Table of Contents
- 0.1 From the movie ‘Interstellar’ to the animation ‘Madagascar’, the father of modern film music – Hans Zimmer
- 0.2 Although there were bound to be limits to grandeur, it was an outstanding performance.
- 0.3 The public’s tastes must be met exactly as they are desired.
- 1 How does the live orchestration affect the audience’s emotional response during film music concerts?
Speaking of “movie music concerts,” I remember attending them a few times, although not often. I think it was the Pixar Disney concert I went to with a friend at the Seoul Arts Center hall. Movie scenes were shown on stage, and I remember going home after the performance because I enjoyed it so much that I bought the OST CD. There was once a year-end concert featuring ‘soprano Kang Hye-jeong’ as the main character, and as it was the end of the year with many family audiences, it was a performance based on movie music. And last Sunday, November 10th, I went to see a performance titled “At Lotte Concert Hall.”
A type of performance, also known as a “film music concert” or “cinema concert,” is a type of performance that is planned every year. Many people find classical music difficult, but when you say ‘movie music,’ they willingly open their wallets. It is a kind of bait operation to attract new customers to the classical music industry. However, when it comes to ‘film music concerts’, unless the composer directly plans or performs them, there is a strong tendency to allow people to appreciate ‘music’ through ‘film’ rather than dealing with a unique genre called ‘film music’.
So, although it is a type of performance that I do not prefer, I came to see it this time for the following two reasons. First, because movie scenes were not shown on stage. Second, it was composed not only of director Christopher Nolan‘s film scores such as Interstellar and Inception, but also of film scores of various genres. There was a lot of Hans Zimmer’s film music that I didn’t know about. He was a prolific king!
From the movie ‘Interstellar’ to the animation ‘Madagascar’, the father of modern film music – Hans Zimmer
This opportunity allowed me to look again at Hans Zimmer’s film scores. Hans Zimmer, who is he? When it comes to film music, there’s usually John Williams in the movie , and if you go back a little bit, there’s Ennio Morricone in the movie . Their music has a clear melody, and sometimes the movie music is more memorable than the movie itself. However, in modern times, the trend is somewhat aligned with minimalism, and film music does not have a clear main melody. The representative person is ‘Hans Zimmer.’
Think of the movie Interstellar. There are certainly repeated notes, but it’s not enough for us to hum and follow along. However, when you think of a movie, there is an atmosphere that naturally follows, and that is also movie music. Leading the play in a way other than dialogue and plot, this is also what film music does. In addition to working with director Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer worked on a variety of projects, but what I personally enjoyed most was working on animation music. The bouncing vastness felt in the movies and was another charm of his music. It has an epic aspect to it. Maybe that’s why I worked on the most recent movie. When I looked at it clearly, there was something special about his music. A subtle mix of electronic music, brass instruments, vocals, and pop. No, we mix it openly.
Although there were bound to be limits to grandeur, it was an outstanding performance.
Therefore, in fact, there are bound to be limitations to a pure orchestra composition. The grandeur of Hans Zimmer, already seen in IMAX theaters, is bound to be difficult to achieve with a pure orchestra composition. I think that’s why I felt this performance was disappointing. In particular, the first song, Interstellar’s OST, actually has great organ power. However, as the organ was replaced with an electric piano, it seemed to be insufficient to capture the unique grandeur. Meanwhile, electronic music and drums often appear, but the sum of the sounds does not seem to be harmonious with a pure orchestra performance. This is because the electric guitar sound was sometimes so strong that it seemed to suppress the sound of the orchestra. So, I think I liked the older songs that lacked some electronic sounds better. For example, I liked songs like, , and .
However, I think it was still good that there were no movie scenes, which was one of the reasons I watched this concert. I was able to focus more on the film music and appreciate it aurally better. And I felt that the We Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance was excellent. It was a visual pleasure to see dozens of musicians playing in perfect harmony with the loud and refreshing movements of conductor Kim Jae-won. And above all, the OST was the grand finale of , and it met the expectations of many people. Personally, I liked that it was a version of the most famous theme, ‘Tanda Tanda Tanda Tada Dada~’, which does not appear often. Should I say that it offsets the obviousness a bit? Honestly, haven’t I heard too much about it?
The public’s tastes must be met exactly as they are desired.
Nevertheless, the opinions of my father and mother, who went with me, were completely opposite to mine. My father was disappointed that he couldn’t think of movie scenes when listening to the music because the movie wasn’t shown together, and my mother was disappointed that she couldn’t hear much of the main melody of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was truly ironic. Personally, I didn’t think it was bad to see an effort to somehow twist the standardized framework, but I thought that in order to satisfy the public’s tastes, they had to meet their needs exactly. In fact, this is how he was born. Movies should come to mind more than music. In fact, ‘movies’ were brought in to make people listen to music, but many people watch music to listen to ‘movies’. The grandeur (stage direction) like the movie should be reflected on the stage, and the ending will definitely have ta-da! And the hand movements of not only the performer but also the conductor must all end smoothly at once.
In that respect, the We Philharmonic Orchestra is definitely a ‘geek’. Looking at his career, he has a brilliant resume with ‘Cinema Concert’. This may also be because the orchestra was founded by Library Company, which planned and produced this performance. Looking at the pamphlet, it seemed like a place that specializes in planning ‘cinema concerts’. In addition to Hans Zimmer, concept-type film concerts are also planned with titles such as the previously mentioned film concerts centered on composers John Williams, Ennio Morricone, and Joe Hisaishi, blockbuster film music concerts, and Hollywood in Classics.
Since it was a performance by a professional artist, the plan of ‘film music concert’ was carried out perfectly, but honestly, I think it was a little disappointing to include ‘Hans Zimmer’s film music’. There are some instrumental limitations mentioned earlier, and in terms of arrangement, I think there might have been a direction that could have brought out Hans Zimmer’s unique characteristics a little more. Also, even if the number of movies was reduced, it would have been nice to focus on a few more songs. Every movie is different, but since all the songs were composed by one person, there was a tendency for the context to repeat itself.
Anyway, personally, I wish the main character of would be ‘film music’, but I think the main character of ‘ should be ‘movie’ by nature. In fact, there is nothing much to say since film music was born in movies, but my personal wish is that ‘music’ can truly act as the main character on stage rather than on screen.
Source: https://www.artinsight.co.kr/
How does the live orchestration affect the audience’s emotional response during film music concerts?
Questions:
1. What is your opinion on the use of a live orchestra in film music concerts? Do you think it enriches the viewing experience or detracts from it?
2. Are there any particular film composers or compositions that you feel excel in integrating live music into their film scores?
3. How do you think filmmakers and composers can collaborate more effectively to create a seamless blend between music and visuals in cinema?
4. What role do you think film music plays in the overall storytelling process, and how can it be used to enhance emotional impact?
5. In what ways do you think the concept of a ‘Cinema Concert’ could be improved or expanded upon to better showcase film music?
