For those who may not know, I am a connoisseur of soundtracks and classical music. I live and breathe them! I do have Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and others on my iPod, but more than half of my music consists of soundtracks and classical. To me, I almost forget it is only instrumental (not including Disney songs and a few others) because the melodies are so distinct, so memorable and articulate that you can almost place words to it. Those who say it's boring or plain just aren't really listening. These songs are like a story that may either start the same way it ends, or builds up into a crescendo or dies down until it fades softly. Then throughout there may be twists and turns and the great thing about instrumental is that there has to be a rhyme and rhythm to it or else you're listening to a mish mash of instuments randomly playing. It's all thought and planned out and every note is put there for a reason. It really is the hardest to write and play. It is amazing to think of even back in the 18th century of composers- Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart who all had the same mindset and process as the composers we have today. The compositions somehow are both mathematical because the timing is vital, and yet you don't really think about it because it's masked by the pull and uplifting of your soul when you listen to it. It can be so moving and powerful.
Take one of my absolute top favorite composers, John Williams. Have you ever listened to his score for "Empire of the Sun"? It is my absolute favorite soundtrack and moreover, my favorite movie of all time. But just focusing on the soundtrack for now, it is absolutely breathtaking. I actually cry when I listen to it especially during the zenith of "Cadillac of the Skies" which to me, is when the crescendo suddenly turns into only the vocal chorus when Jim leans his head back laughing in hysterics and yells "P-51! Cadillac of the skies!". It's funny how that moment, to me, is the most important part of the whole song and my favorite because it's such a big and powerful moment that the only way the music can describe it is with more of a quiet and angelic approach.
And of course the main theme itself moves me every time I hear it. I'm talking about the track,"Toy Planes, Home, and Hearth". It starts out with only a quiet and gentle piano playing the tune, then the violins come in, and then the whole orchestra and it keeps building up and getting louder and louder and then you have more vocals to break it up with the choir.
I love John Williams' use of the choir in all his works. It adds so much to a score that you can't get any other way. Any big, epic movie usually uses a choir along with the orchestra, I find, because it magnifies whatever emotion the score is trying to get through to the viewers. I don't know if John Williams knew he was doing this, but it's so perfect that whenever in the movie that they show anything having to do with upwards, planes or the sky, the choir comes in. So now whenever I hear it in the soundtrack, I picture a heavenly sky with light shining through the clouds or Jim's toy plane soaring above him. It gives a feeling of upward ascent, and of upward ascent of the soul as well. But moving on, I highly, highly recommend this movie and soundtrack as you can tell.
Another thing Williams puts in this soundtrack are excerpts of real classical music, particularly Chopin's Mazurka Opus 17 No. 4. This is used first when Jim's mother is playing piano and then again later in the movie as well. It really fits the mood and William's score. I actually thought it was part of his own score until I looked it up. In the track "Toy Planes, Home, and Hearth" it is incorporated into it.
One last thing I must say about this particular soundtrack is of course the song of all songs in the movie, "Suo Gan". For those who are not familiar with this tune, it is actually a Welsh lullaby and the language is traditional Welsh. It was a perfect way to start off the movie and a perfect way, therefore, to end it. Once again, we see the use of a choir, and Jim has the solo throughout the song. For those who have seen the movie, he uses what we saw in the beginning of the movie and sings it this time by himself without the choir when the Kamikaze pilots are about to take off. It usually is the song people have stuck in their head when the movie is over partly because it is just such a distinctive melody as I have said about instrumental before.
A good score has a memorable, distinctive melody you can hear and recognize anywhere. Another vital attribute a score must have is the contribution to the movie it's accompanying. Rather, the score is a part of the movie or even, it is the movie but in musical form. When you hear the score, you must be able to immediately think of the movie. It should capture the essence, the mood, and the overall feel the movie has. Actually, the movie's mood is due to the score. I always like to say that the score has one of the highest percentages of importance in the process of movie making. The composer, when given no limits, has such power over a movie since he may guide the direction of the mood and emotions the audience feels at whatever moment. Like I've said, the music certainly does spur on my tears during "Empire of the Sun".
I've actually been learning "Cadillac of the Skies","Suo Gan", "Exultate Justi", and even "Mazurka Opus 17 no. 4"on the piano. I must say they are so fun to play and I could just practice them for hours. It's one of the ways I like to relax. My dad always comes in and gives the salute when he hears the theme. The most challenging is "Cadillac of the Skies" since it's so intricate and it's a medley of multiple little melodies, but it's so worth it to play well. I know I can never match the original, but it brings me satisfaction when I can play my favorite themes and songs.
This is certainly one of my top favorite soundtracks and it's one of the most perfect examples of a genuinely remarkable and breathtaking score, and even that is an understatement for this incredible masterpiece!
