[Fmpro] FMPRO Latest Rant: "Where are the Distinctive Voices inscoring?"

[JJB]

I would suggest that a very high number of people on this list became 
interested in film music (and for some, music itself) only because of 
the effect John William's score for Star Wars had on them.

Star Wars was the revolutionary experience for many people of my 
generation (people born in the mid 1960's). We weren't old enough to 
protest Vietnam, drop acid etc and most of our adult lives have been in 
the shadow of the profound revolutions of the 60s and early 70s - sexual 
revolution, women's liberation, civil rights movements - we obtained the 
benefits of those societal changes without having to fight for them. 
But: we could appreciate Star Wars and John Williams where the older 
folks might not get it.

The original Star Wars movie and John Williams score changed the lives 
of many of the young people who saw the movie.

 - Joel

Alain Mayrand wrote:
> I think Bach is a good reference, not to say that John Williams is Bach, 
> though, so take this comment with a grain of salt.
>
> Bach was not an innovator. He took what others did before him and did it 
> better.
>
> Bach's children were more famous than he was, but they knew that when it 
> came to craft and just all around greatness, their dad was the one to 
> look up to.
>
> Bach was considered great in hi lifetime, but slightly out of date. That 
> is why the end of the Baroque period is the same as his death 1750.
>
> Bach was the culmination of the Baroque and thus, with him, it ended.
>
> Film music is not the same as art music, but that being said I would 
> propose that John Williams' music has
>
>    1. better melodic writing
>    2. better harmonic writing
>    3. better counterpoint
>    4. better orchestration
>    5. more intelligent spotting
>    6. a higher level of insight the role of any given music in the film
>    7. put your own here
>
> that most of the current crop of high-level film composers.
>
> that being said, I would say that John Williams is NOT an innovator, but 
> that he does what he does to such a high degree of craft and skill that 
> he is the Bach of the film world.
>
> Anyway, I should be composing or something...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Alain
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Robert Stanton wrote:
>   
>> I completely agree with JohnB!   In my humble opinion attacking or
>> trivializing the work of John Williams is tantamount to calling Beethoven a
>> hack; for all intent and purposes, John Williams is a modern day Beethoven -
>> I am aware how subjective this is, I say it to try and make a point - the
>> guy is incredible!!  Why don't we rag on Ludwig for his excessive use of the
>> 5 - 1 cadence? - It's sooooooooooooooo overdone ;-) 
>> Best, Robert
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> bipcress at comcast.net wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> Dave, I happen to find Williams music for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE 
>>> THIRD KIND, THE FURY, THE REIVERS and IMAGES to be courageous and 
>>> profoundly expressive. Even his earlier work (as Johnny Williams), 
>>> while not technically groundbreaking, was certainly "profoundly 
>>> expressive", such delightfully engaging things as HOW TO STEAL A 
>>> MILLION (gorgeous main theme), FITZWILLY (various themes), his main 
>>> titles and some scoring for old shows like LOST IN SPACE, LAND OF THE 
>>> GIANTS, THE TIME TUNNEL, FRED ASTAIRE PREMIERE THEATRE, and WIDE 
>>> COUNTRY. Williams ain't no hack. In fact, now that Jerry, Elmer, and 
>>> David Raksin have left us it would seem he now sits alone up on top of 
>>> the mountain in Hollywood. - JohnB
>>>     
>>>       
>> Robert Scott Stanton
>> San Francisco Bay Area, CA
>> zolessi at comcast.net
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: fmpro-bounces+zolessi=comcast.net at nxport.com
>> [mailto:fmpro-bounces+zolessi=comcast.net at nxport.com] On Behalf Of Alain
>> Mayrand
>> Sent: Friday, May 30, 2008 1:39 PM
>> To: fmpro at nxport.com
>> Subject: Re: [Fmpro] FMPRO Latest Rant: "Where are the Distinctive Voices
>> inscoring?"
>>
>>
>>
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>>   
>>     
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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