giacchino’s score for ‘Inside Out’. Read it here: musicologyresearch.co.uk/publications/andrewsimmons-giacchinoasstoryteller.
Andrew Simmons' website: andrewsimmonsmusic.com
Watch my essay on the score for 'Up': youtu.be/YRM3HwFM9Yc
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Audio-vision: Sound of Screen (Chion, 1998): amzn.to/3o7ur6w
Film Music (Larsen): amzn.to/3sUvKJJ
#InsideOut
* Radiohead's songs can almost be defined by their use of sound and their unique sound-worlds. In this video, I look at the use of orchestration in one of their most interesting and captivating songs, 'How to Disappear Completely' from Kid A.
Watch my analysis of Radiohead's 'Pyramid Song': youtu.be/P8aSFj6zdx0
Purchase the PDF of the score here: musicnotes.com/l/fD5n4
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#Radiohead
* Hans Zimmer's score for Christopher Nolan's 2010 psychological thriller, Inception, was perfectly placed to explore the many layers within Nolan's story. Zimmer was able to realise the sound of dreams in music, but was also able to tell a story that bound Cobb and Mal together across time. In this essay, I look at how Zimmer uses a simple chord sequence, usually played by two violins, to do this.
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#TheDirectorProject #ChristopherNolan
* Tchaikovky's 'The Nutcracker' may be the most well-known ballet every written, famed for his beautiful and instantly recognisable melodies. But behind the music lies a story that will completely change the way you think about this Christmas classic.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Toy story: Chewing over Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker [Gavin Plumley - The Guardian]]: theguardian.com/music/2011/dec/16/tchaikovksy-nutcracker-ballet
The Life & Letters of Tchaikovksy: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/45259/45259-h/45259-h.htm#page_677
Tchaikovsky: Polestar of the music of the future: the-tls.co.uk/articles/tchaikovsky-polestar-music-future
The Nutcracker [Tchaikovsky Research]: en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Nutcracker#cite_note-note38-38
The Nutcracker – Score (manuscript) https://www.culture.ru/catalog/tchaikovsky/ru/item/archiv/shchelkunchik-balet-feeriya-v-2-h-deystviyah-3-h-kartinah-2017-08-17
#TheNutcracker
* Joe Hisaishi's scores for Hayo Miyazki's films evoke a feeling unlike any other film score. In this essay, I look at how Hisaishi's approach to writing music for Studio Ghibli films leads to this unique soundworld and show how successful his approach is by re-scoring a scene taken from the middle act of 'Spirited Away'.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
“Between tradition and modernity – The eclectic approach of Joe Hisaishi to Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” soundtrack”: https://archives.berklee.edu/thesis-between-tradition-and-modernity-eclectic-approach-joe-hisaishi-miyazakis-spirited-away/34775/datastream/OBJ/view
#TheDirectorProject #Miyazaki
* Listening In is a series of video essays on music. I love making these essays, but need your help so I can keep creating the best possible content.
Support the channel on Patreon!
patreon.com/listeningin
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Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/barnaby-martin
* Choral music is currently going through a renaissance with hundreds of professional and amateur choirs singing all across the world. But what makes the sound, and in particular the sound of a professional group, so appealing? In this essay, I look at the science behind the notes to find out why choral music sounds so good.
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FURTHER READING
Choral Phonetics -
when vowels control the intonation [Wolfgang Saus]: oberton.org/wp-content/uploads/ws-Choral-Phonetics-vh-2.pdf
CHOIRS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO
Tenebrae Choir: tenebrae-choir.com
Voces8: voces8.com
Illuminare Choir: youtube.com/watch?v=LnDCENlgvXo
The Choir of Westminster Abbey: westminster-abbey.org/worship-music/music/the-abbey-choir-and-musicians/the-choir
The Kingdom Choir: kingdomchoir.com
Stellenbosch University Choir: youtube.com/channel/UCLJpFgv7AUCLyMKFImVYymQ
#ChoralMusic
* The score for 'E.T. the Extra Terrestrial' represents the pinnacle of John William's art, but also the pinnacle of a decades-old artistic collaboration between John Williams and Steven Spielberg. In this essay for the first month of the brand new Director Project, I look at the glorious music behind E.T. and consider how it lifts the the narrative, both metaphorically and literally.
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FURTHER WATCHING
The Music of E.T. - A discussion with John Williams: youtube.com/watch?v=TP-8ZTal6wE
MUSIC
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (20th Anniversary Edition Soundtrack):. open.spotify.com/album/3Pood3AEXTNuRqXlEvLLUf?si=9iOtzb6vSU2EJeIRdX7EcA
#TheDirectorProject #Spielberg
* The Last of Us Part II begins and ends with a shot of a guitar. In this essay, I look at the symbolic power of the guitar in the game, and consider how the music played on the instrument reflects and enhances the story being told. 'If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself'.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Gustavo Santaolalla: The Music of The Last of Us: youtube.com/watch?v=Ejdjcun2Jo4&t=24s
MUSIC
The Last of Us Part II (Original Soundtrack): open.spotify.com/album/0tNUmClLcWptIcnoCXpPUC?si=YgFOt6K8TMq63duW48cn3A
The Last of Us: open.spotify.com/album/2GFFxj8aR2XpwIMYanOPjh?si=mtiZdiTNQaG9I7MWaRbMuA
#thelastofuspart2
* W.H. Auden's 'Stop all the clocks' may be one of the most recognisable poems ever written, made famous by its inclusion in the 1994 film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. But it started life in a completely different context, written to be set to music by Benjamin Britten for 'The Ascent of F6', a play written collaboratively by Auden and Christopher Isherwood. In this video, I consider the poem's origins, how it has changed and how we should think about it now.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Work of the Week 27: The Ascent of F6 - youtube.com/watch?v=rqMY1nOm_eA
MUSIC
Tetelestai (Barnaby Martin) - barnabymartin.com/tetelestai
Britten to America: Music for Radio & Theatre - open.spotify.com/album/46zrZKUxau1oin0nYwaXGw?si=XVDu2ZM0QG6WjvstAN_haw
#Auden #Britten
* Bernard Herrmann’s score for ‘Psycho' might contain some of the most famous music ever written for film, and there’s nothing more recognisable than the Prelude’s opening stabbing string chords. In this essay, I look behind the minor major seventh chord that begins the film and consider how it is inextricably linked to the story of this iconic psychological thriller.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
An Audiovisual Foreshadowing in Psycho (Scott Murphy): journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/books/article/viewArticle/BOOK-198-639-1
Herrmann, Hitchcock, and the Music of the Irrational (Royal S. Brown): jstor.org/stable/1225034?seq=1
Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music (Royal S. Brown): amazon.co.uk/Overtones-Undertones-Reading-Film-Music/dp/0520085442
Psycho and The Orchestration of Anxiety (Stephen Deutsch): http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/14713/1/The_orchestration_of_Anxiety.pdf
Bernard Herrmann: Film Music and Narrative (Graham Bruce): amazon.co.uk/Bernard-Herrmann-Film-Music-Narrative/dp/0835719669
Hitchcock's Bi-Textuality: Lacan, Feminisms, and Queer Theory (Robert Samuels): amazon.co.uk/Hitchcocks-Bi-Textuality-Feminisms-Psychoanalysis-Culture/dp/0791436101
#Psycho
* What the meaning of Edward Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ is within his ‘Enigma Variations’ has fascinated musicologists and enthusiasts ever since the piece’s first performance in 1899. In this essay, I look at the background behind the Enigma and consider, in turn, three main musical solutions that each suggest a melody that could work in counterpoint with the original theme.
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ENIGMA THEORIES
Richard Powell (Auld Lang Syne): academic.oup.com/ml/article-abstract/XV/3/203/1049686?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Robert Padgett (Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott) http://enigmathemeunmasked.blogspot.com
Charles Richard Santa and Matthew Santa (Pi / π): https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:178731/content/current.musicology.89.santa_santa.75-89.pdf
Ed Newton-Rex (Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater) : medium.com/world-of-music/pergolesis-stabat-mater-the-solution-to-elgar-s-enigma-variations-5f1f7dd2158a
Byron Adams (The "Dark Saying" of the Enigma: Homoeroticism and the Elgarian Paradox): jstor.org/stable/746879?seq=1
Mark Pitt (Liszt’s 'Les Préludes'): telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/12/police-inspector-claims-has-solved-mystery-behind-elgars-enigma
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Roger Fiske (The Enigma: A Solution): jstor.org/stable/951679?seq=1
#Elgar #Nimrod
* Hans Zimmer’s score for Interstellar dispensed of a lot of the musical language that had been so commonplace in his scores before this film. Driven by the desire to create a sound-world that he, and director Christopher Nolan, hadn't yet explored, Zimmer created music full of soft, introspective sounds: sustained organ melodies and chords, hushed orchestral textures and transparent, widely-spaced harmony. In this essay, I look at how this sound-world perfectly captures the isolation and loneliness of space, but I also consider, more significantly, how Hans Zimmer’s music realises the emotional message that is at the heart of the film.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Hans Zimmer - making of INTERSTELLAR Soundtrack: youtube.com/watch?v=L_8t2VlwK4w
DP/30: Interstellar, Hans Zimmer: youtube.com/watch?v=jU5rfokh4vw
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Interstellar de Hans Zimmer : plongée musicale au cœur des drames humains, par-delà l’infiniment grand. Pour une autre approche de l’esthétique zimmerienne: researchgate.net/publication/329639214_Interstellar_de_Hans_Zimmer_plongee_musicale_au_coeur_des_drames_humains_par-dela_l'infiniment_grand_Pour_une_autre_approche_de_l'esthetique_zimmerienne
#Interstellar #HansZimmer
* Mark Rothko was obsessed with Mozart's music, considering him the 'alpha & omega' of composers. But what can we learn from this obsession? In this essay, I look at the parallels between Mozart's music and Rothko's paintings and consider how both artists aim to achieve the same goal - the simple expression of the complex thought.
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FURTHER WATCHING
The Case For Mark Rothko | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios: youtube.com/watch?v=1v1mBepDlOw&t=81s
Lecture on Mark Rothko and the Inner World: youtube.com/watch?v=7QpVRH6WUkY&t=352s
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out - amazon.co.uk/Mark-Rothko-Inside-Out-Christopher/dp/0300204728/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=christopher+rothko&qid=1588082238&sr=8-1
* Howard Shore's scores for The Lord of the Rings contain, perhaps, some of the greatest music ever written for film. This music acts as a reflection of the cultures of Middle-earth, it outlines the emotional landscape of the narrative and also acts as a narrator in itself, commenting and supporting the story over 11-hours of film. And at the centre of this, Shore had to write music to accompany the journey of two hobbits, taking them from the Shire, all the way to the fires of Mordor, and back again. The Shire's music undergoes a gradual transformation through the course of the three films. In this essay, I look at how this music changes, what it changes into, and, ultimately, why this makes us care deeply about Frodo and Sam.
VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Uses Voices: youtu.be/T0xD7buOO20
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Builds Tension: youtu.be/EmSxW2ExVKs
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores (Book & Rarities CD): amazon.co.uk/Music-Lord-Rings-Films-Comprehensive/dp/0739071572/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=doug+adams+lord+of+the+rings&qid=1584395792&sr=8-1
Judith Bernanke, "Howard Shore's Ring Cycle: The Film Score and Its Operatic Strategy" (From: Studying the Event Film: The Lord of the Rings) New York: Manchester University Press, 2008.
#LordoftheRings #HowardShore
* Through his scores for 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, Howard Shore has shown that he is a master at manipulating tension. He perfectly crafts the music to fit vast cinematic sequences, building and releasing tension with ease, but also develops the tension inherent in his thematic material over long stretches of time. This is demonstrated best by looking at the music for the two kingdoms of Men - Rohan and Gondor. Shore makes subtle changes to their themes, altering the orchestration, harmony and melodic lines such that tension is gradually built and sustained. In this essay, I look at how he builds tension in Rohan and Gondor’s music and then how, during the battle for Minas Tirith, this tension is finally released.
VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Uses Voices: youtu.be/T0xD7buOO20
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Makes Us Care: youtu.be/Azd7lyJ4918
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores (Book & Rarities CD): amazon.co.uk/Music-Lord-Rings-Films-Comprehensive/dp/0739071572/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=doug+adams+lord+of+the+rings&qid=1584395792&sr=8-1
Judith Bernanke, "Howard Shore's Ring Cycle: The Film Score and Its Operatic Strategy" (From: Studying the Event Film: The Lord of the Rings) New York: Manchester University Press, 2008.
#LordoftheRings #HowardShore
* Howard's Shore scores for 'The Lord of the Rings' films are full of voices. They are used to accompany the cultures of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits and Men and are the primary way we as listeners hear, and engage with, J.R.R. Tolkien's language and poetry. But this vocal music is as much associated with darkness as it is light. In this first of three videos looking at Howard's Shore music for 'The Lord of the Rings', I consider how Shore uses voices, and choral music, to accompany the One Ring's journey, from the Shire, all the way to the fires of Mount Doom.
VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Builds Tension: youtu.be/EmSxW2ExVKs
The Lord of the Rings - How Howard Shore Makes Us Care: youtu.be/Azd7lyJ4918
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores (Book & Rarities CD): amazon.co.uk/Music-Lord-Rings-Films-Comprehensive/dp/0739071572/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=doug+adams+lord+of+the+rings&qid=1584395792&sr=8-1
Judith Bernanke, "Howard Shore's Ring Cycle: The Film Score and Its Operatic Strategy" (From: Studying the Event Film: The Lord of the Rings) New York: Manchester University Press, 2008.
FURTHER WATCHING
How Howard Shore brought out the dark side of Middle Earth: youtube.com/watch?v=zwAEl31Nmkc
#LordoftheRings #HowardShore
* Hildur Guðnadóttir’s Oscar-winning score for Joker (2019) is full of texture and dark colours. But it does more than just create atmosphere - her music acts as another version of the Joker’s character, heard in the form of a solo cello or a Halldorophone, an electro-acoustic version of a cello with a set of resonating strings. This is particularly true in the haunting bathroom dance. In this scene, Todd Philipp’s direction, Joaquin Phoenix’s acting and Guðnadóttir’s score all come together seamlessly to create a sequence that perfectly captures the transformation of Arthur into the Joker.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Joker Director Breaks Down the Opening Scene | Vanity Fair: youtube.com/watch?v=awoQuVq2yYc&t=369s
Watch Joaquin Phoenix Do a Creepy Dance in ‘Joker’ | Anatomy of a Scene: youtube.com/watch?v=nTVdN6s3rXY
Hildur Guðnadóttir on the Details of Composing in Cubase | Steinberg Spotlights: youtube.com/watch?v=Nht-1TRrV6k
Joker composer wrote music before seeing picture: youtube.com/watch?v=btWq_b345b0&t=255s
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
The psychological functions of music listening [Thomas Schäfer, Peter Sedlmeier, Christine Städtler, and David Huron]: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741536
An Interview with Sergio Leone (1987): americansuburbx.com/2012/12/interview-interview-with-sergio-leone-1987.html
#Guðnadóttir #Joker
* From 1916-17, Henri Matisse produced two paintings from exactly the same point of view, both showing his son, Pierre, at the piano. 'The Piano Lesson' and 'The Music Lesson' might share a subject, but they couldn't be more different. In this essay, I look at what we can learn about Matisse and his family from these works, and consider how he thought about and painted music.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
'What's Wrong With This Picture?' - An Interview With Pierre Matisse: http://www.nicholasfoxweber.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Child-Mag-Nov-1987-Pierre-Matisse.pdf
The Personal Life of Henri Matisse: http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html
A summer of Matisse: the colour of music: gerryco23.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/a-summer-of-matisse-the-colour-of-music
MUSIC
Claude Debussy - Rêverie
Igor Stravinsky - Le Sacre du Printemps, IV. Spring Rounds
Claude Debussy - Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor, I. Allegro vivo
Arvo Pärt - Summa
Johann Johannsson - Cambridge, 1963 (The Theory of Everything [OST])
#Matisse
* George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 is best known for its most famous ideas - Newspeak, Big Brother and Room 101 to name a few. But little has been written about the musical imagery and metaphor that permeates the novel. In this essay, I explore how IngSoc, the ruling party in Oceania, uses music to control and oppress the people and, as a result, how freedom of expression in music, and singing in particular, becomes the embodiment of an idealistic future for Winston. ‘The birds sang, the proles sang. The Party did not sing.’
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
George Orwell - 1984: planetebook.com/free-ebooks/1984.pdf
Speech, music and dehumanisation in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four: a linguistic study of metaphors (Anne Marie, Simon Vandenbergen) - journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096394709300200301
* At the climax of the Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’, Nicole and Charlie, played by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, both perform songs from Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical ‘Company’. In this essay I look at how these songs capture the emotional essence of the film, and how they articulate something that can’t be expressed in words.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Being Alive - Company OBC, 1970 - Dean Jones: youtube.com/watch?v=am8qrrZAtP4
You Could Drive A Person Crazy - Company OBC, 1970: youtube.com/watch?v=tEh7jeSq8G8
Noah Baumbach on Marriage Story | BFI Q&A: youtube.com/watch?v=H7zpy3pP-SA&t=334s
Adam Driver & Noah Baumbach on The Human Condition in 'Marriage Story' & Scarlett Johansson | TIFF: youtube.com/watch?v=BNCP-PE0WEg
#MarriageStory #StephenSondheim
* John Williams' scores for the Star Wars series contain some of the most recognisable, and popular music ever written for film. In this essay I analyse one theme, or set piece, from each of the three trilogies - 'Duel of the Fates' from the prequels, 'Princess Leia's Theme' from the original trilogy and 'The Battle of Crait' from the sequels. I use these to consider how Williams created the iconic sound of the Star Wars universe, as well as how he uses the music to enhance the narrative and add depth to the characters.
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FURTHER WATCHING
Star Wars - Music by John Williams Rare 1980 Documentary: youtube.com/watch?v=6eWqxlCNnKE&t=108s
Star Wars The Force Awakens: John Williams - The Seventh Symphony Featurette: youtube.com/watch?v=JRR4Um0s1io&t=168s
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Listening to “Star Wars” [Alex Ross]: newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/listening-to-star-wars
A Field Guide to the Musical Leitmotifs of “Star Wars” [Alex Ross]: newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-field-guide-to-the-musical-leitmotifs-of-star-wars#
Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars [Frank Lehman]: franklehman.com/starwars
Modal Interchange and Semantic Resonance in Themes by John Williams [Tom Schneller]: https://www.academia.edu/9865115/Modal_Interchange_and_Semantic_Resonance_in_Themes_by_John_Williams
#StarWars #JohnWilliams
* ‘Pyramid Song’, written by Thom Yorke with contributions from Jonny Greenwood and Philip Selway, is one of Radiohead's most enduringly popular songs. In this essay, I analyse the harmony, rhythm and form of the song and suggest that the hypnotic feeling you get whilst listening to it comes about as a result of the music’s complex substructure. A lot of the content and inspiration for this essay comes from Brad Osborn's fantastic book 'Everything in its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead'. If you're interesting in diving into the complex theory behind Radiohead's songs, then I thoroughly recommend you purchase this book (link below).
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EXPLANATION OF MOTIF NAMES
- Intro: First motif to be heard in the song
- Pyramid: Most used motif in the song
- Radix: When the notes of the major/minor thirds in each the chords of this motif are plotted against time (number of beats), the sequence looks like a square root sign (√), called a 'Radix' (Radix comes from the Latin for 'root')
- BACH: The major/minor thirds in the chords in this motif are, in order, A♮, G#, B, A#. If you transpose this sequence up a semitone (half-step), you get B♭, A, C, B♮. This is known as the 'BACH' motif - in German musical nomenclature, 'B' signifies a B♭ and 'H' signifies a B♮.
FURTHER WATCHING
Radiohead - Pyramid Song [Music Video]: youtube.com/watch?v=3M_Gg1xAHE4
Everything In Its Right Place: A Conversation with Brad Osborn: youtube.com/watch?v=fbg4-IEdw04&t=2010s
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Everything in its Right Place: Analyzing Radiohead (Brad Osborn) - global.oup.com/academic/product/everything-in-its-right-place-9780190629236?cc=us&lang=en&
#radiohead #pyramidsong
* Vincent Van Gogh's paintings are some of the most recognisable in the history of art. They have, naturally, been analysed extensively but very few people have mentioned how his work relates to music. This is particularly surprising given how much he references music in his letters. He talks about symphonies in colour, compares his work to composers and regularly mentions the music of Richard Wagner, a composer who had reached celebrity status as a modernist and visionary in the 19th century. In this essay, I look at the ways music influenced Van Gogh's work and life, and how we can think about his paintings differently by looking through the lens of music.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
The letters - Vincent van Gogh (facsimiles, translations etc...): http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters.html
Van Gogh and Music: A Symphony in Blue and Yellow: amazon.co.uk/Van-Gogh-Music-Symphony-Yellow/dp/0300228333/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=van+gogh+and+music&qid=1570952382&sr=8-1
MUSIC
John Adams - Common tones in simple time: youtube.com/watch?v=AdVSU04HKgo
Unsuk Chin - Violin Concerto (Mouvement lll): youtube.com/watch?v=3MmN6tceJEY
Clint Mansell - "Five Sunflowers In A Vase" (Loving Vincent OST): youtube.com/watch?v=Ie3QpytXDCg
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Symphony No. 6, "Vincentiana": I. Starry Night: youtube.com/watch?v=8wq21cRD5U4
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 5 in D Major: IV. Passacaglia open.spotify.com/track/1midPnVU320XCgNvZN19xi?si=lfAPtqm_TLWmwNBB1f5fhg
* Disney Pixar's 'Up' has been widely praised for its sensitive, and accurate, depiction of old age. It follows the life of Carl, who, having lost his wife Ellie, decides to go on the adventure they had always been planning. In this essay, I look at how the music in the film, written by composer Michael Giacchino, acts as an expression of Carl's emotional state, and how the film follows Carl's internal conflict between his integrity versus his despair. This conflict was suggested, by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson (1902-1994), as the key part of the last stage of his psychosocial theory of human development, where a person asks of themselves - 'Is it okay to have been me?'. Through the music in 'Up', I believe we find the answer to this question.
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Sam Buttler:
Website: sam-buttler.com
Twitter: twitter.com/SamButtler
Facebook: facebook.com/sambuttlercomposer
Instagram: http://https//www.instagram.com/samrbuttler
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Erik Erikson - Eight Ages of Man (Childhood and Society): http://local.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/attach/8agesofman.pdf
Sam Buttler - ‘Married Life’?: The Intra-diegetic, Thematic Transformation, and Disney Pixar’s Up (2009): static.wixstatic.com/ugd/376463_35ba873db49447149c5dd52a39eb0429.pdf
Ben Winters - The Non-diegetic Fallacy- Film, Music, And Narrative: scribd.com/document/151522518/Ben-Winters-The-Non-diegetic-Fallacy-Film-Music-And-Narrative
MUSIC
Up! Original Soundtrack (Michael Giacchino): open.spotify.com/album/4Pr2UBhHx1Y2Knzax4SS3l?si=nTGjCjoNQCSAvf_SK61JCA
* Stravinsky’s ballet ‘Petrushka’ almost never came into existence. In 1911, Serge Diaghilev, the director of the Ballet Russe, visited Stravinsky to check on the progress of their latest commission, ‘The Rite of Spring’, but Stravinsky hadn’t written a single note of the piece. Instead, he had been working on an orchestral piece about a puppet who comes to life. When Diaghilev heard what Stravinsky had written, he put aside plans for ‘The Rite’ and instead convinced Stravinsky to turn this orchestral piece into a ballet of its own. ‘Petrushka’ was the result. Stravinsky’s score for ‘Petrushka’ contains some of the most enduringly popular music he ever wrote, and shows Stravinsky’s almost unparalleled ability to tell a story.
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FURTHER LISTENING
Stravinsky: Firebird - Petrushka (Sir Simon Rattle , City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra): open.spotify.com/album/6hxqe3kcSouzyIH8yJ6pic?si=2B62M1ZOQL2Jo5ug-6R2tQ
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Petrushka: An Authoritative Score of the Original Version, Backgrounds, Analysis, Essays, Views and Comments (Norton Critical Editions): amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0393097706/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Stravinsky and the Octatonic - A Reconsideration: https://dmitri.mycpanel.princeton.edu/files/publications/stravinsky.pdf
#Stravinsky #Petrushka
* Shutter Island, according to director Martin Scorsese, is constructed around many 'different levels of reality'. In this latest episode of 'Listening in', I analyse how the score for the film, made up a number of pieces from classical, modern and contemporary composers like György Ligeti, John Cage and Max Richter, gives us clues throughout about the true nature of what we are seeing on screen. In particular, I focus on the use, and function, of Ingram Marshall's 'Fog tropes, Krzysztof Penderecki's 'Passacaglia' from his third symphony and Gustav's Mahler's 'Quartet for Piano and Strings in A minor'.
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FURTHER WATCHING
'Shutter Island' Interview with Martin Scorsese: youtube.com/watch?v=lmHpXaFjugk&t=117s
Scorsese's Cinematic Influences For Shutter Island: youtube.com/watch?v=idvCtOfu8eg&t=169s
FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Now a Major Soundtrack! - Madness, Music, and Ideology in Shutter Island: researchgate.net/publication/270325022_Now_a_Major_Soundtrack--Madness_Music_and_Ideology_in_Shutter_Island
MUSIC
Shutter Island Soundtrack: open.spotify.com/playlist/1OyffNVMCgzUA2MlxN6Adu?si=N44JP0LETsOErXY-ozy_GA
#ShutterIsland #MartinScorsese
* In this latest episode of ‘Listening in’, I look at the work of Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and how his paintings were influenced by music. Kandinsky had synesthesia, which meant that when he heard sounds, he saw colour and when he saw colour, he heard music. In this essay, I consider how he thought about colour and form (including what he thought some colours sounded like), as well as considering how his push towards abstraction was to achieve the freedom of expression he felt music had already attained. In particularly, I focus on his 10 ‘Compositions’, which seem to be the pinnacle of his abstract work, and possibly the closest he ever got to music in art.
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FURTHER READING/RESEARCH
Kandinsky: Concerning the Spiritual in Art [PDF] - http://www.semantikon.com/art/kandinskyspiritualinart.pdf
Kandinsky: Compositions, MOMA [PDF] - moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_448_300063127.pdf
Kandinsky website (paintings, photographs, biography) - wassilykandinsky.net