Monday, June 6, 2016

"Movie Scores I Love VI (Last But Not Least)"

Lotta great choices for this last one.

The epic ballad of Dimitri Tiomkins’ “High Noon.” (1952)

John Barry’s soaring “Dances With Wolves.” (1990)

I decided to eschew “epic” and “soaring”, opting instead for the old reliable:

Simple.

I remember hearing somewhere that actress Audrey Hepburn had only a seven-note singing range.  So, because Hepburn would be singing the song (unlike in My Fair Lady when “ghost singer” Marni Nixon sang for her), Henry Mancini was charged with the task of composing a seven-note-range melody.

He did ot.

And it is hauntingly beautiful.

There is some stuff in this arrangement I do not care for.  The vocal chorale.  Nor am I nuts about the lyrics – they seem preciously simple, rather than the real thing.

My suggestion:  Listen to the harmonica.  That’s where the money is.

I hope you enjoyed my personal excursion into film score arbitrariness.  Of course there’ll be scores you like prefer over my subjective selections.  Maybe you can let me know what they are.

You listened to mine.

I’ll listen to yours.


I will be back tomorrow with the stuff that I normally do.


2 comments:

Pidge said...

Excellent series. I'd include "The Adventures of Robin Hood" if you stayed away longer.
"Moon River" was a particular favorite of a very young Rick Moranis, who, as a child, would sing it every lunchtime from atop a dining table at Camp Kvutza, swaying back and forth like a Talmudic scholar. Everyone wept with joy at his adorableness!

JED said...

Since you asked, I'd also like to mention Maurice Jarre's score for Doctor Zhivago as one of my favorites. I loved the inclusion of balalaika and the Russian-style men's chorus in the music as well as the sweeping themes. This is another score I would play at night in the dark. I could feel the cold of the winter and the heat of emotion and the fear of the Czar's cavalry as the music flowed over me.

This was a great series. Thank you.