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108.249.169.177
Posted on August 1, 2014 at 11:51:06
ahendler
Audiophile

Posts: 5151
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Joined: January 24, 2003
 Hans Zimmer is one of the great film score composers of our generation. Some of his work is The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, The Thin Red Line, Man of Steel, 12 years a Slave, The Last Samurai , Sherlock Holmes and many many more. Recently he has written the score for the made for tv film "Son Of God". This score is a powerful and thrilling piece of music that I have been playing over and over again. There are hugh powerful moments when the full symphony orchestra combines with a large choir and deep bass drum whacks that is simply over whelming. A few tracks do have some dialog from the movie but is very short. I cannot recommend this soundtrack highly enough.
Alan

 

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I heard some of it on YouTube and liked it - however. . . , posted on August 1, 2014 at 12:54:23
Chris from Lafayette
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Posts: 26432
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 . . . I don't care for those persistent rhythm tracks that Zimmer seems to be so fond of (and which seem de rigueur for Hollywood scores these days) - a little bit distracting for me when I'm trying to concentrate on the melody, texture, and harmony. Other than that, excellent!

But for me the gold standard for this type of "biblical epic" music (a slightly different category from gladiator music!) is:


-especially starting around 7:20! (Pittsburgh Symphony, Composer conducting)

 

RE: I heard some of it on YouTube and liked it - however. . . , posted on August 1, 2014 at 15:16:51
ahendler
Audiophile

Posts: 5151
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Joined: January 24, 2003
 Chris,
I also love Ben Hur. Certainly one of the greatest film scores ever written. I also like the score from "The Robe" Zimmers score is not really a typical biblical score. I wish he would take the main themes and write a symphony. Maybe a tone poem. The rhythm tracks you mention are really persistent in "The Thin Red Line" It really works setting the mood in the film but not as well as stand alone music
Alan

 

RE: I heard some of it on YouTube and liked it - however. . . , posted on August 1, 2014 at 16:54:19
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26432
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 I have to confess that I'm not familiar with a lot of Zimmer's music, although I generally like what I've heard (Crimson Tide, Inception, etc). However, I feel his score for, say, Gladiator is not evocative of the time in the way that Rozsa's scores for Ben Hur, The Robe, and Quo Vadis are. The difference is that Rozsa made a real study of ancient music (insofar as it was known at the time) and his use of church modes, open fifths and fourths, and avoidance of authentic cadences really makes his music evocative of the time. Of course the music of gladiator and biblical times would never contain the key changes that Rozsa employs (some of his jumps are pretty wild!), but that doesn't matter - Rozsa uses enough of the ancient musical elements to evoke these times in a way that the chromatic, Wagnerian type of writing that Zimmer employs does not. This doesn't mean that Zimmer's music is bad, far from it! - but I grew up with Rozsa's style (which of course had been anticipated by such composers as Bloch and Respighi), I love it, and now I find it near impossible to dissociate this style from the ancient times being evoked by the films! ;-)

BTW, I agree that Zimmer's score for "The Thin Red Line" is incredibly effective and is one of the elements which makes that movie so great. (I also loved the use of that little part from the Fauré Requiem, not normally one of my favorite works, in that movie - very well done!)

p.s.: I treasure my piano score of the musical "highlights" from Quo Vadis (©1951, Robbins Music Corp.), a score that contains not one but two magnificent marches for the Roman legions (one for Nero, one for Galba). There's also a section entitled "Invocation to Venus", which Rozsa adapted from the First Pythic Ode of Pindar! You've just got to love this! ;-)

 

RE: I heard some of it on YouTube and liked it - however. . . , posted on August 1, 2014 at 17:48:49
ahendler
Audiophile

Posts: 5151
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Joined: January 24, 2003
 One of the things I find Zimmers score for Son of God is it is not period music. Rather it attempts to create an emotional response to what is really a timeless story. I find the 3rd track which builds to the full orchestra and a large choir with big base drum whacks to be overwhelming. I would have loved to have been at the recording session. I wonder if the Choir was overdubbed or all done at once. If all done together it is really superbly done by some engineers I am not at all familiar with.
Alan

 

Can you post some excepts?, posted on August 1, 2014 at 21:24:42
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
 nt.

 

RE: Can you post some excepts?, posted on August 1, 2014 at 21:36:52
ahendler
Audiophile

Posts: 5151
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Joined: January 24, 2003
 Here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUbOpWzktv8
Alan

 

Thanks for the response but not working for me., posted on August 1, 2014 at 22:32:49
jimbill
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Texas
Joined: May 31, 2004
 Sounds very much like a soundtrack. Slowly building to a crescendo. "Chariots of Fire" comes to mind.

Sonically, it is bold. But musically, it doesn't have a lot of depth to me.

 

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